Two Leaves and a Bud Blog

Shaken, not squeezed

Squeezing tea sachets is a dream come true for kitchen gadget lovers. We're posting some photos of squeezers we found online.

Squeezing tea sachets is a dream come true for kitchen gadget lovers. We're posting some photos of squeezers we found online.

The tea sachet squeezing debate rages on here at two leaves and a bud. Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement. When I bring it up, people tend to shrug.

Did you read last week's post on this topic? Maybe it confused you why we'd ask a question about tea we don't have an answer to ourselves. We actually pride ourselves on not having all the answers, because we love to learn about tea. (And nobody likes a know-it-all, right?)

But you have to admit, some of these things are quite subjective.

The responses we got on our Facebook page to the "To Squeeze or Not To Squeeze" question were pretty great.

squeezer2Mare Anderson says our teas are tasty enough that she doesn't have to squeeze, "but most of the time I prefer to give that little satchel of flavor a little hug!"

Suzanne Pleau Kinnison squeezes because she wants "to get every bit of goodness."

Gordon Roe and Brandon Briscoe squeeze most of the time, but Deb Mazzaferro warns that squeezing the sachet makes the tea too tannic.

So, it's a tough call.

Here's what I've got this week: What does the staff here at two leaves do?

I'm so glad I asked:

squeezer4Jason Burton, our Kansas City-based Twitter guy, doesn't squeeze. "Purists don't squeeze!"

Jen Okeson, head of customer service, squeezes sachets of green tea, but not black tea. Why? "A cloudy liquid comes out when I squeeze the green tea. I can't explain it. I just like it."

Richard Rosenfeld, owner and founder, says he squeezes on weekends, but not on weekdays. What?! "I'm always running out the door to do something on the weekends, so I can't wait for the bag to drip. I give it a squeeze and then toss it."

Bess Hammer, business development manager, neither squeezes nor dangles. "I leave the sachet in the cup while drinking, and keep refilling the mug."

Phil Edelstein, our new director of marketing, says, "I squeezed as a child, but not anymore." I'm sad I didn't press him for more information.

squeezer3Lindsay Winkler, graphics, prefers her tea sachets shaken, not squeezed.

Kelly Hayes of customer service and Gigi Durand, comptroller, agree that they have a "gentle squish while shaking" motion for their tea sachets. That sounds like something worthy of YouTube.

Me? I squeezed before I started working at two leaves and a bud. Now I make a sport of getting a soggy tea sachet to the trashcan without leaving drips everywhere. I'm easily amused.

I still want to know from you — do you squeeze? Do you have a tea sachet maneuver that's not listed here, but might amuse us all? Please comment at the end of this blog, because we want to know!

Next week: I'm sending e-mails to some of Richard's favorite tea experts for their opinions on the squeeze debate. Stay tuned!

Leave a Reply