two leaves and a bud | Two Leaves Tea Company Blog - Part 5Two Leaves and a Bud Blog

Where’s the bud?
By naomi / in News from two leaves tea company / July 17, 2012

Our name is shorter, but we assure you, we're still long on flavor.

At long last, I'm composing this blog to tell you that we're giving ourselves a small overhaul here at two leaves ... like the brand equivalent of a microderm abrasion, but without having to spend the next week inside, hiding from the sun and our friends.

We're changing our name: We are now two leaves tea company! That's it, period. Scroll up and glance at the logo. (Or had you already noticed? We changed it on our website several weeks ago.) Say bye-bye to "and a bud," because while our original name made direct reference to the best tea in the world coming from the top two leaves and a bud of the camellia sinensis plant, we've decided we just don't need those three extra syllables.*

*We're still working on updating our Facebook page. They make it incredibly difficult to switch up your Facebook name - that is, if you haven't just changed your marital status. (Though you could say we are "divorcing" ourselves from the "bud.") I've got an e-mail in to Mark Zuckerberg about this, and I'm sure he'll respond to me any day now. Happily, on Twitter we're already @twoleavestea.**

**An update on the Facebook thing -- it's just been changed! Bravo, Facebook friends. Find us at www.facebook.com/twoleavestea

(Here's a line I had written down in some of my plans to announce this change: "Two leaves and a bud are plucked to make the greatest tea. We're plucking the "and a bud" out of our name, but we promise, while our brand name is no longer a mouthful, our tea still is." That's clever, right? I have my moments.)

Of course, as is often the case, that's not really the end of the story. I've written about this before, that those last three syllables in the original name of our company have led to some confusion here in Colorado, a state where medical marijuana is legal, and therefore dispensaries tend to proliferate. As amusing as that was for us for several years, we got a number of calls in to our office asking if they could stop by to see our selection of medicinal bud, if you will.

And then there's the tongue twisting element — it's not that "two leaves and a bud" is that difficult to say, but sometimes by the time you get to the words "tea company," the person you've been talking to has stopped listening. (I blame extremely short attention spans, the downfall of many Gen-Xers, like myself.) Richard claims it wasn't infrequent that he'd say, "Hello, this is Richard Rosenfeld from two leaves and a bud tea company," and find that his words just dropped off into oblivion toward the end of the sentence, as though they were sinking into a murky puddle of water. So of course when we decided in favor of the name change, Richard seemed to delight in picking up the phone and saying "two leaves tea company, how may I help you?" (Although we all messed that up plenty at first, and the award for consistency goes to Imports and Purchasing Manager Dena Albright for seeming to get it right every time. At least while I was listening.)

So while we've already decided on the name change, we want to know what you think. Will you miss the bud? Or good riddance to the bud? And are any of you wondering why I'm asking what you think, when we've clearly already made up our minds? I describe it as I did to well-meaning friends while my husband and I were expecting our first child: Sure, we care what you think, but we had also already made up our minds. We've already named our baby, people. It's a bittersweet transition for all of us here at two leaves, where we've been uttering all nine syllables since 2004. We just want to know: will you miss it too?

One other thing I want to mention, although it's just a teaser: We've got a new look on the way for our boxes that reflects the name change and speaks more to our culture as a small tea company traveling the world in search of the best organic tea. I'll just lift the hemline a bit and show you how the new logo looks on the boxes, without entirely giving away the big reveal:

New boxes coming soon!

Anyway, we're not trying to cause any major controversy here by changing up our name a bit — can we save you three syllables and still give you the highest quality tea? Yes, we can! Please, just call us two leaves!
Our perfect pairings for weddings
By naomi / in Products from two leaves and a bud, Tea Gifts / June 26, 2012

Our Tea Duos make wonderful wedding/party favors.

I’m fond of saying that now that I’m married myself, I love going to weddings. I don’t consider myself a great party thrower, and so while I managed to plan a lovely event for my husband and myself seven years ago, I certainly didn’t relish the process. So these days when I’m invited to a wedding, it reminds me that I made it — I don’t have to throw another celebration in honor of that unless I really want to, and I can attend someone else’s wedding and just enjoy myself, stress-free.

My party planning days aren’t over – recently my oldest daughter turned 4, and I found myself assembling goody bags for her birthday party. And while stuffing crazy straws and temporary tattoos into those bags I thought about how the favors we give to guests at our weddings — or the welcome baskets for out-of-town guests — aren’t really all that different from birthday party goody bags, perhaps minus the stickers and glitter lip gloss.

This brings me to the point of this blog. I apologize for the lengthy preamble, but have you thought about how perfect the gift of tea is? Giving someone tea is always a considerate gesture. To get on my marketing high horse for a minute, it’s the gift of relaxation, a refined beverage enjoyed around the world. And (to dismount the marketing high horse) if the gift recipient doesn’t love tea like you do, they always know someone who does like tea, making it the perfect re-gift.

Consider our conveniently packaged Tea Duo, for instance. In case you haven’t met it yet, it’s a small pack containing two sachets — one of Organic Assam, and one of Organic Better Rest Blend. The Assam breakfast tea is our bestselling black tea grown in Assam, India, and is delicious with or without milk. Organic Better Rest Blend is a soothing mix of chamomile, peppermint, hops and valerian — ingredients grown in Europe known for their relaxing effects. “The Tea Duo provides the perfect balance of energy and relaxation, almost like yin and yang,” says our CEO and founder, Richard Rosenfeld. “You can start your day with Assam, feeling energized and capable of taking on what the day may bring, and you can end your day with Better Rest … literally.”

The Tea Duo is the smallest sampler we offer and would make a great addition to a welcome basket, or even a favor for all of the guests at your wedding.

Our sachets come in 18 different colors to match any wedding decor. But who am I kidding – probably one of the most important things you’re considering when planning your wedding, from hors d’oeuvres to décor, is keeping everything within a theme. What’s handy about two leaves tea in this regard is that our individually packaged sachets come in a broad variety of colors to match what you’re doing. Eighteen different colors, in fact, so it might be difficult to choose!

We’re posting some photos here that demonstrate how giving the gift of our tea can be both tasty and aesthetically pleasing. And relaxing with a cup of organic tea will probably sound just right to most of your guests after they enjoy the excitement of your big day.

So tell us, does including tea sound like a good idea on a wedding day? Or you "smug marrieds": tell us if you did include tea on your nuptial weekend?
Chinese Tea Eggs
By naomi / in Recipes with Tea / April 4, 2012
Chinese Tea Eggs, seen here with and without shells.

I don't know about you, but I prefer my craft projects to be easy. And if they happen to result in something edible, whether that be a gingerbread house or a candy necklace, all the better. So ... introducing Chinese Tea Eggs, a craft project that's not only easy but looks impressive, and tastes good (as long as you're already a fan of hardboiled eggs, that is). In China these savory snacks are sold by street vendors or in night markets. I've even read that they're sold along hiking trails outside of Beijing as trail snacks.

Making them involved incorporating several spices I already had at home and some black tea, and left my kitchen smelling spicy (in a good way) for several hours. The taste is simple — it's basically a hardboiled egg that comes pre-seasoned, since you don't have to add your own salt, and instead can just peel and taste the slight astringency of the tea, plus salty soy sauce and the shades of flavor added by the cinnamon sticks, cloves and anise.

Chinese Tea Eggs (which my daughter referred to as "dinosaur eggs," for their looks) have a unique marbled look achieved by first hard boiling the eggs, then tapping the shells to crack them all over, and finally boiling and soaking them in a mixture of tea and spices for that unique brown/black color. While I was particularly concerned that peeling the shells off these eggs was going to be a touchy business, it was actually quite easy after all that steeping in liquid. Some recipes suggest you let these eggs steep in the tea and spices mixture for anywhere from eight hours to two days (!), but I found that four hours was plenty, both for color and flavor.

Chinese Tea Eggs
- Six eggs
- 2 tsp black tea (or two tea sachets)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 cloves
- 2 star anise
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
Directions:
1. Put eggs in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil and then simmer the eggs in the water for 15 minutes. (I live at 8,000 feet, so our water boils faster up here. This step is just about simply hardboiling the eggs, so do it whichever way works for you.)
2. Use a spoon to remove the eggs from the hot water and stick them in a bowl of ice water to make peeling easier down the road. While they soak, add the remaining ingredients to the pot of hot water.
3. Remove the eggs from the ice water and tap them all over with the back of a spoon. The more they crack, the more of the marbling effect you'll get once you peel them. But try not to break off large pieces of the shell.
4. After cracking them, return them to the water on the stove that's full of tea, spices and soy sauce. You'll want to let them simmer for at least an hour or two. I simmered my eggs for two and a half hours and then turned the heat off, letting them soak for an extra hour and a half.
5. Remove them from the pot and gently remove the shell. You can either eat them immediately or refrigerate first, but I'd recommend leaving the shell in tact if you're going to refrigerate them for more than a few hours before eating.
6. Take some pictures to impress your friends — I promise this is a craft project that looks like a lot of work, but really isn't. (Shh.)
Do you use tea in any crafts? Visit our Facebook page by April 9 and tell us about it. If yours is one of two randomly chosen answers, you will receive $25 to spend on our website.

The finished product -- like a work of art that's also tasty. The best of both worlds.
Paisley Tea Co.: It’s more than one might expect
By naomi / in English style tea, News from two leaves tea company / March 28, 2012

Meet our brand new boxes of Paisley!

We're unveiling an exciting new venture here at two leaves: Introducing our brand new range of teas called Paisley Tea Co., comprising four delicious varieties of English style tea!

What is English style tea, you ask? We think of it as rich, robust, dark in the cup and delicious with or without milk. It's the sort of tea you might want to drink everyday! Our new Paisley teas come in traditional paper teabags rather than pyramid-shaped sachets, but just like other two leaves teas, this is top quality tea, sourced around the world from the best organic gardens.

Two leaves CEO and founder Richard Rosenfeld says his goal in creating Paisley is to offer "premium quality tea that isn't often seen in the world of affordable, everyday tea." Each box of Paisley contains 24 tea bags, and each tea bag contains 10 percent more tea to provide the most robust flavor. That's why we've given it the tagline: "more than one might expect."

In looking around the tea industry, Richard saw a hole when it came to English style tea from a quality source that's both organic and Fair Trade. That's why Paisley Tea maintains the same values as two leaves tea. All the tea is certified organic, Fair Trade and Non-GMO Project verified. Our company continues the mission to add value from crop to cup, from grower to consumer, by ensuring that growers and the environment are treated with respect, while providing you, the consumer with an exceptional cup of tea. It's tea you can enjoy with a clear conscience.

How do we do it? It's pretty simple: we've used the great relationships we've developed as two leaves and a bud with some of the finest tea gardens in the world. Because we're not an enormous company that spends copious amounts of money on glossy commercials, we can spend more on high quality tea and sell it to you at a great price. "We've been able to source the best tea possible for Paisley's traditional paper teabags," Richard says. "There are a lot of English teas in the marketplace, but we see a need for a premium range of traditional English style tea that is also organic and Fair Trade Certified."

In fact, you played a large part in the decisions we made when creating this line of tea! Perhaps you remember when we asked your opinion of English style tea in a survey. According to the results, 67 percent of respondents said they drink English style tea regularly, most often because they love the strong, robust taste, and because it pairs well with milk and sugar. And 66 percent of you said you'd be more likely to drink English style tea if it was both certified organic and Fair Trade.

So, we've got these great teas for that 66 percent of you, and any other curious tea drinkers out there! Check out the four delicious varieties: Organic English Breakfast, Organic Decaf English Breakfast, Organic Double Earl Grey (that's a variety of Earl Grey tea with extra citrus flavor of Bergamot oil), and Organic Ginger Green. There's something for everyone!

Paisley Tea Co. is still in the midst of picking up distribution across the country, but one place you can always find it will be on our website. And when you decide that it's your cuppa' tea, we hope you'll mention it to the grocery store where you love to buy tea, so they'll consider stocking us there.

One last thing: Why did we name it Paisley Tea Co.? Besides the fact that it's a bold, beautiful pattern that we love, the history of the paisley pattern actually intersects with the world of tea! The "Persian pickle," as the pattern is sometimes called, was first developed in India (just like black tea!) and eventually made its way across Europe where a town in Scotland by the name of Paisley started weaving beautiful Indian style scarves featuring the pattern. The town's namesake paisley pattern became popular across the European continent at about the same time as tea drinking caught on in aristocratic circles, during the 17th century. And we think there's something quite classic about the bold, intricate design. Pick up a box from Paisley Tea Co. and appreciate this dancing pattern as you take your first sips. Cheers!
Chai Cupcakes: sugar, spice and everything nice
By naomi / in Baking with Tea, Organic Black Tea, Recipes with Tea / February 2, 2012
Just try not to lick your computer screen.

If steeping a cup of our Mountain High Chai and then adding in a bit of warm milk and some kind of sweetener is your idea of a delightfully comforting drink, we've got the treat for you.

These Chai Latte Cupcakes are like a twist on a traditional spice cake, using spices that are decidedly Indian in flavor. And how handy that you can just steep some sachets of our Mountain High Chai to get all of those spices in one shot — cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. This recipe includes adding extra spices to make sure each cupcake is as spicy as possible. And don't forget, of course, that when you steep this sachet you're also adding the signature tannic nature of black tea, which forms the basis for the tea blend itself! (In fact, if you pair these cupcakes with any drink, it might be a glass of milk, since we don't want their delicious spiciness to overpower a great cuppa' tea.)

Chai Latte Cupcakes

Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk
- 4 sachets Organic Mountain High Chai
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- Vanilla frosting of your choosing
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (174 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper baking cups
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and add the four tea sachets. Cover and let stand until the milk is cool. Squeeze the sachets into the milk and then discard them.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tea-flavored milk, yogurt, sugar, oil and vanilla.
4. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, diving evenly.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the pan set over a wire rack. When cooled arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter and frost with desired frosting. Our pick is vanilla frosting, because it's a lot like adding a good vanilla sugar to your chai latte!
7. Enjoy! (And please tell us when you do — we wanna hear about it!)
P.S.: Makes 12 cupcakes. Enough to share!

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Chai Latte Cupcakes