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The Story of PasiĆ³n Tea and Coffee Company

ByBahamasBNBs
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The Birth Of An IdeaĀ Ā 

She has always had a passion for natural Bahamian made products so it came as no surprise when 30 years ago Julie Hoffer began this journey of creating an exclusive line of organic Bahamian Loose leaf teas. This Long Island native says that she was turned down by many businesses before Caripelago, a downtown Nassau store located on Bay Street, embraced her and set her on her way.

She reminisced about how she didnā€™t even have a receipt book and recorded her first sale on a piece of brown paper bag that the store owner Mrs Jennifer Saunders says she still has to this day. It was the first sale of a new ā€œbrandā€ and the birth of an idea, which started in a garage and has now become widely known, in great demand and well respected throughout The Bahamas.

Childhood -The PasiĆ³n Teas and Coffee Product Line Begins to Grow.

As demand for her tea products slowly grew, naturally people started requesting coffee. Hoffer says that she then started purchasing coffee from the Haitian sloops and with the help of her gardener, she would roast the coffee each day when her husband left for work, the aroma taking over the entire neighborhood. She was paying her dues, she was absorbing everything that she could learn like a sponge and she was now ready to open her first warehouse.

As her teas and coffees started gaining ground Hoffer says she soon started getting requests from hotels to do spices, seasonings, hot sauces and spa products. She says that her motto has always been, ā€œWhenever they ask for it, if I donā€™t have it, I go out and find it.ā€Ā 

Mrs. Hoffer says as her business began to grow and her line of products began to expand, so did the competition. But she says that competition is healthy as it forced her to constantly improve her product. She says she always encouraged competitors and would also sell their merchandise in her stores explaining that not everyone is going to like her packaging or her products but maybe they will like her competitors product. She has also spent a lot of time assisting countless others in setting up their businesses. She says thereā€™s room for everyone and attributes part of this mindset to another Bahamian businesswoman the late Eunice Sands who she says always told her ā€œIf you help others, you will always do better in lifeā€. And if you walk into any of Julieā€™s stores you will see this mindset on display. There sits her 12 varieties of hot sauces standing side by side on the shelf with any number of other Bahamian brands of hot sauces from throughout The Bahamas.

Hoffer says at the end of the day what makes her happy is to see Bahamian manufacturing growing. She says that she attends manufacturing trade shows all over the world and while so many of the smaller Caribbean nations are well represented, it always saddens her to notice the absence of Bahamian manufacturers.

The Teenage Years – Growing Pains.

With the advent of COVID last year Hoffer says she was forced to think outside the box and began creating bush tea mixtures and herbal blends that boosted the immune system. They were an instant hit. Cerrasee Ginger, Fever-grass Ginger, Hibiscus Mint, Moringa Lemongrass Hibiscus, Soursop Hibiscus and she is grateful that food stores selling her products were allowed to remain open. People were staying home more and being forced to cook and then there were also those who were hoarding, fearful of food shortages. Through such an overwhelming period of time Julie managed to survive. She says even though the hotels that make up approximately 90% of her business were closed, the supermarkets were doing triple the business and this allowed her to pay her staff, utilities and keep her doors open. She says, if it wasnā€™t for the food stores that she was supplying, her business might have had a different outcome. Fortunately now that the hotels and cruise ships have returned to the equation business is slowly returning to pre-COVID levels.
Julieā€™s most recent addition to the PasiĆ³n family is her PasiĆ³n Botanicals Spa line. This line includes bath salts, scrubs, lotion, foot creams, oils, spritzers and fizzyā€™s mixed with a wide variety of spices, hibiscus, sour sop, mint, lemongrass, cerasee oil and rose oil. An absolute smorgasbord of heavenly aromatherapy. Hoffer says one of her most popular items right now is the sour sop oil which is both medicinal and relaxing. Her line is carried in most of the countryā€™s leading hotel spaā€™s and of course can be bought directly from one of her store locations.

Adulthood – All Grown Up and Ready to See The World

Grateful for this journey on which she has learned so much, Julie says that she is now ready to spread her wings and fly into international cities. Sheā€™s been thinking about it for a while and has been making baby steps like going into eCommerce with her own website where all her items can be purchased online and shipped anywhere in the world. On the next leg of this international journey, she wants to see her merchandise on store shelves across the US and she says itā€™s not about the money, but about making sure that Bahamians excel internationally in all arenas.
So if youā€™re shopping in Whole Foods or Publix in the near future keep your eyes peeled for the PasiĆ³n products. This lady has a top quality line of authentically Bahamian products and knows how to make her goals a reality.

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The Birth Of An IdeaĀ Ā 

She has always had a passion for natural Bahamian made products so it came as no surprise when 30 years ago Julie Hoffer began this journey of creating an exclusive line of organic Bahamian Loose leaf teas. This Long Island native says that she was turned down by many businesses before Caripelago, a downtown Nassau store located on Bay Street, embraced her and set her on her way.

She reminisced about how she didnā€™t even have a receipt book and recorded her first sale on a piece of brown paper bag that the store owner Mrs Jennifer Saunders says she still has to this day. It was the first sale of a new ā€œbrandā€ and the birth of an idea, which started in a garage and has now become widely known, in great demand and well respected throughout The Bahamas.

Childhood -The PasiĆ³n Teas and Coffee Product Line Begins to Grow.

As demand for her tea products slowly grew, naturally people started requesting coffee. Hoffer says that she then started purchasing coffee from the Haitian sloops and with the help of her gardener, she would roast the coffee each day when her husband left for work, the aroma taking over the entire neighborhood. She was paying her dues, she was absorbing everything that she could learn like a sponge and she was now ready to open her first warehouse.

As her teas and coffees started gaining ground Hoffer says she soon started getting requests from hotels to do spices, seasonings, hot sauces and spa products. She says that her motto has always been, ā€œWhenever they ask for it, if I donā€™t have it, I go out and find it.ā€Ā 

Mrs. Hoffer says as her business began to grow and her line of products began to expand, so did the competition. But she says that competition is healthy as it forced her to constantly improve her product. She says she always encouraged competitors and would also sell their merchandise in her stores explaining that not everyone is going to like her packaging or her products but maybe they will like her competitors product. She has also spent a lot of time assisting countless others in setting up their businesses. She says thereā€™s room for everyone and attributes part of this mindset to another Bahamian businesswoman the late Eunice Sands who she says always told her ā€œIf you help others, you will always do better in lifeā€. And if you walk into any of Julieā€™s stores you will see this mindset on display. There sits her 12 varieties of hot sauces standing side by side on the shelf with any number of other Bahamian brands of hot sauces from throughout The Bahamas.

Hoffer says at the end of the day what makes her happy is to see Bahamian manufacturing growing. She says that she attends manufacturing trade shows all over the world and while so many of the smaller Caribbean nations are well represented, it always saddens her to notice the absence of Bahamian manufacturers.

The Teenage Years – Growing Pains.

With the advent of COVID last year Hoffer says she was forced to think outside the box and began creating bush tea mixtures and herbal blends that boosted the immune system. They were an instant hit. Cerrasee Ginger, Fever-grass Ginger, Hibiscus Mint, Moringa Lemongrass Hibiscus, Soursop Hibiscus and she is grateful that food stores selling her products were allowed to remain open. People were staying home more and being forced to cook and then there were also those who were hoarding, fearful of food shortages. Through such an overwhelming period of time Julie managed to survive. She says even though the hotels that make up approximately 90% of her business were closed, the supermarkets were doing triple the business and this allowed her to pay her staff, utilities and keep her doors open. She says, if it wasnā€™t for the food stores that she was supplying, her business might have had a different outcome. Fortunately now that the hotels and cruise ships have returned to the equation business is slowly returning to pre-COVID levels.
Julieā€™s most recent addition to the PasiĆ³n family is her PasiĆ³n Botanicals Spa line. This line includes bath salts, scrubs, lotion, foot creams, oils, spritzers and fizzyā€™s mixed with a wide variety of spices, hibiscus, sour sop, mint, lemongrass, cerasee oil and rose oil. An absolute smorgasbord of heavenly aromatherapy. Hoffer says one of her most popular items right now is the sour sop oil which is both medicinal and relaxing. Her line is carried in most of the countryā€™s leading hotel spaā€™s and of course can be bought directly from one of her store locations.

Adulthood – All Grown Up and Ready to See The World

Grateful for this journey on which she has learned so much, Julie says that she is now ready to spread her wings and fly into international cities. Sheā€™s been thinking about it for a while and has been making baby steps like going into eCommerce with her own website where all her items can be purchased online and shipped anywhere in the world. On the next leg of this international journey, she wants to see her merchandise on store shelves across the US and she says itā€™s not about the money, but about making sure that Bahamians excel internationally in all arenas.
So if youā€™re shopping in Whole Foods or Publix in the near future keep your eyes peeled for the PasiĆ³n products. This lady has a top quality line of authentically Bahamian products and knows how to make her goals a reality.

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BahamasBNBs

Organic Bahamian Loose leaf teas, coffees, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, spa products and more. Learn about Julie Hoffer and PasiĆ³n Tea and Coffee Company in our latest blog.
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