INSPIRATIONS
Legend recalls that before tea trees were pruned to bushes, when they grew to be over 60 feet tall, only the monkeys were capable of scaling the tallest trees in the remote mountains areas to retrieve the finest tea leaves. These rare teas were referred to as “monkey picked” and treasured above all others. Monkeys are considered mythical creatures in China and the Monkey King, is a well known character in ancient Chinese folklore. Mischievous and unruly, Monkey
in the musical entry to our homepage, featuring the unique voices and talents
of the entire Numi Tea'm and
welcoming all into a space of liquid meditation. We invite you to share with
us your pictures & poetry, musings & music, artwork & inspirations. If your submission is selected it will be
featured in the Transformations
section of the newsletter and you will receive a special gift from us.
King learns from the great masters how to somersault around the world
traveling on magic clouds, how to shape shift into eighty different forms,
and through trickery becomes immortal and indestructible. Throughout his
journeys he interacts with Lao Tzu, Buddha, and the Iron Goddess of Mercy;
he is deemed the Discoverer of Secrets and the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.
His most famous exploits include gorging himself on all the Immortal Peaches
intended for the gods, visiting the Region of Darkness, and faithfully
guarding an important monk on a long and perilous journey. In modern times,
although tea leaves are no longer picked by Monkeys, the highest quality
teas are still referred to as “monkey picked.”
* artwork by James Mar. Visit www.jamesmarstudio.com
Next Month's Topic
Red Mellow Bush
Renderings
Numi Transformations
PO Box 20420
Oakland , Ca 94620
make sure to include your contact
information and tell us
a little bit about yourself.
DID YOU KNOW
Romance of Tea
and Flowers
Numi's Monkey King is the creation of a
love affair between organic Jasmine blossoms and the finest green tea.
This relationship is consummated not once or twice, but four times over
the course of 15-20 nights. One kilo of fresh green tea leaves is blanketed
with four kilos of exquisite night blooming jasmine. The mixture is covered
for the evening so that when the delectable aromas are released, they
are embraced by the tea leaf.
perfect cup of green tea?
Green tea is delicate and ideally
brewed at temperatures that are slightly below boiling: approximately 185 degrees (boiling is 212).
Steeping at this temperature allows
the leaves to perfectly unfold and infuse the water with their subtle and balanced flavors, while higher temperatures can bring out more tannin, producing a cup that can be bitter. Additionally, after 2-3 minutes the tea should be removed
from the water, as prolonged steeping will again bring out more tannins and bitterness into the cup
Attention to these subtle details not only allows the tea leaves to express their flavors and aromas, it can be incorporated seamlessly into your tea ritual as another gentle reminder to be present in the moment.
TEA SUPPORTING
THE ARTS
Numi Tea'm Stops
to Smell the Flowers
The Numi Tea'm recently enjoyed an invigorating and relaxing company retreat in beautiful Calistoga. The entire staff enjoyed wine tasting, a delicious lunch and a tour of the grounds at Rutherford Hill Wineries. This was followed by a challenging and fun afternoon of teambuilding exercises and a company dinner. The next day was spent engaging in creative and relaxing endeavors including a workshop led by company founder Reem Rahim on Painting a Conversation, and complimentary spa treatments at Indian Springs Day Spa. It was a much-needed time for the team to get away from the daily grind and spend time together being creative, having fun, relaxing, and bonding.
Numi is proud to be a sponsor
of the 24th San Francisco International Asian
American Film Festival.
This event is the largest of its kind
and offers a place for “filmmakers,
audiences and community members
to come together … share ideas and strengthen a national network of
Asian American media artists."
For those of you in the Bay Area,
you can catch some of the most
cutting edge and exploratory new
cinema at local venues between
March 16th and 26th.
Diverse genres are represented including film, documentary,
animation, and even music video.
So check out the schedule and find
one that's right for you.
For details visit
http://www.asianamericanfilmfestival.org/
Do you have a local film, art, environmental, health, or music festival that you would like to see Numi represented at? The Numi Tea'm will be traveling the country in 2006. Look for us at an event near you!
* March 18-19th Napa Valley Mustard Festival, Napa , CA
* April 29-30th Alive Expo, Atlanta , GA
* May 20-21st Sunset Magazine Celebration, Menlo Park , CA
* May 26-29th Folk Life Festival, Seattle , WA
NUMI WINS
WRAP AWARD
Fair Trade Certified Teas
Numi is proud to report that six more of our teas are now Fair Trade CertifiedTM . Fair Trade Certification was created in order to ensure that farmers and artisans are paid a fair wage for their products and to put a stop to workers in poorer countries being taken advantage of by major corporations. 15% of Numi's tea purchases go directly back to the farmers who use the funds for building daycare centers, health clinics, schoolhouses, retirement
as a recipient of the
WRAP award.
The Waste Reduction Awards Program was established to recognize
companies who perform sustainable business practices and develop
creative and aggressive programs
to reduce the amount of waste
sent to landfills. Numi uses 100%
post-consumer waste for its tea boxes saving over 2,750 trees and reducing landfills by over 175,000 pounds
per year. Numi utilizes bamboo not only for its beauty but because it is one of the world's most renewable natural resources. Whatever line of business
you are in, there are steps that you can take to be part of the solution.
Visit the WRAP website to view guidelines on better sustainable practices.
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WRAP/
ARE YOU A NUMI DEVOTEA?
Mystery Monkey Queen
We recently got wind of a woman in the D.C. area who checked out of Whole Foods with fourteen boxes of Monkey King in her cart—Fourteen! When her local store was out of her favorite flavor she drove 30 miles to get her hands on the treasured brew. Call it dedication, adoration, or desperation—we call it a Numi Devotea. We're pretty sure this mystery woman would consider herself to be Monkey King: resourceful, mischievous and determined.
obsession or oddity?
Do you know what it takes to go the
extra mile for your morning cup?
We want to hear about your Infusion Enthusiasm—Tea stories, pictures, adventures, etc.
Include a little bio about yourself, and be sure to answer the question:
What Numi Tea are you
and why?
Each month we will pick our favorites
to share with the world, and the Numi Devotea selected will be showered
with Numi love and gifts!
~ SPECIAL OFFERS ~
It's so easy it's monkey play!
Take a few moments
to fill out our online
survey and
win a FREE shirt!
20 people will be randomly selected.
contest ends 3/22/06
20% off Velvet Flowering Teachest!
This lovely teachest brings the
elegant presentation of a 5 star restaurant into your own home.
Flower jewel is also jasmine
scented – experience the beauty
as you watch the real flower blossom and breathe in the jasmine scent
as it fills your kitchen.
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