Elmwood Inn Fine Teas Christmas in a Cup Black Tea — 15 Plant-based Pyramid Sachets (Brew 30 Cups of Tea)

We have very discerning guidelines and values checklist for the thoughtful, conscientious, People + Planet discovery and curation work we do before adding anything to our collections at Pretty Things & Cool Stuff.

The comment below will give you an idea of why we love working with the good folks at Elmwood Inn Fine Teas — considered globally to be among the most respected tea experts — to bring you some of their most delicious and delightful teas:

"Our goals are to explore the globe in search of extraordinary teas, to honor and respect the people who work to produce those teas, and to offer exceptional teas to a world thirsting for peace and equality. We are committed to sharing the ideal that tea is a lifestyle; not a commodity."

— Bruce, Shelley and Ben Richardson — Founders, Elmwood Inn Fine Teas

And there is this, which we think is so spot on:

“In the tea-making ritual, we rediscover our humanity, which has become obscured amid a life that is often moving too fast and filled with too much.

— Bruce Richardson, The New York Times, December 20, 2023

CHRISTMAS IN A CUP

Just one cup of Elmwood Fine Teas very popular Christmas in a Cup, and you will be singing Joy to the World!

This holiday blend begins with rich Sri Lankan black tea and then cinnamon and orange pieces, clove oil and more are blended in to give you the tastes and aroma of the season you love. Serve hot or iced as a holiday punch, or for any time of the year when you need a little Christmas. 

There are 15 generous, biodegradable mesh pyramid tea sachets made from corn starch — not plastic — that can be used twice to brew 30 delicious cups of tea.

ALSO, Elmwood Fine Teas uses the very same tea to fill its pyramid sachets as its offers for its loose tea, which is not always the case with sachets/bags from others. (See more about the pyramid sachets below.)

Put this Christmas in your cup and deck those halls!

THE DETAILS & BREWING INSTRUCTIONS

INGREDIENTS: Premium Sri Lankan black tea, cinnamon and orange pieces, clove oil, organic cinnamon flavors

ORIGIN: Sri Lanka

HOW TO BREW: Boil water to 212°F and pour over a sachet, then steep for 4-5 minutes. 

PEOPLE + PLANET

Here's what Elmwood Inn founder Bruce Richardson said when we asked him exactly what is used to make their tea sachets:

"Elmwood Inn Fine Teas has never used plastic or nylon fabric for our tea sachets.

We avoided the first nylon machines – which appeared in the US more than twenty years ago – and moved directly from paper tea bags to much more costly pyramid sachets using plant-based (non-GMO cornstarch) material in 2011.

Our tea sachets are made from plant-based, biodegradable fabric that can be tossed into your garden or compost bin where they will eventually dissolve, naturally."

ABOUT ELMWOOD INN FINE TEAS

The Elmwood Inn Fine Teas story began in 1990 when Shelley Richardson opened a tea room in the Civil War village of Perryville, Kentucky — just as the American tea renaissance was about to awaken.

For the next 14 years, Elmwood Inn developed an international reputation as one of America's favorite locations for a traditional afternoon tea. Bruce and Shelley Richardson chronicled the early stage of their life in tea through three books and eventually launched a tea importing and wholesale packaging company - Elmwood Inn Fine Teas.

After serving thousands of guests, the tea room closed on July 31, 2004, in order for the family business to focus on their expanding tea wholesale business, managed by their son, Ben.

Today, from their new Danville, Kentucky facility, Elmwood Inn Fine Teas LLC imports, blends and packages teas for retailers, gourmet grocers, restaurants, tea bars, coffee bars, hotels, and museums across North America and the world. 

Shelley and Bruce Richardson have now authored 14 tea books and continue to inspire enthusiastic audiences as they appear at festivals, universities, and cultural events across the globe. 

Tea blender, writer and historian, Bruce has been one of the leading voices in America's tea renaissance since founding Elmwood Inn Fine Teas more 30 years ago.

He is a frequent guest speaker at global tea events and a source for tea articles found in Slate Magazine, The Smithsonian, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and on MTV, CNN and the BBC. He serves as Contributing Editor for TeaTime magazine.

In 2011, Bruce was named Tea Master for the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, where he is helping define tea's historical role in the iconic 1773 event that helped shape America's destiny.

Bruce has mentored or advised more than 450 aspiring tea professionals, including Fortune 500 companies, as they investigated tea's future in the world marketplace.

His reputation as a tea designer with an artful eye has led to commissions to design signature teas for such museums as the Yale Center for British Art, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Peabody Essex Museum, The Cincinnati Museum of Art, and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.

In 2017, the Chinese fashion brand HPLY commissioned Bruce to design a bespoke tea line and appear at its summer runway show in Shanghai.

He and expanded Okakura Kakuzo's classic Book of Tea for Benjamin Press in 2011.

Bruce has lectured on Japanese Tea and Art at the UK Tea Academy in London, Centre College, the University of Kentucky, and Yamaguchi Prefecture University in Japan.