Look inside, baby!

Meet Tara. She’s looking for a wholesome, refreshing drink. She wants something delicious to sip while quietly contemplating life. And she’s been hearing about the health benefits of tea for years.

So, what’s stopping her from drinking specialty tea? Time! Tara wants to drink high quality, whole leaf tea, but she doesn’t want to manage all of those loose leaves. And she really doesn’t want to deal with steeped ingredients and messy teapots. So, what’s this girl to do?

Enter the pyramid sachet!

No, it’s not an Eygptian handbag. Rather, it’s a clear, silky-looking pod made from food-grade nylon that holds your specialty tea. The sachet leaves plenty of space for your tea leaves to steep and release their full flavor. And, baby, look inside! You will see all of your tea’s ingredients unfurling elegantly before you.

Not only do you preserve the flavor of your whole leaf tea, but you do so with the ultimate convenience of a tea bag. Plus, looking into the beautiful pods of natural, blooming ingredients truly upgrades your specialty tea experience!

So, no need to worry about the hassle. Drink up, baby! (You, too, Tara.)


Visit our online store at www.ChaiBabyUSA.com.

Copyright 2008 East West Blends, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Taste, baby! (revisited)

Happy New Year to all of you! I’m back from a whirlwind trip through South India – 14 days, 2 plane rides, 4 train rides, 9 cities, and various minibus, automobile, and auto-rickshaw adventures. 100 family members (really), 10 colorful shops, 4 amazing tours, and a partridge in a pear tree. (Sorry, baby, couldn’t resist.)

In the middle of my amazing race around the country, I had a genuine tea cupping encounter. Picture this . . . I am in the home of a tea merchant, asking him about his experiences in the industry. Suddenly, he tells me that I must take his tea cupping test, to identify the special blend that he has created for his own business.

Daunting.

We go out onto his house balcony, where his charming daughter-in-law, also a tea aficionado, has set up a line of identical white tea cups and tiny tasting pots. When the correct amount of time passes, she moves swiftly from cup to cup, stopping the steeping process and pouring the tea liquors.

The merchant talks me through each taste. Remember, tea tasting involves a good long look at the liquid as well as a few minutes spent absorbing its aroma. It also requires one noisy slurp from a spoon that allows the tea liquor to cover all parts of the mouth for the most complete taste possible.

This was a true high point in my trip – an authentic and unexpected tasting experience in the middle of the land where tea is actually grown and produced. And to do this with an expert, a person whose life is tea, was just amazing.

And, in case you were wondering, based upon his discussion of what is important to him for his tea blends, I was able to identify his special blend (phew)!

Copyright 2008, East West Blends, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Happy holidays, baby!

Best wishes to all of you for a warm and wonderful holiday season. Thank you for your support and patronage. I’m looking forward to all that 2008 will bring.

Copyright 2007, East West Blends, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Get inspired, baby!

One of the many challenges of entrepreneurship is maintaining vision and energy after the initial excitement of launch. A fantastic website resource for inspiration is Ladies Who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com).

Co-founded by Victoria Colligan and Beth Schoenfeldt, Ladies Who Launch is an online magazine full of entrepreneurial success stories of every kind. It is also the source of a rapidly expanding, nationwide incubator program. That, along with other features (for example, a promotional “launch pad”), make this website worth a good look (and the free subscription).

My favorite portion of the website, Featured Ladies, contains profiles of women in a wide array of professions and businesses, from new entrepreneurs to seasoned business veterans, from the ultra-famous to the regular josephines.

Of course, stories of productive and creative women pursuing their dreams are inspiring in and of themselves. Even more memorable for me, though, are the answers these women provide for the tough interview questions: “How do you handle fear?” “What do you do with rejection?” Upon reading their responses, it always strikes me that, hey, these women are real. They have actually faced serious challenges and overcome serious obstacles. It’s not an easy world out there, yet they have achieved tremendous success within it.

My favorite interview question in Featured Ladies is “How do you define success?” Interestingly, even though these women have achieved recognition, wealth, and all that the world has to offer, those don’t constitute “success” in their eyes. Instead, these women define success as happiness or peace or fulfillment. How’s that for perspective?

Oh, and baby, you’ll love their tagline -- it reads “entrepreneurship & creativity as a lifestyle!” For me, knowing that this combination has been possible for so many women – well, that is the best inspiration of all.

Copyright 2007, East West Blends, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Ayur-what? Ayurveda, baby!

There’s been a lot of interest in our Relaxation Blend due to its unique combination of ingredients: cardamom, licorice, coriander, fennel, ginger, and rose petals. Why were those ingredients chosen? Well, this particular blend of ingredients is based in the principles of Ayurveda.

Ayur-what?? For those who are unfamiliar, Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of holistic health maintenance and healing. In fact, it is thousands of years old and has its roots in the Vedas, the sacred texts. Its focus is keeping an individual in balance and alignment with nature.

According to Ayurveda, there are three body bodily elements, called doshas. The Relaxation Blend is known as “tridoshic,” meaning that it benefits and balances the three doshas. All of the ingredients have a calming and harmonizing effect, particularly with regard to digestion. Though it will benefit the drinker at any time of day, it is intended to be particularly soothing after meals.

So, get that teacup and take a load off, baby!

Note that the above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The information and our products are not intended to be used for the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease.

Copyright 2007, East West Blends, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Thanks, baby!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Your patronage, support, encouragement and participation are appreciated very much!

Copyright 2007, East West Blends, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Chai, Baby! supports Coburn Place, Indianapolis

Women escaping abusive partners and circumstances often need to reinvent themselves and restructure their lives quickly and dramatically. Clearly, they need support in their challenging journey, particularly when children are involved.

Coburn Place Safe Haven in Indianapolis offers such support. Women receive safe, long-term, transitional housing, as well as a wide array of services, including counseling, education, training, medical care and legal advocacy. Coburn Place emphasizes the goal of self-sufficiency, encouraging their residents to learn the skills necessary to handle their new lives. When residents leave, they have tools in hand to make positive life changes.

Five percent of Chai Baby!’s net profits in 2008 will be donated to Coburn Place. We encourage you to visit Coburn Place’s website at www.coburnplace.org and to consider volunteering your time or making a donation to support their mission and efforts.