Tea wasn’t just a beverage for Matushka Olga; it was a vessel for her maternal love and healing presence. Her daughter, Matushka Helen Larson, recalls how women from Kwethluk and neighboring villages would travel—often by dog sled or boat—to sit with her mother over tea, sharing stories of pain while Olga listened silently, prayed, and offered guidance. This created a safe space, blending Yup’ik traditions with her Orthodox faith. As a traditional healer, she incorporated local medicinal plants into her remedies, and tea often included herbal infusions to soothe and to heal.
One poignant account after she passed away underscored this: A woman from Kwethluk, living in Arizona and haunted by childhood sexual abuse, had a dream-vision of Matushka Olga. The saint led her through a forest to a traditional Yup’ik barabara (earth-sheltered dwelling), where she performed a healing — washing and anointing wounds with fragrant oils—before offering a cup of “fragrant tea” that symbolized restoration and peace. She described this tea as as aromatic and comforting, evoking wild herbs native to the tundra.
While no exact, step-by-step written recipe survives (Matushka Olga’s knowledge was oral, passed through generations of Yup’ik women) Her daughter Katherine Larson explicitly said her mother always put “Hudson Bay tea” (the common English name for Labrador tea among Yup’ik elders) in the black tea she served to visitors. And Fr. Michael Oleksa, who knew her personally, wrote that the distinctive aroma in her little house came from the Labrador tea she added to ordinary black tea.
We chose not to add the black tea our selves since that’s something easily done at home. But while traveling in Kwethluk the thought did occur that it would be nice to offer the Labrador tea itself and share in its intoxicating aroma that we grew up with here in Alaska. The second thing we added was wild Raspberry leaf since so many midwives would use it as a pregnancy aid. We hope people will be blessed by this and enjoy. Please send us an email and let us know!