June 29, 2025
Hello Wedang People,
First let me explain who I am and why I am writing this newsletter. I am a soon to be 38 years old, and I just had a baby six months ago. I am constantly tired, groggy in the morning, very bloated and overweight. While this is not my first rodeo, this is only the second time I experience being postpartum in US.
You might wonder why does it matter? Why did I say being postpartum in US? As a matter of fact, it matters a lot. The weather is so different from where I come from in Indonesia. Virginia has the weirdest weather where it could change from sweater weather to bikini weather within hours. I did not know until I moved over here, that this kind of environment will have effect on my mood. It is real and I feel it creeping up every time the season changed.
Another thing I noticed is the weight gain. Even before I was pregnant here, I have already gained 3lbs right after I moved here. The diet itself is very different from what I used to have. In Asia I eat a lot of fish and fresh produce is a must. There is street food everywhere and they are cheap, but they are still a much healthier option than the fast-food chains in America.
Lastly, I found myself being less active than I was before. I used to do at least 10k steps a day, and at least one 30k steps every 7 days, sometimes more. We just drive everywhere in Virginia and if I want to do my cardio I need to drive somewhere. It sounds like an excuse, but it added an extra step just to exercise and I don’t like it.
Now I am also a heavy coffee drinker. I mean, I don’t even use the good one. I basically just use the cheapest drip coffee from Walmart that does the job. But I generally take 2-3 cups a day just to function. Does that sound a little familiar to you?
If the answer is yes, then I will tell you that this letter might be worth your time. So keep scrolling and bear with me.
Nine years ago, I was this young full of energy flight attendant in South East Asia. As you can imagine, that job was something else. I have to be out of town or out of country as much as 5 days a week sometimes. The hours are crazy, many times I had to get up in the middle of the night to get ready for a 4 AM flight to Jeddah, China, Malaysia, or anywhere domestic in Indonesia.
I remember I’ve always felt sick in flight. The cabin air pressure just generally makes you bloat, and then the lack of sleep and often bad food and stress on top of that really just made me nauseated often.
These were the times I started my coffee addiction. But also, my other addiction in hot drinks. Teas, hot chocolates, even just warm water, anything. I found them easy on the stomach and helped me get through the hectic tasks 45000 feet above sea level. I don’t really know why, but it helped.
Now I have to be honest, back then when I didn’t truly understand what or why the hot drinks made me feel better, I just drink whatever. But I noticed, the hot sensation in my body lasted longer when I drink Wedang Uwuh (Red Brew from Wedang Wellness). I started drinking this almost all the time.
After I met my husband, life took a different turn. We got married and got kids so fast, and one after the other. I didn’t have to wake up in the middle of the night and pack my bags anymore to fly out. Instead, I woke up in the middle of the night to comfort my Irish Twin boys (yes, they were born 14 months apart).
Somehow in the chaos of raising our family, and moving two countries, I forgot about my herbal tea habit. I felt coffee was enough, and my bloated self mid -air was not there anymore. Instead, I was a normal groggy new mom. I was just like any other moms.
Then I got pregnant again, with my third boy. Oh, he was so perfect. I was so happy when I was pregnant with him. I was glowing, I was going to school and I had a job and I was excelling in both. There were no times that I thought a tragedy would strike. But it did.
My beautiful boy Afton Max was born sleeping in full term. 38 weeks and 5 days. On a Thanksgiving weekend. It shattered me. My health just quickly derailed after that. I went to ER and had a mysterious postpartum hypertension. I was so depressed and sad. My family were there with me in my pit of sadness. I needed to heal.
All that led us to go back to Indonesia. I thought going back to my roots would heal me, keeping me from drowning in despair. So off we went to my hometown in Java Island, the city of Surabaya. As a part of my healing, I ended up deciding that home is not Indonesia anymore. It is here in Virginia. The clarity surprised me.
Then like every other time that I went back there, I packed my suitcases with all of the Indonesian goods that are hard to find here. Oh, they were fully loaded with snacks, herbs, oil, seasonings, souvenirs, and many more.
I was pregnant again the very same month we arrived back in Virginia. It was one of the happiest days of my life, but also the scariest. I felt deeply traumatic and triggered by many things that was never even a part of my chain of thoughts before. I felt like there were unanswered questions. I’ve had my babies in a third world country, and they are alive and healthy. Why did the ones that I had here had to die? It is devastating.
Suddenly out of nowhere, after I gave some of the herbal teas as a gift to friends and coworkers, I remember again! I remember how Wedang Uwuh gave me the strength to go through my hard flights. It was cold and dark in an Airbus 350 in the back pantry, and I was feeling sick, so I sip my cup of tea in a plastic cup and just relax for 2 minutes before its time to clean the lavatories again.
I’ve received feedbacks on how Virginians don’t like the bits and barks in the tea and that they had to filter it. But how they liked how good it made them feel. Something clicked in my mind that day. A light bulb switched on.
That is how I started my own journey to my wellness being. I wanted to make sure that something that I remember doing 9 years ago was not an imagination. So, I boiled a pot of water. Every morning. I watched the herbs steep and the color deepen. It was meditative. A little ritual of reclaiming my body and peace. I wasn’t that lonely flight attendant anymore—I had a family now. It is relaxing, and I remember how lonely I felt 9 years ago in that flight. But now I am not lonely anymore, I have my family here with me and they never leave me feel alone.
I then found myself actually finishing a 40 oz of Wedang in a day. I drink 2 tumblers full of it! Well that never happened before. At first, I don’t really feel anything. But I noticed my urine is not a dark tea color anymore. It is actually quite clear! I mean, I still drink coffee, and I nurse my little milk monster exclusively. But I didn’t feel dehydrated even though I don’t drink two gallons of water like I’m supposed to.
Then I tried experimenting with other kinds, still with the same herbs I got from Indonesia. The Blue Star had a hint of licorice, and I gained more clarity in my fogged brain every time without fail. I would never be able to write this at all, a few months ago if I didn’t start drinking Blue Star regularly. Postpartum brain is real, and I need my brain back, please!
I found myself choosing a much better diet, because I can feel how the goodness that I gained from drinking the tea just went out the window once I start eating crappy food like instant noodles and fried food. I mean I don’t completely stop eating them. But I eat them less. That made a huge difference. I stopped drinking soda because when I mix lemonade with Blue Lemon, I can have this beautiful purple lemonade that is much better than a crappy soda. Less sweet too!
But I still have the love for super spicy food. That is just what I am and I can’t give that up. But now I have less digestion problems with Java Sunrise. It reduces all of my stomach issues that I have that was caused by breastfeeding cravings. As a bonus, I go number two twice a day instead of being constipated. It is wonderful. I felt different. Clearer. More present. More aware of what my body needed.
These teas and herbs are more than wellness tools. They’re a legacy—from my grandmother, to my mother, to me. And now, to you—but in a convenient, modern teabag form.
No magic promises. Just something real, rooted, and time-tested.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. I hope you try one of the blends and feel even just a little bit of the support I felt. We’re in this wellness journey together.
With warmth,
Fanny Indrawati
Founder, Wedang Wellness
Wedang Wellness Virginia 