Jennifer Ilonzeh, owner of Santa Rosa-based Plant Magic by Ndidi, concocts seasonal teas and elixirs driven by a community of fellow plant lovers.
Slide 1 of 8
Jennifer Ilonzeh, owner of Santa Rosa-based Plant Magic by Ndidi. (Eileen Roche/Sonoma Magazine)
Slide 2 of 8
In addition to herbs gathered locally, Jennifer Ilonzeh has been influenced by the diversity of flora in Hawaii, where she lived in her 20s. (Eileen Roche/Sonoma Magazine)
Slide 3 of 8
Jennifer Ilonzeh, owner of Santa Rosa-based Plant Magic by Ndidi. (Eileen Roche/Sonoma Magazine)
Slide 4 of 8
A tea blend from Plant Magic by Ndidi, a Santa Rosa-based line of hand-blended, small batch organic teas and other wellness elixirs from Jennifer Ilonzeh. (Eileen Roche/Sonoma Magazine)
Slide 5 of 8
Jennifer Ilonzeh forages for herbs for her wellness teas at local farms and in the gardens of her friends. She has even traveled to the Sierra to gather ingredients. (Eileen Roche/Sonoma Magazine)
Slide 6 of 8
Jennifer Ilonzeh forages for herbs for her wellness teas at local farms and in the gardens of her friends. She has even traveled to the Sierra to gather ingredients. (Eileen Roche/Sonoma Magazine)
Slide 7 of 8
A warming winter hot toddy made with Jennifer Ilonzeh’s own immunity tea, plus honey and a squeeze of lemon. (Eileen Roche/Sonoma Magazine)
Slide 8 of 8
Jennifer Ilonzeh’s Fire Cider, a warming tonic to ward off colds. (Courtesy Jennifer Ilonzeh)
As a child growing up in Texas, Jennifer Ilonzeh had an unusual hobby. She and her sisters liked to visit self-serve soda fountains and compete to see who could blend different flavors to create the most delicious drink.
“Luckily, I’m really good, and I always won,” laughs Ilonzeh.
Now, a couple of decades later, Ilonzeh has upped her game as the owner of Santa Rosa-based Plant Magic by Ndidi, a line of hand-blended, small batch organic teas and other wellness elixirs. The title of the business is taken from Ilonzeh’s middle name, which means patience in Nigerian.
Ilonzeh’s winter immunity tea combines organic rooibos, linden, elderberries, elderflowers, dried ginger, lemon balm and echinacea root for a warming dose of antioxidants and vitamin C on a chilly winter day.
“It helps if you feel a flu approaching or have been exposed to someone sick,” Ilonzeh says. “Plus, it’s really delicious.” In winter, she likes to make hot toddies using her own immunity tea blend as a base, adding brandy, honey and a squeeze of lemon.
Plant Magic by Ndidi also includes a blend of tea that supports healthy rest, made with California poppy and chamomile, and an “uplifting” tea that includes hawthorn, linden, lemon balm, holy basil and rose petals. Ilonzeh has broadened her line to include apothecary products like oils and body butters, plus a tincture of herbs taken by the dropperful to unwind before sleep.
The young entrepreneur has traveled a long road to Sonoma County, a place she was drawn to for its deep agricultural traditions as well as its well-established school of herbal medicine, the California School of Herbal Studies in Forestville. Many types of herbs thrive in the climate of Sonoma County, she notes.
Ilonzeh gathers some herbs for her organic teas at Bramble Tail Homestead, the medicinal plant gardens at Green Valley Farm + Mill outside Sebastopol. She also grows some of her own and forages on friends’ properties. She’s been known to pocket handfuls of star jasmine she comes across while out on walks and has even traveled to the High Sierra to harvest arnica at the source.
Ilonzeh grew up in a large immigrant family, the second oldest of five daughters. Her father, who loves plants and gardening, came to the U.S. from Nigeria for college in Virginia.
“He had seen the university pamphlet, but the photos were taken in the summer, and he didn’t speak much English to ask questions,” recalls Ilonzeh. “When winter hit, he’d never seen snow before, and he didn’t even own a jacket.”
He met Ilonzeh’s mother, who has family roots in Great Britain and Poland, in Virginia, and the couple later moved to Texas, where there was a large Nigerian expat community.
The warmer Texas climate allowed Ilonzeh’s father to begin gardening again. He planted vegetables and flowers with seeds he’d brought from Nigeria, allowing friends in their Nigerian American community access to ingredients they couldn’t find in local markets, like peppers and greens. Ilonzeh spent many hours in the kitchen on Sundays with her mother as she prepped meals for the family of seven.
In her 20s, Ilonzeh moved to Maui, where she was captivated by the island’s remarkable flora. “The beauty and aromas of the flowers were something I could never imagine,” she says.
She bought a manual to identify the native plants and hiked everywhere, along the way learning to name-drop Latin plant names and becoming an expert at making flower potions for friends. After time in New York and southern California, she arrived in Sonoma with her partner, who was so supportive of her path that he created a spreadsheet of all the places on the West Coast with top holistic schools to help them choose where to settle.
In the couple’s Santa Rosa kitchen, she concocts teas and tisanes with ingredients that change with the season, driven by Sonoma’s natural abundance and a strong local community of fellow plant lovers. “There’s always someone growing something and has extra they’re happy to share,” she says.
In summer, recipes might include dried hibiscus and locally grown lavender, while in winter, she spikes dishes with plenty of ginger, cayenne, thyme, oregano and other strong flavors. At the holidays, she salutes the season with homemade cordials to give to friends, working with ingredients like elderberries, rosemary and kola nuts in a base of alcohol.
As she develops her recipes, Ilonzeh finds meaning in talking with clients and friends to figure out their needs.
“Who am I blending it for? There’s always something that people need, whether it’s sleep concerns or digestion issues or nervous system support. I can just sit and listen and assess how they look or how they’re moving their body. And then we can figure it out together.”
Jennifer Ilonzeh’s line of teas and herbal products, Plant Magic by Ndidi, is available through her website, at Made Local Marketplace in Santa Rosa, and at the store at Green Valley Farm + Mill in Sebastopol. plantmagicbyndidi.com
Ilonzeh sips an ounce of this tonic daily to ward off colds. She notes the recipe is highly adaptable to different types of citrus, peppers and herbs. A good amount of honey is a must. Ilonzeh uses honey from her herbal school classmate, Candice Koseba of Sonoma County Bee Company.
• 1 orange, roughly chopped
• 2 lemons, roughly chopped
• 1 small (1-inch) piece horseradish, grated
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, whole
• 2 serrano chiles, sliced into rounds (seeds optional)
• 1 medium (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated
• 1 handful fresh rosemary (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 handful fresh thyme (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 handful dried elderberries (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 handful fresh rose hips, or fresh or dried hibiscus, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• Raw apple cider vinegar
• Raw honey to taste (about 1/4 cup)
Combine all ingredients except vinegar and honey in a half-gallon canning jar. Pour in enough apple cider vinegar to fill the jar to within a half-inch of the top. Insert a small square of parchment paper between the jar and the metal lid so the lid doesn’t react with the ingredients, and gently tighten the lid.
Place in a dark, cool spot for four to six weeks, gently shaking once a week. When the mixture smells rich and pungent, strain out the contents and discard. Warm the honey in a water bath for a few minutes until it is thin and stirs easily. Add the warmed honey to the mixture to taste, and stir to combine. Fire cider will keep, refrigerated, for up to three months.
Sign up now for all things Sonoma County
Français 
English