Cloud County Tea Company offers tea with “no strings attached.”

By Madinah Hazim, Public Information Officer
Photo courtesy of Cloud County Tea

Lorraine Palmer is co-owner of Cloud County Tea Co., located in Clyde, Kan. She and co-owner, Johnita Crawford, said they came up with the slogan of "no strings attached," because they literally sell tea bags with no strings attached.

"Our tea bags don't have strings and tags, because when tea has strings and tags, the ingredients include glue and some people are allergic to glue. So, we say our tea comes with no strings attached," Palmer said.

According to Palmer, her company has received great feedback on its product.

"People have told us that our teas have no bitter aftertaste, and that's because there are no oils in our teas; our teas are all natural," Palmer said.

The Cloud County Tea Company is one of 267 companies taking part in the From the Land of Kansas program.

Palmer said that she first became aware of the program about three years ago.

"A friend of ours called us and told us that Ruth Smerchek, the program manager, would be in town," Palmer said. "Ruth came to our store and liked our products, and she thought that we were ahead of the game."

Palmer said that the program has really helped her business.

"They've been a great information resource for us," Palmer said. "They've helped us with some of our marketing and just finding information that we've needed."

The From the Land of Kansas program is a state-sponsored program that is designed to help small businesses market the products they manufacture, grow, process or handcraft in Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Commerce administers the From the Land of Kansas program. Members like Cloud County Tea Co., have access to a number of benefits including technical assistance, trade show assistance grants, and business enhancement grants.

The program received $140,000 in fiscal year 2004 from the Economic Development Initiatives Fund (EDIF), which is derived from Kansas Lottery proceeds.

Palmer said she and Crawford plan on applying for a trade show assistance grant.

"We want to apply for a trade show grant," Palmer said. "Trade shows make all the difference in the world, because if you can't go to shows to display your product, no one will know that your product is out there," Palmer said.

For more information on Cloud County Tea Company and its products, visit the Web site at www.cloudcountyteas.com, or call at (785) 446-3639.

If you have a small business and are interested in the From the Land of Kansas program, contact the Kansas Department of Commerce at www.kansascommerce.com.

Somebody's always winning at the Kansas Lottery! Thanks to Lottery proceeds, economic development is growing in Kansas communities.

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