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 Whole Leaf Organic Tea Sachets

Black Teas
Chai Tea
Green Teas
Red Teas
White Teas
Herbal Teas

The finest teas start with just the very small blossoms, the two leaves and a
bud of the tea flower. We named our brand after these shoots which are the
essence of great tea.
Exceptional Quality
We use only the finest teas, grown in the premier single geographic regions, using traditional growing methods. The quality of tea varies from hillside to hillside. Our experienced tea tasters select only the finest growers to bring you the tastiest teas and herbal infusions.
Two leaves and a bud tea sachets are filled with super-premium whole leaf tea. We never blend with less expensive “filler” teas. Unlike normal tea bags that are filled with dust, whole leaf tea gives you the full flavor of tea.
Certified Organic
Two leaves and a bud tea company is USDA certified organic through CERES and QAI. Chemical-free and pesticide-free, organic teas are great for the land and good for you.
Fair Trade and the Trust Organic Small Farmers Initiative
Trust Organic Small Farmers supports disadvantaged organic small farmers to increase sales under Fair Trade and sustainable conditions, while assisting producer organizations in creating innovative grass-root eco-social development projects.
The new alliance for eco-Ethical trade and goods is a non profit initiative, founded by producers, traders, and NGOs from around the world.
two leaves and a bud tea co. is one of the founding members and trading partners. Learn more about our initiative and visit the website: http://trust-organic-small-farmers.org/org
Biodegradable Pyramid Sachets
(Great for “take-away” and portion control)
We love tea sachets! They make brewing a better cuppa’ tea easy!
It’s now easy to enjoy drinking whole leaf tea easy with our
biodegradable cornstarch based mug-sized, nylon sachets. The shape
and size of the sachet allows the full leaves to infuse completely in
the cup, allowing you to enjoy loose tea in the convenience of a sachet.
Dynamic Retail Packaging
Individually sealed tea sachets in brightly coloured, attention-grabbing graphic packaging.
Retail display pack - Informative 15 bag pack - easy to store, easy to use.
Bulk box - 100 individually wrapped tea bags.

More Information

Our Teas
What is Tea?
Types of Tea
Brewing a better cuppa’ tea
Recommended steep times
Tea and health

Our Teas:

Black Teas: Organic Assam Tea/ Organic Mountain High Chai/ Organic Earl Grey Tea/ Organic Darjeeling
Chai Tea: Organic Mountain High Chai
Herbal Infusions: Organic Peppermint/Organic Chamomile/ Organic Pommi-berry/ Alpine Berry herbal
Red Tea: Organic African Sunset
White Teas: Organic Acai White/ Organic White Peony
Green Teas: Tamayokucha Green/ Organic Tropical Goji Green/ Jasmine Petal Tea/ Organic Orange Sencha

What is Tea?

Camelia Sinensis
Organic Tea is made from leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, which is a warm weather evergreen shrub of the Camellia family, indigenous to both China and India. The finest whole leaf organic teas use only the top two leaves and a bud of the tea  -  that's where the name of our product comes from.
Dating back to the Ice Age, the Camellia Sinensis plant has been cultivated in China for at least 1500 years.
Tea grows very well at high-elevation mountainous areas like Darjeeling, India or the high-growth areas of Sri Lanka. But camellia sinensis also likes hot and humid growing conditions so these "high grown" areas must be in the tropics or it becomes too cold for camellia! High grown organic teas tend to be lighter in the cup and more astringent. Lower grown teas, like those from Assam, India, tend to be deeper in cup color and richer in flavor. Though the tea bushes prefer a warm environment with lots of rainfall they grow best under shade as the sun can burn the leaves.
When left alone in the wild, the plant can grow quite tall, up to 30 feet or more. But for cultivation of tea leaves, the bushes are mostly kept trimmed to enable easier harvesting. A typical tea bush produces around three thousand tea leaves a year.
The timing of the harvest or "flush" is also very significant in the quality of the tea. "First Flush Darjeeling" is prized on account of its light and floral flavor. Early in the spring, the two leaves and a bud grow above the rest of the bush and are skillfully hand-harvested. The second flush, just a few weeks later, is darker in the cup and can differ significantly in flavor; just a few weeks makes a huge difference in taste!
This is one of the things that make organic tea so interesting - the same plant can taste totally different depending on where it is grown, how it is grown, and how the tea is then made.

Types of Tea

Let's start with the basics: "Tea" in the traditional sense, comes from only one family of plant -Camellia Sinensis. In many Western countries, we use "tea" to also describe any herbal infusion of basically leaf or flower or fruit that you can put in hot water and steep – also known as “tisanes”. However, in the rest of the world, "tea" means only our good friend, Camellia Sinensis.
Once the leaf is plucked, it can then become many different things. Primarily, we sort into different types of processing: White tea (the least processed) to black tea (the most.)
White Tea
So called because of its very light color in the cup, white tea is air dried and fired (or fixed) at a low temperature. True white teas are long-leafed, often including just the buds or "tips" of the tea plant. These are the buds of the plant. (Those dust tea bags which call themselves "white tea" are usually the dust from the processing of the higher quality teas.)
Green Tea
Green teas are steamed or "roasted" or "fried" after they are plucked. In Japan, tea is steamed (yes, just like in a steam bath) when it comes into the tea factory. There it is lightly rolled and then fired. This gives them a very light green color and a light flavor. In China, most green tea is pan roasted instead of steaming. For this reason, Chinese green teas are less green in leaf color and in the cup, than Japanese teas. Because green teas are processed less than black teas, the "fermentation" process is less complete, they tend to have less caffeine.
Black Tea
The most complex of the tea processes, black tea begins with the fresh leaf being withered. It is dried for up to 8 hours on a bed of forced, blown air. This literally speeds withering, removing just enough of the moisture to allow the leaf to be rolled without it breaking. After withering, the tea is rolled on rolling tables that curl the leaf and speed the "fermentation" process. After rolling, the alkaloids and flavenoids (and therefore caffeine and anti-oxidants) are rushing through the leaves. The tea is spread out in slightly humid "fermentation rooms" while the flavor increases. The "tea makers art" is to judge the fermentation time correctly so the tea can be fired at its most flavorful moment. Firing is done at the end of the process to stop the fermentation and "fix" the tea.
Herbal Blends
In the Western world, many people call herbal infusions “tea.” These common herbs: Peppermint, Chamomile, and many others, are not by definition “tea” they are different plants than Camellia Sinensis. This is the cause of much confusion – does my peppermint tea have true tea in it (and therefore caffeine?) or is it just peppermint (and therefore caffeine-free)!?
Two leaves and a bud tea co. offers a wide range of herbals in sachets.
Herbal Infusions, fruit based tisanes and floral infusions are not truly tea (Camellia Sinensis) at all. They are dried herbs or fruits.
For our herbal blends we search the world for the finest available herbs and blend them to have the flavors complement one another. All of our herbal blends contain no caffeine.

Brewing a better Cuppa’ Tea

In order to really enjoy the depth and complexity of a true cup of tea, one needs to start with full tea leaves but the great thing about brewing your own tea is that you can make it exactly to your personal taste and mood. Because tea does not come premixed you can create your own tea. You can change it up and experiment with different varieties as well as the brew time, proportions, water temperature (hot or iced) and any additives you might like; sweeteners or milk, or lemon.
To brew a perfect cup of tea following recommended brewing methods, first you heat up cold fresh water (filtered or spring tastes best) to the appropriate temperatures (see listing below). Do not reboil your water as it depletes the levels of oxygen which is needed in the proper brewing process.
SIMPLY add one of two leaves and a bud's sachets to your cup and add the appropriately heated water.
Two leaves and a bud has made drinking whole leaf tea easy with our biodegradable pyramid shaped sachets. The shape and size of the sachet allows the full leaves to infuse completely in the cup, allowing you to enjoy loose tea in the convenience of a sachet. Our sachets contain about 2.5 grams of premium tea which will brew up a full cup-anywhere between 8oz and 16oz.
Unlike regular tea bags, lacking in top, middle and finish notes, our whole-leaf teas need to steep for longer as there is not as much surface area for the water to have contact with. A typical tea bag has to contain finely chopped tea (usually of lesser quality and grade) in order to steep through the paper bags. Tea bags give the tea drinker an instantaneous brew color and flavor. The brew time necessary is quite short otherwise you tend to end up with bitter tea. Take a minute and spill out the tea of both an average tea bag and of two leaves and a bud's sachets (pull apart at the seam) you will be able to see a huge difference in leaf size, cut, smell and color.
Though tasting tea can be a very personal experience tea is often compared to a fine wine with its flavor complexities, regional characteristics and natural nuances. When appreciating and tasting tea, one should use taste and smell to recognize the quality and flavors of all the different teas.

RECOMMENDED STEEP TIMES

Please note that with Green, White, and Oolong teas you should always add the tea into the lightly boiled water rather than scolding it by pouring boiling water directly on the tea.
White and green teas require below boiling water temperatures as it will cook the leaves and ruin their delicate flavors.
Oolongs should be brewed at water 180-190F
Black teas and Herbals brew best at a full boil ( 208-212F)
Steep the tea for the recommended period of time or to your personal taste. (see our recommendation chart below)

Organic Assam - Original Breakfast Tea -- 5minutes
Organic Earl Grey - 3 to 5 minutes
Organic Darjeeling - 3 to 5 minutes
Organic Mountain High Chai - 3 to 4 minutes
Jasmine Petal Green- 4 minutes and save for refill
Organic Orange Sencha- 4 minutes and save for refill
Organic Goji Berry Green - 2 to 4 minutes
Tamayokucha- 4 to 6 minutes (take note that this green tea brews GREEN and does not turn bitter!)
Organic White Peony with Rose Petals- 2 to 4 minutes
Organic White Acai - 4 to 6 minutes (takes longer due to the large leaf size!)
Organic Pomi~Berry- 2 to 4 minutes
Organic Peppermint- 1 to 3 minutes- (the peppermint leaves are chopped a bit more than some of the others- may brew up quickly) Play with the strength.
Organic Chamomile- 2 to 3 minutes
Organic African Sunset red tea- 1 to 3 minutes (Rooibos tends to be a smaller finer leaf-shorter brew time) Experiment!
Alpine Berry Herbal- at least 2 minutes

Tea and Health

Brewed tea contains a high level of polyphenols, flavonoids, and catechins (found in higher quantities in higher quality teas) or more commonly referred to as antioxidants. These compounds are found more abundantly in white and green teas whereas another antioxidant is found after the processing of black teas, called theaflavin. All of these antioxidants attack the cell damaging “free radicals” which are linked to cancer causing genes and heart damaging plaque and cholesterol. In addition, tea contains many important vitamins, minerals and essential oils including Carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, Thiamin, Nicotinic acid, Pantothenic acid, Manganese, Potassium, Fluoride and Folic Acid. All of these nutrients contribute to the long list of overall health benefits as tea is becoming more and more well known. Included on this list are the following…. healthy teeth and skin complexion, lowering bad cholesterol, regulating blood sugar levels, lowering blood pressure, boosts immune system, boosts metabolism, and increases higher bone mineral density.
Tea has been consumed throughout its history, not only for its refreshing, energizing and soothing taste but originally for its important healing properties which now are backed up by scientific evidence. Research shows that drinking up to 5 cups a day of tea offers many health benefits as well as preventative measures.