Teatulia – 100% Organic Single Garden Teas

As we dive into the New Year many of you may have made a resolution to increase your inner awareness through meditation.   Perhaps you aim to lay off the coffee and drink more tea in 2012.  So, why not accomplish both by fusing the two together to make the perfect friendship? After all, a component in tea, L-Theanine, promotes a relaxed alertness, which is essential to a fruitful meditation session.

Buddhist Monks are known to drink a cup of tea during long meditations to stay focused yet calm, because L-Theanine simultaneously eases the mind and boosts concentration.  Meditation is about living in the present moment.  By preparing a cup of tea thoughtfully, you can truly meditate in this act alone.  Sipping tea and embracing the moment is one of the best ways to reconnect with your mind, body, and soul.   Through meditation, you can also connect with your energy centers, also known as the Seven Chakras.

Deepak Chopra, an internationally celebrated expert on mind-body wellness, has teamed up with Teatulia Organic Teas to bring Leela, the journey of mind and body, to your home through Kinect for Xbox 360 and Wii.  Deepak Chopra’s “Leela Meditative Experience” aims to help people embark on a path of greater well being by connecting to their own Seven Chakras.

Each Chakra relates to a different part of our body and mind: The Root Chakra, Sacral Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, and Crown Chakra.  With the help of Leela, you can learn how to engage each Chakra through various moments that stimulate mind and body.  To experience the Leela journey yourself, grab a cup of Teatulia tea and visit http://www.deepakchopraleela.com/.

To Health. To Life. To Tea.  Learn more at www.teatulia.com

Dr. Kazi Anis Ahmed, the President and Co-Founder of Teatulia, always wanted to give back to his community in Bangladesh. In 2000, Dr. Ahmed and his family gave life to the Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate – which is where all of Teatulia’s organic teas and herbs are grown. As a part of the tea garden, the Ahmed’s started education, health, and cattle-lending programs for the workers of the garden and their neighbors. One of these programs is the Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate Ltd (KKTE) Cattle Cooperative.

Through this cooperative, workers of the Teatulia tea garden receive a milking cow that they pay for over time with milk and cow dung rather than money. The cow dung is used as fertilizer for the tea garden, and any surplus milk may be kept by the members for their own use or it may be sold at the local market. By using this system, many members of the cooperative pay off their cow within two to three years.

With the assistance of the co-op, the members are afforded benefits that they otherwise would not have had. Twice a week, the women at the garden are offered – while being paid – to learn to read, count and write their names. During a visit to the garden, Teatulia’s Don Peck had a chance to see the program in action. “Each with a small chalkboard to practice on, they went up in front of the class, to show us how they had learned to write their names. Literacy programs took on a new meaning for me as we listened to their pride. What struck me the most was the down to earth reasons they gave for learning. ‘So that they couldn’t be cheated out of money’, ‘So they could sign their name instead of giving a thumb print’. I’m awed by their courage and in the difference this garden has made in the lives of the community. “

One Bangladeshi mother, Laili Begum, dreamt of a better life for her children, and she knew that a world of opportunities would unfold for them if they were educated. Unfortunately, like many Bangladeshi families, Laili and her husband did not have the funds to send their children to school. However, after joining and working with the KKTE cooperative, she eventually achieved her dream. She is now able to see her children off to school every morning. As of today, Laili and her family have received several cows that she has been able to pay for through the simple bartering system provided by the co-op.

Every Teatulia Tea drinker, whether they know it or not, is contributing to this great cooperative and helping more dreams come true everyday.

Did you know there are over hundreds of different varieties of mint in the world?

Peppermint is probably the most known of the mint varieties. It is a hybrid mint – a cross between spearmint and watermint. The plant is indigenous to Europe, but is now widely cultivated throughout the world.

Most of the peppermint that we consume in the United States is grown in the northwest states – primarily Washington. Peppermint grows really well there because it is so moist and cool. However, as with all crops, properties and flavor profiles are dependent on where it is grown. So peppermint from Washington tastes different from peppermint grown in China and peppermint grown in Bangladesh (where our peppermint comes from). Our Bangladeshi peppermint has an unusually rich, buttery taste to it rather than the typical spicy, sharp, cooling flavor.

Peppermint “tea” is usually just dried peppermint leaves – no actual tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves included, and therefore caffeine-free. Most tea companies call this out by using terms such as “herbal” or “tisane.” But some companies don’t specify this! In order to be sure of what you’re drinking, always read the ingredients. If there are tea leaves included, the label will include the word tea.

There are many commonly known health benefits of peppermint. It is a popular home remedy for indigestion, nausea, and combating body aches. Its high levels of natural menthol can help reduce stress and relieve headaches. The aroma of peppermint has even been found to enhance memory. And as we all know, peppermint promotes clean and fresh breath!

So treat yourself to a hot cup of peppermint herbal infusion this winter. Oh and just a tip… it pairs very well with chocolate! For a unique peppermint experience for you or for a gift, try Teatulia’s Peppermint Herbal Infusion.

Learn more about peppermint and other herbs and teas at www.teatulia.com

According to the Colorado State Forest Service, there has been an outbreak of Rocky Mountain Pine Beetles since 1996, resulting in the loss of millions of trees in the Colorado forests. The beetles tunnel into live pines such as lodgepole, ponderosa, Scotch and limber pines and lay eggs. The larvae live off the tree from fall until summer when they form into new adults and exit the tree. During this process the beetle also transmits a fungus that contaminates and ultimately kills the tree. This process leaves behind a blue-green coloration in the wood.

Recent studies show that the infestation is only spreading and many more trees will continue to be affected. Coloradans are saddened by the destruction the pine beetles have created. The degradation of our forests not only has a monumental effect on nature but also the timber industry.

Using the beetle-kill wood instead of live pine whenever possible is important for the environment as well as in supporting local business, and a great option for creating gorgeous and incredibly unique pieces, both functional or for decoration and art. I have seen this beautiful wood used in kitchens, bathrooms, offices, and more.

In keeping with our strong commitment to sustainability, we at Teatulia are now offering retailers and food service partners display racks and tea chests made from the wood of pine trees killed by the Rocky Mountain Pine Beetle. We are making use of this beautiful pine wood, streaked with blues, greens and grays, to create attractive displays while helping to clear forests of millions of dead trees to help encourage new growth.

Keep your eye out for beetle-kill pine in use around Colorado!

To learn more, please visit www.teatulia.com.

When purchasing tea, you may have been confronted with the question of buying tea bags or loose leaf. Well, there are perks to both.

Tea bags are great, in that they are convenient – excellent for on-the-go and traveling. Unfortunately, there can be many downsides to drinking bagged tea:

-                           First off, tea bags usually contain chopped up tea leaves – almost powder – for a stronger steep, more quickly. Since no one in their right mind would do this with a high quality tea, you wont get the quality you want in these tea bags.

-                          Another downside is that most of this chopped-up tea sits around in warehouses, waiting to be packaged up so that by the time it finally gets to you, it’s lost most of its flavor and nutritional value. You rarely get fresh tea with tea bags. Think about the difference between freshly ground coffee and ground coffee that’s been sitting around… BIG difference, right?

-                           And most tea bags are made of a flat, bleached paper material. Therefore, even if the tea inside is organic, you are still getting chemicals in your cup. Also, the envelope tends to inhibit the leaves inside from completely expanding and release their full flavor while the paper itself can trap additional oils and flavor.

So, you may choose a loose leaf tea if you’re looking for the freshness, flavor, and quality typically lacking with tea bags. The potential downsides to loose tea, may be less convenience (since you need special tools in order to brew up a cup) and more thought when making a cup of tea (knowing how much tea to use, steeping times/proportions, etc.).

It’s a good thing that Teatulia, a local Denver company, happens to provide the best of both worlds. They keep the organic tea in its whole leaf form, and enclose it in beautiful, biodegradable, spacious, corn-silk tea pyramids. You get the convenience of a tea bag, without sacrificing any of the quality of a loose leaf. And, if you want loose tea, they’ve got that too!

Cheers to that!

To learn more, please visit www.teatulia.com.

In order to ensure that your favorite tea stays fresh as long as possible, it needs to be stored properly. Generally speaking, tea has five enemies: light, air, heat, moisture, and odor, each of which will cause the tea to gradually lose its flavor. The best way to keep your tea fresh is in an airtight container stored in a cool, dry, and dark place.

However, shelf life varies slightly depending on the type of tea. The more delicate teas – green and white tea – require more careful attention to storage and have a typical shelf life of about a year, if stored properly.  The more oxidized teas – oolong and black tea – can be stored upwards of a couple of years and are less sensitive to environmental factors.  Pu-erh is the outlier.  Pu-erh is a fermented tea  typically sold in compressed “cakes.”  It continually uses air in its aging process and is, therefore, simply wrapped in paper and stored in a cool and dry place. For this tea, the older the better.

We are often asked about storing tea in the refrigerator or freezer.  While this may be a perfect place to keep tea cool, the risk of odor and moisture absorption is not worth it.

And location matters – you always want to be careful what you store next to your tea.  Since tea is highly absorbent, you want to make sure to keep it away from anything with a strong odor, such as coffee or spices.  Treat your tea to its own cabinet…

Of course, the best way to ensure freshness and peak flavor is to drink your tea within a few months of purchase!  Tea doesn’t really go bad, but the longer it sits in your cupboard, the more its brightness and flavor will diminish and the risk of taint will increase.

Raise a cup to fresh tea!

To learn more, please visit www.teatulia.com

Iced tea is a very popular beverage in America. Recent data suggests that 85% of all tea sold is iced! Iced tea is a great alternative to soft drinks or anything else with unnatural juices or flavor additives.  And apparently, iced tea is growing in popularity in the rest of the world as well – even in China and Japan where drinking hot tea is such an important tradition. Nonetheless, the United States remains the iced tea capitol.

But Americans continue to be stumped by how to make their own iced tea. It is super easy. Here are a few options for brewing up some tasty tea as a refreshing beverage or mixed drink base, summer style!

1.    Brew your hot tea as usual and pour over ice.
If this dilutes your tea too much, then chill the hot tea first (in the fridge, or just let it sit) before pouring over ice.

2.    Make a concentrate and dilute.
Brew your tea using a higher ratio of tea to water than usual. Dilute the concentrate as you are ready to enjoy it. Concentrate can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready for use.

3.    Cold brew.  Put your standard tea bags into a container of cold water, put in the fridge over night.  Enjoy.
Since no heat is applied to the tea, no (or fewer) tannins are extracted from the leaves resulting in an unbelievably smooth and refreshing beverage.

4.    Sun tea. Not recommended. See below.
http://frugalliving.about.com/b/2007/06/29/is-sun-tea-dangerous.htm

Ratios:
- 1 Teatulia pyramid tea bag per 12 ounces of water.
- 10 Teatulia pyramid tea bags per gallon of water.

Cheers!

BANGLADESH: WHERE IN THE WORLD?
Linda Appel Lipsius
Co-Founder & CEO
Teatulia 100% Organic Single Garden Teas

All Teatulia Teas come from our tea garden in Bangladesh.

When I tell people that our teas come from Bangladesh, 8 out of 10 times, they inevitably follow up by asking me where in India our tea garden is.

Bangladesh is a country.

India is a country.

Since 1971, Bangladesh and India are not the same country.

Here are some facts about Bangladesh:
-    Capital:  Dhaka
-    Language:  Bangla, a derivative of Sanskrit
-    Currency:  Taka (appx 70 Taka to the US Dollar)
-    Population:  Approximately 160 million (7th most populous country in the world)
-    Equivalent Land Mass US:  Iowa
-    Bordered by:  India to the West, North and North East / Burma to the South East

I’ve just spent two weeks visiting our tea garden in the Tetulia region in the North of Bangladesh.  It was an amazing trip.  Bangladesh is an incredible country.

The last time I visited Bangladesh was in 2002 for my friend and business partner’s wedding. It was a week-long affair filled with turmeric, ceremony, saris, food and tradition. I was spellbound.

Dhaka is the most congested metropolis I’ve ever seen. It can literally take a half hour to drive 1 mile during a jam (a traffic jam).   The streets are packed with vehicles of all types – cars, busses, tuk-tuks and the famous, beautifully decorated rickshaws (see photo) in addition to loads of pedestrians. Streetlights and lanes are ignored.

Outside of the city, traffic is a different matter altogether. Terrifying. Two lane roads packed with the same assortment of vehicles barreling down the road at 60-70 MPH relying on a sophisticated language of lights and beeping horns to navigate a finely choreographed dance of swerves, ducks and prayers.

What I was most struck by on this visit was the focus on education. We spent much of our time in rural villages and on school days the roads were lined with children in school uniforms carrying books to class. Girls are guaranteed a free education up to grade 3 and we visited a girls’ school that went up to grade 10.  Even in the villages, we met proud parents whose children were in university.

Bangladesh is most definitely a developing country, but it is a country on the move. It is thriving. The people are all working to better their lot and get ahead in life.  It is a country worth taking a look at with a fascinating history at the crossroads of many ancient and modern civilizations. And the tea…

To learn more about Bangladesh, go to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html and to follow our blog about our visit go to the Teatulia website at www.teatulia.com

The World of Green:  Musings on Green Tea

By Linda Appel Lipsius

Co-Founder & CEO

Teatulia 100% Organic Single Garden Teas

Now, we all know that there are different types of tea out there: black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong, yellow tea (yes, there’s such a thing!), etc. Today, however, I will dive a little deeper and outline the differences among green teas; specifically, the difference between Teatulia Green Tea grown in Bangladesh and the more familiar green teas of China and Japan.

The most significant difference between tea grown in these two areas is, simply enough, the fact that the tea comes from the two different sub-species of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Camellia sinensis sinensis is the sub-species that grows in and around southeast Asia, and Camellia sinensis assamica is the sub-species that grows in and around the Indian subcontinent. Consequently, the tea from each sub-species has a slightly different flavor profile than the other.

The second major difference is climate. Elevation, humidity, latitude, longitude, heat, etc., can all affect the tea plant drastically – even changing a tea’s flavor profile from year to year.  Bangladesh’s hot and humid climate allows for Teatulia’s teas to be harvested year round, instead of only a few weeks during the year in the further East.

A third difference between Teatulia’s green tea and a Chinese or Japanese green tea is the age at which the leaves are plucked. Typically for an Eastern Asian tea, the leaves used are the leaf buds and very young leaves. For Teatulia Green, leaves are used at all stages in their life on the plants. This is slightly unusual and results in a totally unique tea.

The last significant difference between the green teas is the processing the leaves undergo after they’ve been picked. In Eastern Asia, green tea is usually steamed as a way to stop the leaves from further oxidation, and keeps the leaves green instead of turning brown. As it turns out, Teatulia’s green tea is also steamed, but this is not typical for a green tea outside of China and Japan. Teatulia Green is steamed for a shorter amount of time, and then undergoes a more dry heat application, giving the tea a more roasty, deep, earthy taste.

For more information about green tea, other tea, and Teatulia tea in particular, please visit us at www.teatulia.com.

Winter brings a whole new look to the garden, especially one as young as ours.  Endless stretches of tea plants need to be pruned.  Pruning is vital to ensure continuous phase of vegetative growth of a tea plant. It helps to maintain an ideal frame height for economic plucking, renew the wood, divert stored energy to growing shoots, structure bush architecture, regulate the crops and improve bush hygiene.

The task requires huge manual labor, and thus gives us a chance to put hundreds of our  pluckers back in the field.  It gives them a steady income even during the dry spell.  In just three months, this year, they will prune 50% of the garden.

In winter, there is hardly any rain, and the mountains are almost never visible.  The planted sections look austere due to pruning.  Yet, cloaked in fog and mist, the garden also acquires a real aura of mystery that makes it one of my favorite times to visit!