A tea company on a mission to save the monarch butterfly from extinction
Text by Katherine Ellis • Photos Courtesy of Wendy Pramik
Interestingly, the black tea–making process and the phases of a butterfly both take four steps. Tea leaves go through withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying to reach the final juncture before blending and packaging. For butterflies, their life cycle includes starting out as an egg, maturing to a larva (caterpillar), then a pupa (chrysalis), and finally becoming an adult butterfly. Both tea and butterflies emerge to their full potential in a series of four complicated stages, and this unique intersection is where Jenna Kramer, founder of Four Stages Tea, finds her passion.
After moving to Atlanta, Georgia, to pursue a career in acting, Jenna began losing her hunger for the craft and was searching for something more fulfilling. “At the time, I was listening to a book, and the book mentioned ‘The Herbalist,’ ” Jenna states. “I didn’t know what that was, so I googled it, and ‘Rosemary Gladstar, master herbalist’ popped up. I got her book from the library about medicinal herbalism, and it spoke to me and brought me joy.” Serendipitously, Jenna found herself living adjacent to a co-op whose walls were filled to the brim with various teas and herbs. “I quickly had a drawer full of 100 herbs,” Jenna shares. “I enjoyed trying them and learning about the medicinal properties of each of them. I took an herbalism course while working at a crêpe shop. The blends that I made in the kitchen, I later sold in the crêpe shop by the cup.”
Signing up for a singles event at her church ultimately led Jenna to dream about the possibility of her affinity for tea and love of nature coexisting in one place. “I signed up for a jogging singles event for my church, and no one showed up—it’s probably because it was a jogging event,” Jenna chuckled. “I decided to go on a walk anyway because it was a nice day. That morning, I saw a butterfly, and I felt a calling to use it as part of my tea business.” It was on that sunny day in July 2020 that Four Stages Tea became much more than a vision.
Every elixir produced by the creative company is hand-blended by Jenna with her own original recipes. There are 12 loose-leaf teas in the line, with all recipes being organic and based on properties of wellness. “Everything has a different health intention behind it,” Jenna explains. “Tea [Camellia sinensis] is mixed with the herbals. We mix the tea with the herbs because the tea adds to the medicinal quality of the blend. They work together to bring out the intention; there is power in numbers.” If the intention is “uplifting,” the female entrepreneur starts by researching and trying herbs that are known to uplift the body. She tries each herb individually, sees what it tastes like, and then begins to fantasize about which elements would play well off each other. “All blends taste good and nice—they don’t taste like you are drinking medicine or anything,” Jenna remarks. “The core ingredients are at the top, and then I add supplementary herbs and teas that are also delicious.”
Four Stages boasts wonderfully dynamic teas and tisanes, such as Immunity Tonic (elderberry [antiviral and decongestant], rosehips, hibiscus, orange peel, ginger, and cinnamon) and Bask in the Sunshine (a bestselling Dragonwell green tea mixed with lemon balm, lemon peel, lemongrass, and St. John’s wort [a natural antidepressant] to produce an elevating cup that brings cheer to even the bleakest of days). For those searching for an inviting, spring-like infusion, look no further than Spread Your Wings—Organic Detox Tonic, filled with organic rose petals and violet leaf (releasing congestion in the lymphatic system) and red clover (a blood purifier).
With each purchase from Four Stages, customers receive a package of milkweed seed, which is native to their state, to plant to provide the only host plant on which a monarch butterfly can lay her eggs and the caterpillar will eat. The monarch, known for its beautiful bright-orange color, is classified as “endangered” as of 2022 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The seeds are the sole reason the butterfly can exist and benefit the biodiversity of the community. Additionally, five percent of all proceeds made by the company goes to Monarch Joint Venture, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving the monarch. In the future, Jenna hopes to develop packaging infused with milkweed seed so that the container can be planted directly into the ground to help the environment.
“Four Stages was born out of me wanting to nourish people and heal people from the inside out,” Jenna says. With refreshing teas that not only provide tantalizing flavor but much-needed wellness benefits and a brand ethos that strives to save the lovely monarch butterfly from extinction, it’s safe to say that Jenna’s passion is not only helping humans on their health journey but the flora and fauna as well.
Four Stages’s products are available online at fourstagestea.com.
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