Meet Kiwani Tapper | Founder of Bush

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kiwani Tapper and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kiwani, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process behind my business was that I wanted to start a company that was very close to home, but also impacted peoples lives in a positive way. I am obsessed with all things natural, healing, medicine, and my culture. I created a brand that encompassed all of that in one, well in my opinion at least.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Currently professionally I am a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant and have been practicing for about 10 years BUT I just finished my Masters Program in Oriental Medicine so that has led me to creating my brand. For years I went back and forth about pursuing my Masters in Speech Therapy, but there is just something about it that I could never see myself doing forever. My real passion has always been medicine, but when I got to College and found out about the Medical Program I was like NOPE! Studying Chinese Medicine has linked my passion of natural healing with medicine together! It was almost meant to be! Learning about Chinese Herbal Medicine and its amazing properties only connected me to my Jamaican roots even more. I wanted to take what I had learned and connect it to my culture. That’s how my brand came about. Not to mention, growing up herbal medicine was quite popular in my household. My mission is to create delicious teas that have healing properties and spread the knowledge to everyone about their uses while paying homage to my Caribbean heritage.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So this is a little bit different now that we are going through a pandemic, right? Anyway I’m more of a homebody and enjoy having game nights at home and watching movies. But if we left the house then we would definitely have to go to the beach and/or pool. I also LOVE going out to eat so we would go out to eat or order food out probably every single day. Currently, one of my favorite places to go to for brunch or to just go out for drinks is to Dunkunoo in Wynwood so we would have to make that a go to spot at some one point on the weekend. Oh! can’t for get on Sundays this event called Rise & Toast and The Urban is also another one of my favorite spots.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This one goes out to one of my best friends since childhood, her name is Brittney ! We are separated by distance but couldn’t be any closer. Any idea I have, she fully supports 100%. I initially brought my idea of selling Herbal Teas to her and she was the one who pushed me to do it from the beginning and was the bug in my ear the entire process. She has been a staple part of everything that has aspired especially when it comes to Bush. She gave me the push I needed to move forward and is still always right there for everything. She actually was my first order when I launched, which of course brought me to tears so I definitely dedicate this shout out to her!

Website: www.drinkbushtea.com

Instagram: @drinkbushtea

Facebook: /drinkbushtea

Image Credits
Brittney Uribe Opal Holt Kimi Squires