Submitted photo
Maggie Field Frymoyer stands in the Flower Farmer Tearoom in Thompsontown.

THOMPSONTOWN — It’s teatime in Thompsontown.

The Flower Farmer Tea Room opened on Dec. 2, 2023, at 631 Black Dog Road, Thompsontown, in a farmhouse owned by Maggie Field Frymoyer and her husband.

“I planted herbs and since I dried herbs, I wanted to use them … so I made tea. Healthy, herbal teas,” said Frymoyer, who started making her own herbal teas about five years ago. While a limited number of flavors are sold in local retail stores, all 14 tea flavors are offered at the new tearoom.

“As the teas were selling in the stores, I started doing a few local vendor shows to get my business recognized,” Frymoyer explained. “I did the tea tastings, and I noticed people loved the tea tastings. It made a difference getting to taste before buying.

“I also was looking for other items I could add to my vendor shop in Selinsgrove, and the few vendor shows I was doing, so for my love of plants and flowers. I started selling air plants — grown completely by air — and air plant displays. So, I had a great response to the plants and displays. The air plants I can do all year, unlike my flowers. I needed a place to sell my teas, and (hold) tea tastings and (sell) my air plants and displays, so I made a tearoom.”

The new tearoom is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and by appointment.

While it’s not quite your typical teashop, Frymoyer has found business to be exceptionally good despite little advertising. She’s made a few posts on social media.

“I am very surprised how busy it is,” Frymoyer said. “Getting my teas into local stores made a huge difference. And opening the tearoom will help even more. I have gotten a great response from people.”

Most of her customers want to try the other flavors that are not available in retail stores.

Frymoyer also hopes to hold tea tastings, which will be modeled after the typical wine tasting concept. She plans to call them, “Tea for Two!” and promote them on social media. “People can come and try the teas before buying them,” Frymoyer said. “I sell other herbal products, like my homemade Recovery Cream made with fresh lard infused with herbs, flowers and made with organic ingredients and safe for all skin types. I also sell tea accessories as well.”

Frymoyer first started selling her products in the Selinsgrove area, but quickly realized that she needed to sell them in Mifflin, Juniata and Perry counties to reach her

customer base. Those products have been selling well since she introduced them in 2021 and 2022.

Besides herbal teas and products, the tearoom also carries other product lines, such as seasonal flowers, plants and herbs. Many of the ingredients she uses are grown right here in Juniata County.

Frymoyer is a self-taught proprietor. She tested the tea market when she started growing flowers and herbs in 2015. “I started growing about a half-acre of fresh-cut flowers and herbs,” Frymoyer recalled. “I set out to be a grower and hopefully would find a market to sell the flowers.

“I grew all my flowers and herbs from seed in my large shed with artificial lighting and heat,” she added. “I didn’t even know if I could grow all these flowers, but I did. I had over 7,000 little plants to plant. I planted them all. Come late June, I had a half-acre of annuals and perennials.”

Frymoyer had a friend who encouraged her to take her flowers to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Farmers Market in Harrisburg. She made custom bouquets, which sold out most days.

“After a few years, it got tough for me,” Frymoyer said. “I did this all by myself. I grew, planted and harvested everything myself. Not that age matters; I wasn’t 30 years old. I didn’t even start my business until I was 51.”

She also dried flowers and herbs, which eventually led her to try a few recipes to make herbal teas. “Which I loved drinking tea,” Frymoyer said. “And I taught myself the benefits of herbs and what they do to help our health. I continued to grow more herbs than flowers.”

In 2018, she found a store in Selinsgrove, which was interested in carrying her teas and dried flowers.

“I started packing my teas, making each tea bag myself,” Frymoyer said. “I did tea tastings. And my teas started becoming very popular with customers. I started making more recipes and more teas.”

Her hope is that the tea tastings become a pampered experience for her guests. They can come in small groups and taste teas and relax, forgetting all of the stresses and cares of the outside world for a brief time.

“Since my business actually started in 2015 with growing, planting, harvesting, selling, it’s been literally blood, sweat and tears,” Frymoyer said. “Many days I would say why am I doing this. Do I need to do this? However, the love for growing and not giving up I had to pursue.

“It doesn’t happen overnight,” she added. “I kind of went with the flow, made changes when I had to. The hardest part for me, I did this business all myself from the ground up.”

For more information, call (717) 363-0519, email theflowerfarmer631@gmail.com or find them

on Facebook.