Catching up with Naked Leaf

Naked Leaf is our favourite boutique tea shop in the heart of Kensington. We partnered with this great local business two years ago and they have been our exclusive local supplier of organic teas since the beginning. At the helm is Jonathan Kane, tea expert and YYC advocate, who has owned and operated the shop for nearly nine years - we sat down with him to talk about his business, Calgary and all things tea. 

How did Naked Leaf start?
The idea all started with an allergy to coffee – it was the reason I started drinking tea so intensely. I couldn’t find what I wanted tea wise in Calgary so when I was ready to make a career change (at the time I was teaching at the University of Calgary in the fine arts program) I decided that Naked Leaf was my next step. I enrolled in an entrepreneurship program at Mount Royal that really helped me transition from one career to another. 

What did you want Naked Leaf to bring to Calgary?

I wanted to bring interesting and unique teas that are hard to find into the city. It took a long time to build the relationships all over the world that you need in order to bring in what no one else has. 

What is your favorite part of operating a business in Calgary?

I find that there is a large part of Calgary that is really passionate about supporting local, independent businesses, which is great. Calgary also provides a ton of opportunity to collaborate with other local businesses to bring in unique products to the shop.  As the city looks for more interesting shopping experiences and different products it’s the independent boutiques that have the opportunity to provide that.  

What are some unique things you can find at Naked Leaf?

We have chocolate that is infused with our tea, that you can’t find anywhere else. We also make customized tea packaging where you can submit your own artwork or photos to get put on a tea container. 

How does Naked Leaf work with the Community? 

Our packaging supports the community - we have a line up of tea tins that are decorated by local Calgary artists. We ask for submissions from anyone and everyone, we print 50-100 labels and once they’re gone they’re gone. 

We also have a lot of different local companies who use our tea to make different products, everything from body wash to chocolate and even kombucha! It was part of our mandate from day one to be involved with the community and the arts. Collaborations like these are the way we do that.

For someone who is new to tea – what’s something they should know?

All tea comes from the same plant, white, green, black, Oolong – it’s all the same leaf it is just processed differently. The simple explanation of the difference is oxidization, black tea is a fully oxidized leaf whereas green tea isn’t oxidized.
There is also a misconception that certain teas don’t have caffeine in them – if it comes from a tea plant it contains caffeine. Herbal teas, on the other hand, aren’t made from the tea plant so they don’t contain caffeine.  

 

If you haven’t been in to Naked Leaf yet – head on down to Kensington where Jonathan & his team can teach you a thing or two about tea. While you are there try the root beer rooibos we use for our rootbeer kombucha - it’s incredible. 

- Shelby Stewart for True Büch

THE NEWEST REAP BUSINESS: True Büch

Conrad and Louisa Ferrel discovered kombucha while traveling in Asia. Conrad, a Celiac sufferer, developed a taste for this fermented tea as an alternative to beer, and started brewing it at home to bring to parties.

“The more he drank it, the better he felt,” says Louisa, who took to kombucha for its enzymatic properties herself after being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease.  

Five years later, the couple left their jobs as chartered accountants and started True Buch.

True Buch is a wholesale draught kombucha company; brewed in Cochrane using only local produce and suppliers, such as tea from The Naked Leaf in Kensington, where the Ferrels make their home.

Community is of high importance for Conrad and Louisa, who donate their time and 10% of their proceeds from True Buch to charities and causes they believe in, such as Ronald McDonald House, Inn from the Cold, and Calgary Humane Society.

Kombucha is organic tea and sugar fermented with Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) over the course of 10 to 14 days. The result is a carbonated drink, rich with amino acids and probiotics – far better than any soda.

Louisa is proud to say that the business is zero-waste. “We don’t use any one-time bottles. We provide the retailers with kegerators, and they’re able to buy our kombucha in draught form. People bring their own bottles, or you could purchase one of our branded bottles, but that’s not necessary.”

True Buch composts all of its organic material as well, which is then given to Grow Calgary to use on their fields.

“It’s a bit of a change of life and pace, but we’re loving it,” Louisa says.

TAKE ACTION:

  1. For a list of retailers that have True Buch on tap, including REAP businesses Market 17, Wild and Raw Superfood and Juice Bar, Calgary Farmer's Market, Bridgeland Farmer's Market and Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmer's Market click here.
  2. View True Buch Kombucha’s REAP profile.
  3. To learn more about True Buch and follow Louisa and Conrad’s journey, visit them online or follow them onTwitter,Facebook, or Instagram.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.belocal.org/living-locally/discover-true-buch-kombucha/