About Us
Cultured Tea Leaf
Welcome to LiberatedState.com, our online tea boutique for specialty Myanmar edible green tea and the Hawai'i Loa rare tea collection. We are Billie Thoidingjam & Michael Guarino -- we launched Cultured Tea Leaf in 2019 as the first certified organic Laphet So, after a long time in the making. While living in Myanmar / Burma for almost 5 years, we fell in love with the food and people of the country. Anyone who's lived in Myanmar knows it's pretty much impossible not to. Our dream is to elevate this one-of-a-kind cultural treasure into an iconic brand to represent Myanmar, bolster the economy, and act as a catalyst for cultural exchange.
We love Laphet So, the national food of Myanmar. We love it in salads and the powerhouse dish called 'Laphet Thoke'. But we also love eating Laphet So paired with all kinds of international foods, from sushis to salamis. Our journey into the world of Laphet So is just beginning and we are excited to share it with New England and the rest of the USA.
We do not take this mission lightly. That's why we hand-mix and bottle each and every batch of Laphet So out of our kitchen based in Derry, NH, just an hour outside of Boston. We invite all of our friends in Myanmar and the Burmese-American community to continually give us feedback on our quality and any new pairing recipes you create.
As the legend goes, the Palaung people began the custom of fermenting and aging green tea leaf around 1,000 years ago. Just like the age-old Banyan trees that rest in the villages of Namhsan township, their traditional Laphet So has survived decades of war and truly is a work of cultural genius. We like to say that if the Queens and Kings of Myanmar were alive today, they'd demand the highest quality oils and spices in their Laphet So. Cultured Tea Leaf is our best attempt at Laphet in its highest form, blended with extra virgin olive oil and only organic ingredients.
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