"Life by the Cup is as delightful and satisfying as the teas the author has created."
— Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause
"In Zhena Muzyka's soulful new book the satisfactions of a handcrafted life come steeped in service to others. There is a world out there that needs tending to, and Life by the Cupgently shows us a way."
— Barnet Bain, Producer of What Dreams May Come and The Celestine Prophecy
"Zhena's new book opens a delicious world where expansion and fulfillment can occur one cup at a time. She shows you how caring for your deep self fuels your deepest success in all aspects of your life. Whether you are a mother,entrepreneur, or are simply passionate about expressing your creative self most fully, Life By the Cup serves delectable sips of magic."
— Kathlyn Hendricks, co-author of Conscious Loving
"Recipes for overcoming adversity swirl through these pages like the inspiriting ingredients in Zhena's tea concoctions. I sipped from her book every night at bedtime, and invariably solutions for my own life steeped in my dreams."
— Terri Jentz, author of Strange Piece of Paradise
"I love this book! Zhena's journey and the lessons she shares in Life by the Cup will inspire and empower women to start businesses that matter and can change the world."
— Cynthia Kersey, Chief Humanitarian Officer of Unstoppable Foundation
"It's rare to encounter a book that's powerful, useful AND fun to read, but that's just what Zhena has brought to the world. Read it and get inspired, to build your business and to live a life of passionate engagement."
— Gay Hendricks, author of Conscious Loving and The Big Leap
"Life by the Cup is a true story that stretches from single motherhood and hard times through unique personal success. Pour a cup of tea, open to the first page and find a friend who will teach you: Your hopes are a form of planning."
— Gloria Steinem
"It wasn't enough for Zhena to create one of the hottest brands in the tea industry. She did it by forging a soulful, life-changing partnership with tea farmers halfway around the world. And now, through this remarkable book, she's given us all a seat next to her on this magical journey. Zhena reminds us that we each can make a difference in the world through something as simple and delicious as a cup of tea."
— Paul Rice, President and CEO of Fair Trade USA
"This is a book with heart. Zhena Muzyka has poured herself into it, so that you can stop, sip, and enjoy not only a cup of tea but a cup of life."
— Byron Katie
"Life By the Cup is a world-changing, unique, and beautifully written book that will benefit every aspect of the reader's life. Zhena Muzyka reflects on her complex and inspirational life by artfully weaving savory tea antidotes, unforgettable personal stories, and her savvy business prowess. I laughed, sobbed, and was inspired to make the world a better place while reading Life By the Cup over many delicious cups of tea. Muzyka inspires readers to create more meaningful rituals in their daily lives and to become the most deeply joyful, fearless, and empowered version of themselves."
— Erin Cox, Enlightened Business Strategist and bestselling author of One Hot Mama: The Guide to Getting Your Mind and Body Back After Baby
Friday, May 7, 2014
Leverage Acquires Rights to Gypsy Tea Entrepreneur Zhena Muzyka Memoirs
Leverage has inked a deal with Gypsy Tea entrepreneur Zhena Muzyka to produce a series loosely based on Muzyka's life and her soon-to-be-released motivational memoir Life by the Cup: Ingredients for a Purpose-Filled Life of Bottomless Happiness and Limitless Success. Stephen Levinson and Mark Wahlberg will exec produce the series, which will follow an unemployed, modern-day hippie, with a sick infant son, who outwits some of the businessworld's most successful players to build her own multimillion-dollar tea empire. Sources say Leverage saw this character as something fresh for TV given that there aren't many shows about women going into a business for themselves and that this fish-out-of-water tale could have broad appeal. The memoir, published by Atria/Simon & Schuster, will hit the stands June 17. Producer Audrey Kelly brought the unpublished manuscript to Michael Garnett at Leverage.
Muzyka’s journey from tea cart operator to owner of a multimillion-dollar tea business. As carefully crafted as the handpicked teas she describes, the author’s aptly named book offers wisdom with each cup, a “touchstone of tranquility, of warmth and nourishment.” Each chapter begins with a discussion of a tea blend related to her story, whichbegins when Muzyka’s son was born with a life-threatening kidney defect that required surgery. The single mother needed a way to earn money for the hospital bills. A lover of tea and student of aromatherapy and herbs, she looked to her Roma ancestors, medicine women who were healers and herbalists, for guidance. In an upscale consignment shop, she offered her concoctions—Gypsy Love rose tea, Vanilla Rose tea latte, Hazelnut Cinnamon black tea latte—on a cart she called the Gypsy Tearoom. Next came Zhena’s Gypsy Tea company, featuring her line of teas created with all the senses in mind: colorful and attractive to the eye, a perfect balance of fragrances, loose leaves to touch, flavors to “dance on the tongue” and a story to tell. Business, she learned, had its own complex layers to understand. She forged ahead with plans to use organic, fair-trade teas even with the inherent economic challenges, and she built a strong relationship with a tea plantation in Haputale, Sri Lanka, that shared her philosophy. Muzyka provides life lessons at the end of each chapter gleaned from what she learned along the way. Ultimately, this sensuous read captures the romance and pleasure of tea. Consider, for example, Coconut Chai, “a blend of sumptuously ripened coconut, thick and balmy Galle Valley black tea, sweet cinnamon, the bold heat of Burmese ginger, mellow nutmeg, prized imperial cardamom, piquant red peppercorns, and tongue tingling clove.” Who could resist? A story steeped in passion for tea lovers, dreamers and seekers of a meaningful life.
Muzyka’s charisma leaps off the pages of this unconventional, touching, and personal guide to success. Her son was born with a kidney disease that threatened his life and left Muzyka deep in debt after paying his surgery bills. "Using her family’s Gypsy teachings and her talent for crafting tea blends, she built Zhena’s Gypsy Tea into a multimillion-dollar company. Her message about building a socially conscious tea business combine lessons from her bootstrap entrepreneurship (holding a “friends-and-family branding party”) with self-improvement techniques such as meditation, reciting daily prayers, or keeping a journal. "In a business memoir that recounts the origins of her original tea cart, her first visit to Sri Lankan tea fields, and her panic over a big purchase order, the author means for each chapter to be “read in the time it took to have a cup of tea.” Just as she infuses her tea with meaning and passion, Muzyka’s authenticity, artistry, and innate business sense make for a potent blend.
