tea cushions

About the designer Tomato Cho Designer & tea artisan. I am a mother of a 5-year-old boy. He is my first child. Spring was born is April 2015 – that is where he gained his nickname from. He was diagnosed with a G6PD deficiency soon after I gave birth. I was told that my baby must stay away from chemical fragrances and substances, to avoid triggering symptoms such as anaemia. I decided to design pillow cases and cushion covers with natural materials for his own safety. My husband and I took over the family business and became tea famers. We grow and process our own tea. Having pillows or cushions stuffed with dried tea stems is a tradition which has been broadly known and used by most tea farmers in Lu-Ku – where our farms are. Dried tea stems bring a safe, natural and soothing aroma. It is also used as a natural deodorant that people often place in wardrobes to keep down humidity too. We live in a tea farming village, so undoubtedly tea stems are the ideal material to design pillow cases and cushion covers for my boy. This is the motivation how I started the business. I would like to bring the world safe and natural fragranced products, and I hope you enjoy them too. **About our products** Handmade in Taiwan Our handmade tea cushions are stuffed with authentic Taiwanese oolong tea stems produced in the Tung-Ting Mountain region. Traditionally, tea production is based on 10 steps: solar oxidation, tumble-heating, primary rolling, primary drying, hot mass rolling, advanced drying, stem removal, final drying / roasting, and packaging. YEN's TEA GARDEN’s products adopt steps from 1 to 8 (stem removal). Each step of the production process is complex. Normally, steps 1 to 8 are the standard processes for mass-production. We often see this kind of tea processed as tea bags and other non-loose tea products. I sandwich leftover tea stems between cushion stuffing, so they give a lovely tea aroma. By having dried tea stems perfectly sandwiched between cushion stuffing, YEN's TEA GARDEN's cushions provide a soft and comfortable touch. Product instructions 1. Tea stems can dye the covers ifthey becomemoist. To avoid color dye problems on your cushions, please keep them away from water or any possible causes of humidity. 2. Give your cushions a lovely sun bath when the weather is nice. Ideally, 1 to 3 hours sunlight can help your cushions stay dry and fragrant. To prevent color fading, please remove the covers before putting them out. 3. YEN's TEA GARDEN’s products are made with freshly roasted tea stems, not used tea. 4. Natural tea stems bring a sustainable, mild aroma. It is not as strong as manmade fragrance. The cushions’ fragrance can be more prominent under higher temperatures,and in environments such as inside cars or in spaces with less ventilation. 5. YEN's TEA GARDEN’s products are baby and children friendly because our cushions are non-toxic. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/35946855580_ef1d66762e_o_d.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/35534818813_57855e8dfe_o_d.jpg