Steeped Pearl pours into Ohio’s Black and LGBTQ+ communities through herbal storytelling

When attending an event hosted by Ohio-based tea and events company Steeped Pearl, guests can expect not just a warm cup of tea, but also a welcoming atmosphere.

Since 2020, co-owners KaShala Smith and Dominique Todd-Shumate have fostered a supportive community called “CommuniTea,” intentionally including Black Ohioans and people of color through tea parties, pop-ups at artisan fairs and herbal tea education workshops all over Ohio.

Todd-Shumate shared an experience of comforting an upset stranger after a workshop.

“I led a workshop for the Queer Craft Society, and at the end, a member who hadn’t participated came in looking distraught. They needed support, and I overheard their struggles. I quickly prepared a tea blend to help ease their grief.”

She added, “A warm cup of tea has always brought me calm in difficult times, and that’s why we do what we do.”

The soul behind the Steep

Steeped Pearl began when Todd-Shumate and Smith attended Kent State University. They first joked about starting a tea company after seeing an alum’s tea line featured in the Eastway cafeteria. Throughout college, they had discussed launching a business but were sidetracked by their first jobs after graduation. 

Later, Smith launched a line of herbal teas called Shakra Teas and reached out to Todd-Shumate for help with rebranding, unknowingly recruiting her as a business partner.

By 2020, their rebranded tea company, Steeped Pearl, was in business, selling loose-leaf herbal teas to a wider audience. Smith operates from Cleveland while Todd-Shumate manages the brand from Columbus. This setup, while challenging, gives them the freedom to engage creatively with their local communities. 

“It allows us to have a little bit of freedom in how we interact with our local communities,” Todd-Shumate said. “But we’re able to still shine as artists and create new concepts, new ideas for events, and tap into those relationships to create a cohesive brand across both locations. It’s worked really well for us.”

Herbal storytellers find family in Cleveland and Columbus’s LGBTQ+ community 

Both Todd-Shumate and Smith have developed significantly deep relationships with the Cleveland and Columbus LGBTQ+ communities. 

Smith is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, and Todd-Shumate is an ally who has found a home through the LGBTQ+ Ohioans of color who have become her family since moving to Columbus. 

“I have always been surrounded by that community and found love and safety,” she said. 

Todd-Shumate and Smith’s commitment to supporting those who support them stretched further when they decided to officially become a welcoming and affirming space for the LGBTQ+ community. In July 2026, Smith completed the Plexus Business Inclusion Hub LGBTQ+ Affirming Business Certificate Program. 

The certification training helps the business better understand LGBTQ+ inclusion and create welcoming spaces. Todd-Shumate says she will soon join the organization’s program for allies to deepen her knowledge of LGBTQ+ best practices.

Keeping stories sacred through herbalism 

Todd-Shumate and Smith pour herbal storytelling into Steeped Pearl’s CommuniTea. They are continuing the ancient tradition of herbal storytellers, individuals who blend plants with stories, rituals, and symbolism to reflect humans’ deep bond with nature.

Through herbalism, Todd-Shumate and Smith reconnect people with cultural traditions and ancestral knowledge. Todd-Shumate challenges the stigma surrounding herbal practices and questions why formal certifications are sometimes treated as the only legitimate source of expertise, particularly when Black herbalists have long passed their herbal knowledge down through generations. 

“Herbalism belongs to the people,” she declared. “Everyone has an ancestral right to practice herbalism. It was the first way that humans cared for themselves.” 

Still, Todd-Shumate knows credentials matter when caring for someone. She describes herself and Smith as “forever students.” They are currently taking a herbal apprenticeship with Sky House Herbalism to further sharpen their expertise. But Todd-Shumate stressed that neither she nor Smith are medical professionals and always encourage anyone interested in herbalism to do their research. 

“I personally have a blending philosophy of trusting your intuition,” she explained.  “As a workshop lead, a herbalist guide, I never bring anything to the table that will conflict negatively with each other. So I try to create that baseline sense of safety for participants.”

Staying true to Steeped Pearl’s roots

As she basks in the love Steeped Pearl’s CommuniTea has shown her and Smith, Todd-Shumate says the business’s growth plan is simple: remain true to community-centered programming. In both Cleveland and Columbus, the co-owners are partnering with businesses and organizations that align with them—and encouraging their supporters to hold them accountable if they’re not doing so. Todd-Shumate also wants to work with other tea companies and artisans rather than seeing them as competition. 

“We stand 10 toes down on collaboration, growth and community,” she said. 

Another non-negotiable? Steeped Pearl will always stay true to the legacy and stories Smith and Todd-Shumate bring to their blends. 

“I always want us to be known as a brand for our community and a platform that we’re able to use our artistry and our knowledge to share the stories of not only ourselves but those around us,” Todd-Shumate said. “We honestly are just taking things day by day. We know that this is something that we always want to be running, and if we’re not able to, and if it’s not us, it’s directly continued by people that we know and trust.” 🔥

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IGNITE ACTION

• Learn more about Steeped Pearl by visiting their homepage here, their Instagram here or their Facebook here.
• Steeped Pearl successfully completed the “Affirming Small Business Certificate Program” hosted by Plexus LGBT & Allied Chamber of Commerce. More info on that program here.