Long before tea bushes ever reached the Caribbean, the islands had an infusion culture of their own. The Taíno, the Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles including Borikén (Puerto Rico), brewed leaves, roots, and barks into drinks for comfort, ceremony, and everyday wellness. That knowledge did not disappear. It moved into Caribbean kitchens, where it still simmers today.
Who were the Taíno?
The Taíno were the first peoples Christopher Columbus encountered in 1492, living across what is now Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, eastern Cuba, Jamaica, and the northern Lesser Antilles. They farmed yuca and sweet potato, fished the reefs, and lived in villages organized around a central plaza called the batey. Their name for Puerto Rico, Borikén, means "land of the valiant lord." Though colonization devastated their communities, Taíno ancestry, words, foods, and plant knowledge survive in Puerto Rican culture to this day.
The behique: keeper of plant knowledge
In Taíno society, the behique served as healer, spiritual guide, and keeper of botanical knowledge. The behique knew which leaves cooled a fever, which roots settled the stomach, and which barks to brew for strength. This was not casual knowledge. It was a studied practice passed down through generations, built on close observation of the island's plants across seasons and years.
Much of this specific knowledge was lost with the people who carried it. What survived did so the way resilient things do: through grandmothers, home gardens, and daily habit.
Plants of the island tradition
The Taíno used the plants around them with intention. Bitter leaves were brewed into cleansing infusions. Aromatic herbs were crushed and steeped for the head and stomach. The higüero (calabash gourd) became the cup itself, a vessel still found in Puerto Rican homes. Tobacco had ceremonial use under the behique's guidance. While we cannot reconstruct their exact recipes, the pattern is clear: the islands' first people understood that plants, hot water, and patience could shift how the body felt.
From Taíno tradition to the Caribbean kitchen
After colonization, African and European plant traditions layered over the Taíno foundation. The result is the Caribbean kitchen pharmacy: lemongrass (limoncillo) for the stomach, mint (yerba buena) for the head, hibiscus for cooling the body, ginger for warmth. Ask any Puerto Rican grandmother about her remedios and you will hear an echo of the behique. These were never trends. They were Tuesday.
How bohío honors these roots
We named our company for the bohío, the traditional Taíno dwelling: simple, open, and built from what the land provides. Our blends start from the same idea. Whole leaves. Real botanicals. Nothing artificial, nothing hidden. You can see every ingredient in the cup because there is nothing to hide. Like the dwelling, the tea is simple, open, and made from what the earth provides.
Explore our botanical blends and taste the tradition for yourself.