In 2006, after seven years as a marketing professional in New York City, Emily Koteff left her job and started her own graphic design business. But she was still had a yearning to do something more.
She said she wanted to bring something beautiful into the world, but something that wouldn’t end up buried in a landfill.
Halfway around the world, Emily Koteff met Mridul Tiwari, a woman from Jaipur, India, who had been immersed in the tea industry for her entire life. Ms Tiwari had become one of the very few women tea tasters in the history of the Indian Tea Board, and was one of only two female tea auctioneers in the annals of the famous Indian tea auctions.
The pair of women clicked instantly and have formed a partnership to bring Kamelia:Luxe’s flagship line of teas to America. Called StripTeas, the tea is packed in single-serve perforated aluminum foil strips—foil being one of the world’s most widely recycled materials. Inside the strips are whole tea leaves with no burnt twigs or stems.
No spoon needed, unless you want to add sweetener or cream. You simply stir the foil strip around in your cup. When the StripTeas strips are swirled in hot water, the leaves unfurl and release the flavor, because, they say, the leaves have more room to move around than they do inside tea bags.
StripTeas are offered in several varieties: Darjeeling, Kashmiri Kahwa, Sweet Khus, Maristar, Marsala Chai, Pushkar Rose, and Mint.
In addition, Koteff and Tiwari agreed from Day One to donate a portion of their company’s profits to organizations that advance women’s causes.
We’re going to be reviewing StripTeas with our Food Channel taste panel in an upcoming edition, so check back with us for that.
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