The History of Rose Rooted
The Apothecary
In 2018, I completed my Culinary Nutrition program, after recognizing a pattern in family, friends and myself. This pattern was a lack of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, presenting as depression and/or anxiety.
With the knowledge and experience from the program, I began crafting elixirs, creating meal plans, hosting workshops and working with clients to support their mental health and ease symptoms of mental ‘illness’. I realized that a change in diet was not enough. I began looking further for a “cure” for this epidemic. What I found was not a cure, but instead just the tip of the iceberg. I concluded that it wasn’t just diet affecting our well-being, it was something greater. It was our modern world.
I traveled to Thailand, where I lived for months on a secluded island with two locals, Lek and Am. Am spoke no english, and wandered through the jungle with Lek and I collected plant parts before placing them in a jar with other plant parts and alchol and shaking it up, before taking a shot of the concotion. Lek told me it would make them “live forever,” but could not translate any of the information Am knew about the plants. This was my introduction to herbalism. I returned stateside and enrolled in The Herbal Academy.
I quickly recognized that there was a huge overlap between herbs that support mental health and those that have an affinity for the heart. This mirrored my personal realization that we are seeing this mental health epidemic because we live in a world that focuses on the intelligence of the mind and ignores the intuition and feelings of the heart.
Many of us are unable to truly express ourselves, or even understand what we truly desire and need, and therefore are not living our lives. We are just going through the motions, just getting by. I also recognized a correlation with misuse and abuse of alcohol and drugs and mental health conditions. Our culture relies heavily on these substances to release inhibitions and for social interaction but they do more harm than good. I knew that I needed to not only offer products that helped support mental health and heart-centered living, but to make products that can easily be incorporated into everyday routines… something that would become a ritual for both solo moments and social moments… for enjoying experiences without the adverse effects on our health and well-being, in the way that alcohol and drugs do.
In in 2020, I began formulating herbal products that were delicious and would support our mood, open our hearts and release tension. They allowed those who received them to genuinely show up in the world and truly live their lives! I wanted to ensure anyone new to or hesitant of herbal products would enjoy receiving these plant remedies. No acrid herbal powders, scientific speak or tinctures that made you tense up. I created my first elixir powder mix, Happy Mind Cacao. It emulated hot chocolate. Rather than being filled with inflammation inducing ingredients, it was supportive of mental health through immune modulating and nervous system supporting ingredients like raw cacao, ashwagandha, lion’s mane and cordyceps.
With the Apothecary as the roots, the Elixir Bar blossomed.
The Elixir Bar
In 2021, at a small festival outside of Seattle, I planned to vend my apothecary, but was also given the opportunity to create a menu and serve herbal refreshments.
I had been crafting elixirs since 2018, sharing recipes for them and offered my powdered elixir mixes and elixir kits to make at home, but this was the first time I served refreshments from a bar. I enjoyed the creative process, vision, intention and event so much and received incredible feedback so I decided to birth this into an offering that would last beyond that one event. With leftover ingredients, I put together a single drink to offer alongside my herbal products with a local band a few times throughout the summer.
Keeping up with this momentum, in August of 2022 I was approached to offer the Elixir Bar & Apothecary at a women’s retreat. It was clear there was a desire and demand for my offering. I was confident in moving forward to make this passion project an extension of my Apothecary.
Rose Rooted Today
Today, our elixir bar is offered as a mobile bar around the country for retreats, music events, festivals, weddings, private gatherings and so much more, In July 2025, Liz joined the Rose Rooted team to open Rose Rooted PDX Elixir Bar & Lounge, Portland’s first non-alcoholic elixir bar. We serve our handcrafted elixirs and host community oriented experiences including monthly herbal medicine swaps, sip & sketch and music jam.
You can shop our elixir concentrates and other herbal products in our online apothecary or select retail locations.
Our mobile bar can be booked for retreats, festivals, gatherings, and other events around the country.
If you are interested in stocking our elixir concentrates in your store, bar, venue or restaurant check out our wholesale program.
For individuals that feel our offerings are the support that they may need, but do not have the financial exchange asked for at this time, please contact Aela directly at roserooted.elixirs@gmail.com. We offer many different ways to receive our offerings whether it be a sliding scale price, trading for goods, or work exchange.
Meet Aela
Aela (MK/Michaela) believes in the power of intentional living, earth-based practices, community and connection. She is the founder and owner of Rose Rooted and co-founder of Rose Rooted PDX. She wears many hats as an herbalist, herbal mixologist and elixir connoisseur, holistic event facilitator, yoga instructor, culinary nutritionist, poet and writer. She spends her free time hiking, dancing, camping, listening to live music, writing poetry, cooking, foraging and creating (any and everything), and spending quality time with loved ones. Her favorite place on Earth is the old growth forests overlooking the Oregon Coast. They have been one of her greatest teachers.
Aela formulates and produces Rose Rooted’s elixirs and herbal products, curates their mobile elixir bar and lounge for events around the country and offers workshops that help others support mental health, heart-centered living and intentional experiences. She has contributed her wisdom of plants as a two times published ghost writer, and shares anecdotal inspiration as published poet.
Aela has studied holistic wellness through various avenues and programs including culinary nutrition through The Academy of Culinary Nutrition (Toronto), yoga at La Casa Shambala (200hr YTT) and herbalism through The Herbal Academy and remains a student of The School of Evolutionary Herbalism.
She is a forever student of the Earth and values experiential learning through direct relationship with our plant kin.
I am a writer. I am a dancer. A mover of all kinds. I catch planes to far away places. And visit others in my mind . I enjoy my time in silence. Sometimes I love to make noise. Other times you’ll have to listen closely . In order to hear my voice. I am a thinker. I am a creator. I bring things to life that I make with my hands. Gathering inspiration from the sea, the sky and land. I am masculine. I am feminine. Both of these energies run through my veins. Dancing barefoot in the sun, under the stars and in the rain. I am a nurturer. I am a healer, But I know I’ve hurt others too. I’m learning to forgive myself for things that I do . I hold my loved ones close. And create space for them to bloom. Sometimes my days are sunny. Others are different shades of blue . I’m still learning. I’m still growing. Each day brings something new. If there’s an obstacle in my way. I have rituals that get me through. I was born with strength inside me that some may try to deny. But I’ve built my wings to be resilient. So after I fall, I can fly.
Autobiography – © 2020 Michaela Kascak
