Tea store Kaputī sets up shop in historic Whanganui building

Kaputī owner Whitney Nicholls-Potts has moved her tea shop into the former Whanganui Chronicle building. Photo / Bevan Conley

A former Whanganui market stall holder is back in town and has set up shop in a historic building.

Whitney Nicholls-Potts is the founder of Kaputī, a small business selling locally blended teas and infusions with a focus on te reo Māori, and which is now based in the former Whanganui Chronicle building on Drews Ave.

"Once you get a cup of tea in front of someone, the kōrero just flows and people start sharing stories," Nicholls-Potts said.

Tea was a "beautiful vessel for connection".

"I'm a real people person but I also need to be connected to myself, and tea supports both of those things."

Nicholls-Potts moved from Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland in March in time for her son to start kura/school.

"It's always been the plan to come back."

Around 2013, she moved to Whanganui for eight months and set up a chai stall next to her uncle's pizza stall at the river markets.

She relocated to Auckland to move closer to her Pāpa, reconnect with her Māoritanga and study te reo Māori, Nicholls-Potts said.

While in Auckland in 2019, she set up a chai stall at the Grey Lynn Farmers' Market with a friend.

The shop sells locally blended teas and infusions with a focus on te reo. Photo / Bevan Conley

This later expanded into Kaputī.

She has now set up shop in the former Whanganui Chronicle building on Drews Ave and sells eight teas, with more coming before Christmas.

A former journalism student and current freelance writer, Nicholls-Potts said she said also planned to incorporate writing into the business.

"I'm really big on storytelling and pūrākau, which is why I sell books, too. I want to honour those stories and bring them out.

"So, I also see tea as being the vessel to hold space for whatever can happen in that realm."

All of her packaging incorporated te reo Māori and English, she said.

"Everything in my life revolves around te reo at the moment. I want my two boys to grow up with te reo."

Nicholls-Potts said she harvested the native plants in her blends, such as kawakawa, mānuka and kūmarahou, and the other plants were organically sourced across New Zealand.

"I've gone out harvesting with my dad my whole life but, finally, when I started making tea, [I was] connecting with how awesome that is and learning more about our Rākau.

"I'm still learning, and there's so much to learn."

She said a goal was to grow as many of the herbs as she could for her teas, such as peppermint and ginger.

"I'd also love to grow the tea plant myself, but that's a lofty goal. They're very ancient plants and that's why their quality is so amazing."

Nicholls-Potts said in Auckland she did tea services and blending workshops, something she was keen to bring to Whanganui.

"I want to mihi to the community of Whanganui, me ngā iwi o Whanganui, for embracing this kaupapa.

"One of the strongest things about Whanganui is its manaakitanga [hospitality]. It just wraps around you and you can feel it when you walk down the street. People want you to thrive."