Here in Bali, there are all kinds of plants and herbs, of which you can blend a heavenly and excellent Bali tea, such as Made Tea. We at Instant Karma are huge fans of this high-quality tea because it tastes great, and you can immediately feel that Made’s teas are naturally produced and 100% handmade.
Ni Made Roni, the founder of Made Tea, enjoys seeing her herbs flourish under the Bali sun every day. She guarantees that all her blends are 100% natural, without additives or preservatives. Producing the best quality of Bali tea.
The plants and medicinal herbs for her tea are carefully cultivated and harvested from the rich and fertile soil of Ubud, with a lot of ‘joie de vivre’ and love.
“Only natural fertilizers and organic pesticides are used to ensure the best quality and purity of our teas.”
They have 3 cows living peacefully next to the garden. Made Roni explained to us:
“We use the cow’s manure as a fertilizer in our garden. I like it to be simple, therefore we use everything that we already have here at my garden. The food waste we produce, is also used as a source of nutrition for the plants. Even though I’m not 100 percent certain about the quality of the soil, because it used to be a rice paddy, this year we will apply for the organic certificate. We really give our best to keep it as pure as possible.”
She’s a bright woman. You can feel that she has a lot of power and willingness. That’s how she can run her own business here in Bali.
“I am a Farmer, I don’t come from a wealthy family, but we are rich inside.As a farmer we know, we will always have food because we grow it all the time in our land.”
Made Roni grew up with her brother, sister and her father. Her mother passed away very early. Her father is a rice farmer, and that’s where she grew up in Ubud, Bali. But Made Roni didn’t want to wait until she was married for her to move out of the family’s house.
No, she decided to move out because privacy is of utmost importance to her.
“Tradition or not, I needed my own 4 walls; otherwise, I would just bash my brother’s head in (laughs)”.
How did your family react to this decision?
“When one day, I told my Balinese family that I intended to move out and I bought my own house. My dad asked me: ‘Are you crazy?’ You’re not supposed to.’ Then I asked him: But why not?
Anyway, I did it, but am still around.
It was a good decision for me, for my life, and for my family. It’s really uncommon in our culture that the girls move out before they get married. My family didn’t know it better, because that was the culture. So, our culture is holding us back. But I did it, I made organic Bali tea, and everybody in my family could see, there was nothing bad about it. I love my culture. I do love it, love my family, but I love my privacy too.”
“Having a good relationship with the family, this is actually number one. You should put your family first, because it’s rare to have a good relationship within the family. We are pretty close to each other within the family. Even my brother is working for me. All my family is working with me. I’m happy to see that we bond as such a good team.
I was studying and working in Ireland for the past 10 years. Then I decided to move back, because I wanted to spend more time with my dad. I felt guilty in a way, and then I would miss his life stories. So, that’s why I moved back and joined his venture as a farmer. Even though it was hard for me to get out from my comfort zone, that was the best decision I made for my life and my family.”
Tea inspiration began when Made Roni went to a travel within Europe and USA. While she was living in Ireland, she discovered the vast world of teas from around the globe. She thought:
‘We have all those herbs back home, and most of them were abandoned. I want to make Bali Tea’
In July 2015 she went to Mumbai, India, to learn how to make chai tea. It was then, when she decided to make tea her life and Made Teas was established in 2015.
“In the beginning, it wasn’t easy to convince my family that we should grow herbs for tea infusion ingredient. Like most brilliant ideas, it takes time for others to see how well it will work out.”
Made Tea gets a lot of support from family and friends in Bali that have faith in her, and she supports a lot of people. Especially women.
“We employ ladies for our production and packaging. We also provide flexible hours, full or part time on their schedules in order to not take away their role in the community and their family which is valuable to them.”
Such success stories of unique people who break rules to get ahead and add value to their lives and their living environment, so that they can find their balance, that is what motivates us at Instant Karma. 
Because in the end it’s only you, yeah you!
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