The Story Behind Our Aleppo Soap
How ancient tradition, conscious values and a magical moment brought Mahurangi Olives Aleppo Soap to Tea & Tonic
As one of the founders of Tea & Tonic, my vision was to create a space grounded in integrity, transparency and deep care - where every product on the shelf truly deserved to be there.
I wanted to build a curated collection rather than a crowded one, stocking only a carefully selected range aligned with our values: New Zealand-made, sustainably created and led by women. I wanted to ensure our community could shop with trust and ease, knowing there was nothing harmful or synthetic hidden behind confusing labels.
Alongside this intention, I held another dream close: to create in-house seasonal collections in tea, skincare and clothing that sit alongside other aligned brands, working together to grow conscious choices and inspire meaningful change.
⸻
The Search for a Truly Exceptional Soap
Part of that journey meant finding a body soap that lived up to everything Tea & Tonic stands for - pure, effective, honest, and in harmony with nature. If I was going to sell soap, I wanted it to be the best we could possibly offer.
That search led me deep into the history of soap-making. Long before commercial soap factories existed, people cleansed with simple mixtures of animal fat or vegetable oil and wood ash. As I dug further, I discovered Aleppo soap - a traditional hard bar made in Aleppo, Syria, from olive oil and laurel berry oil. While its origins stretch back centuries, its exact age is uncertain; yet it remains one of the most enduring soap traditions in the world.
Traditional Aleppo soap contains:
• 80% olive oil - deeply moisturising and antioxidant-rich
• 20% laurel berry oil - traditionally used to support skin prone to eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis and acne
The soap is hand-cooked, hand-poured and then cured for at least a year. Although a small amount of lye is used to initiate saponification, during curing it is completely transformed, leaving only pure, nourishing oils behind. The result is one of the gentlest and most supportive cleansing bars on earth.
At that point in my research, I realised that no one in New Zealand was making authentic Aleppo soap by hand, and sourcing it from overseas meant compromising on sustainability and values. I had resigned myself to the idea that the only option would be ordering from Europe.
The Unexpected Arrival
And then something magical happened.
The very next day, I walked into the store and my friend Isabella from Mahurangi Olives arrived with a box in her arms. She opened it - and there it was. A bar of Aleppo soap.
I instantly recognised what it was and I could not believe it. I said, “Oh my goodness, I know exactly what this is.”
Isabella explained that she had been quietly working on it for over a year, using olive oil pressed from her family’s olive groves - hand-blending and hand-pouring each batch, and curing every bar traditionally.
In that moment, everything aligned: our values, our timing, our vision. I felt as though the universe had placed exactly what I had been seeking right in front of me. It’s funny how life is like that sometimes. :)
From that day forward, Mahurangi Olives Aleppo Soap has been the main body soap at Tea & Tonic.
Why We Love It
This beautiful bar has become a staple for so many reasons. It is:
• Gentle enough for newborns and sensitive skin
• Perfect for everyday cleansing and bathing
• Wonderful for facial cleansing and removing makeup - even heavy shoot makeup
• A beautiful shaving bar
• Supportive for skin that experiences eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis and acne
One woman, who manages the maternity ward at Sydney Hospital, once purchased a bar, cut it into cubes and used it to wash newborn babies. When she returned to Matakana on another trip she bought twenty more because it was so gentle on their delicate skin — a story that still touches my heart.
⸻
What’s Next
We have just had a delivery of cured soaps to stock us up for Christmas and summer. If you have not yet tried it make sure you do :)
Next week, I’ll be sharing a conversation with Isabella about her process, her philosophy, and how this special soap came to be.
Stay tuned for the full Q&A - I can’t wait for you to meet the woman behind the magic ✨
Shop Aleppo Soap from Mahurangi Olives now.