About Nurture by Nature in Manahawkin, NJ

From Educator to Herbalist: Medicinal Tea Blends Crafted in Manahawkin

Nurture by Nature is a single-owner herbal tea business in Manahawkin, creating custom medicinal tea blends for specific health challenges throughout Ocean County. Founder Colleen Nolan personally formulates every blend using 100% pure plant material, drawing on years of study in aromatherapy and herbalism to address concerns like digestion, sleep, migraines, mental focus, and recovery support.

After 22 years as a high school social studies teacher—where she taught psychology and history—and time as president of her union negotiating contracts across 12 school districts, Colleen faced a turning point. A serious car accident 2.5 years ago left her with brain injuries and complex PTSD, ending her ability to work at that demanding level. Rather than accept disability alone, she transformed her lifelong passion for herbal wellness into a business that serves people facing real health challenges.



What began as creating medicinal teas for friends and family recovering from heart surgery, managing gout, or struggling with sleep has grown into a mission-driven operation. Colleen makes fresh batches weekly, customizes blends for individual allergies and kidney restrictions, and donates regularly to local cancer organizations and schools. She offers free nausea-support tea to customers in active treatment, bringing the same care and listening she once offered in the classroom to every customer conversation.

Discover how personalized herbal blends can support your wellness goals.

Education Meets Herbalism: Understanding What You're Drinking

Colleen's teaching background drives everything about Nurture by Nature. She believes you should understand why you steep for 15 minutes, why water temperature matters, and what adaptogenic, nervine, and sedative herbs actually do in your body. Each blend comes with clear preparation instructions and explanations of the plant material inside—not marketing language, but functional knowledge about how these herbs work together.

Operating throughout Ocean County and the surrounding shore communities, Colleen appears at farmers markets where customers can ask questions, sample blends, and discuss specific health concerns. She delivers locally across the area, ensuring fresh tea reaches people who need support during chemotherapy, post-surgical recovery, or chronic conditions that haven't responded well to conventional options alone.



Her personal experience with brain injury and PTSD informs her approach to formulation—she understands firsthand how the right herbal support can make daily functioning more manageable. That empathy, combined with her expertise in plant medicine, allows her to create blends that address the physical and emotional dimensions of healing. You're not ordering from a catalog; you're working with someone who listens carefully and adjusts formulations based on your feedback.

Working Directly With Colleen: What to Expect

When you contact Nurture by Nature, you work directly with Colleen—there's no team, no layers of communication. She sources only 100% pure plant material and makes every blend herself in small batches to ensure freshness. If you have allergies, kidney restrictions, or concerns about herb interactions, she'll adjust the formulation. If you're in active cancer treatment and struggling with nausea, she'll send you support tea at no charge. If you need a blend for a specific health challenge she hasn't formulated before, she'll research it and create something tailored to your needs.

• Single-owner operation—Colleen personally formulates every blend and answers every question
• 22 years of teaching experience in psychology and history, plus deep study in aromatherapy and herbalism
• Serving Manahawkin, Ocean County, and shore communities through farmers markets and local delivery
• Fresh batches made weekly using 100% pure plant material with no fillers or additives
• Custom blends available for allergies, kidney restrictions, and specific health challenges