Green and Black's Switches to 100% Fair Trade Chocolate!

Since their beginning, Green and Blacks has been a pioneer in the field of Fair Trade and really fine quality chocolate.  Fifteen years ago, they launched the UK's first Fair Trade certified chocolate bar, Maya Gold.  Now, they are switching ALL of their chocolate production to Fair Trade certified.

This is not just about SOCIAL JUSTICE it is about QUALITY~ Dominic Lowe, Managing Director of Green & Black's says,  "The move to Fair Trade certification is a key milestone in our relationship with the farmers that are so fundamental in the making of the best tasting, premium, organic, and now Fair Trade, chocolate you can buy." 

But, is is about social justice too~

Mr. Santos Mendoza, president of CONACADO, a co-operative in the Dominican Republic, says, "The great thing about Fair Trade is that it enables cocoa farmers and organizations like ours to have a say in shaping our future through directly talking and working with retailers and companies. Our biggest worry is ensuring that we have a guaranteed market for our cocoa that provides us with a long-term sustainable livelihood. Through the pricing structure and the Fair Trade premium we will be able to both invest in business and in our community to ensure a brighter future for our families and other farmers."

Green and Black's Fair Trade commitment will mean an investment of more than $485,000 each year over the next 10 years through additional Fair Trade premiums paid to Dominican Republic cocoa farmers and their communities, improving lives remarkably and raising the global bar for peace, wellness and opportunity for everyone.

I admire companies like Green & Blacks who are setting a standard and proving that is is possible to run your business in a way that is good for people, our planet and the company's financial success too.

(Photo: I took this photo on a visit in 2006 to Kuapa Kokoo, the growers and part owners of Divine Chocolate-- another really great chocolate company.  Try some this Valentine's Day!)

Slow and easy~hibiscus tea

When I developed one of my most popular teas, 'Sweet Friend Blend', I was imagining something that would be good for all of my sweet friends who seem to be regularly pregnant and/ or nursing-something without caffeine, that tasted delicious and that was cooling and uplifting. I wanted a feel-good tea that would be great iced too. I added hibiscus to the blend (along with South Africa Rooibos, Raspberries, ginger and lemongrass) for it's beautiful bright red color and it's tangy flavor and only later found out, serendipitously, that this flower is known for it s association with longevity and femininity.

Medical research has recently increasingly supported what indigenous people have known for years-- hibiscus tea (made from the stamen of this tropical flowering plant) is very effective in reducing stress induced high blood pressure. Perhaps this is because hibiscus is known traditionally to balance "yang" (fast, hard, hot aggressive, masculine) with its "yin" energies (soft, tranquil, cool, night, feminine). It is the perfect antidote to a modern tension.

Here are some other ways Hibiscus is used:

~Boiled with ginger and cane sugar and served as an "agua fresca" in Mexico, where it is known as flor de Jamaica. Sweet Friend Blend makes a nice, sweet, iced "agua fresca".

~In a hair oil to prevent greying & hair loss

~Tucked behind a Tahitian woman's ear to signal weather or not she is available for marriage

~As an offering to Kali (Hindu Goddess of destruction and endings) and Lord Ganesha (Hindu God of new beginnings)

~To make Polynesian grass skirts


Photo: Wild hibiscus growing in the mountains above Cape Town, South Africa, 2007.

Tea Haiku: Basho

Matsuo Basho was a Japanese haiku poet who lived in the late 1600'ds, about the time that tea was making it's journey Westward into Europe. The son of a Samurai, Basho was slated for a life in the military, but his path took a turn when he became the servant of Todo Yoshitada, with whom he began writing and learning haiku.

Basho's life and poetry were influenced by nature, simplicity, wilderness and travel and marked often with reclusiveness and sometimes with an abundance of followers, disciples and students.

Since their creation and even in current times, his poems have been highly regarded and Basho is given credit, in some schools, for the very creation of haiku poetry. His poems are known to impart a sense of peace in a hectic world.

Here are some of my favorites:

A monk sips morning tea, it's quiet, the chrysanthemum's flowering.

After the chrysanthemum besides the daikon, there is nothing.

On horseback half-asleep, half dreaming the moon far off, smoke for the morning tea.

Photo: Cameilia sinensis, the tea plant at the US Botanical Garden in D.C.

Tea for Health

Since it is the beginning of the "cold" season, I thought I'd share some tea wisdom for health straight from the source-- this old painting is on a wall just outside the factory at a Fair Trade tea estate in Sri Lanka. I love the words, I imagine it being dictated by one of the regions first tea planters in his Old World British tongue,

"...It is good against Lipitude Distillations and cleareth the Sight. It removeth Lassitude and cleanseth and purisieth adult Humors and a hot Liver. It is good against Crudites, strengthening the weakness of the Ventricle or Stomack, causing good Appetitie and Digestion and particularly for Men of a corpulent Body and such as are great eaters of Flesh..."

It's true, tea has been proven to cure what ails you from the common cold to heart and skin disease and it is proven to reduce fat build up, to cleanse the body and to aid digestion and eye sight. For fighting a cold, I'd recommend Popeye. For general health and prevention, I'd recommend Pure Ceylon Green. Add a squeeze of lemon for extra viral fighting properties and also a spoonful of honey. Or, see my last post for the Ceylon Hot Toddy, for it is also a great cold-fighter--in moderation.

Have a healthy and warm Winter season and stay tuned here for more posts on tea and health throughout the Winter as well. Also, Partners Tea Company teas do make a great Holiday gift as well as a great difference in the lives of those who grow our teas!

Wintertime hot tea drinks from Partners Tea Company

Happy Halloween to everyone! October was Fair Trade month and I celebrated by concocting a new batch of Winter time tea cocktails made from Partners Tea Company's Fair Trade and Organic teas-- From a Ceylon Hot Toddy to a Goodnight Kiss night cap.
My favorite is the Nutcracker, the Amaretto blends perfectly with the bold, maltyness of the Pure Assam Black tea.

A great holiday or hostess gift can be made from putting the following recipes with tins of Partners Tea Company teas!

Enjoy!

***

1. Ceylon Hot Toddy ~ a traditional hot toddy recipe gets warmer with a twist of spices and tea from Sri Lanka.

Put on the kettle.
Place in a toddy glass: 1 thin slice of fresh ginger, 1 cinnamon stick and 1 Partners Tea Company Pure Ceylon Green tea sachet.
Pour in 6 oz. boiling water into glass and steep for 3 minutes.
Remove tea sachet
Stir in 1 Tbs. honey
Add 1-2 shots brandy
Serve with a slice of lemon!

*

2. Nutcracker~ Bold, malty Pure Assam Black tea combines perfectly with sweet Amaretto. Serve with Marzipan sweets for a real Old World Christmas flavor!

Put on the kettle.
Pour boiling water over 1 Partners Tea Company Pure Assam Black tea sachet.
Steep for 3 minutes.
Remove tea sachet
Add 2 ounces Amaretto liqueur

*

3. Goodnight Kiss~ serve with a piece of fine chocolate as a dessert or a night cap

Put on the kettle.
Pour boiling water over 1 Partners Tea Company Goodnight Kiss tea sachet.
Steep for 4-5 minutes.
Remove tea sachet
Add 2 ounces Bailey’s Irish Creme liqueur

photo: Julio the Ghoulio, the Halloween pumpkin

Best Tea in Nashville- Partners Tea Compay

From the Nashville Scene's Best of Nashville, 2009
Best Tea-
Partners Tea Co. (partnerstea.com) After years of exploring the tea routes firsthand, globetrotter Sarah Scarborough turned her passion for travel into a fair-trade company that promotes women in the tea trade around the world. Drawing on sources from across Africa and Asia, Scarborough and business partner Jodi Banks create and market a line of organic tea blends with poetic titles such as Zelda, Sweet Friend and Popeye. Flavored with earthy hints of rose, cocoa, mint, vanilla and jasmine, the teas are a steaming indulgence on a cool day—or keep an eye out for one of Partners' tea-tini gatherings, where Scarborough trades the teapot for the cocktail shaker, making signature drinks with tea, vodka, gin and other liquors. Talk about adding new spirit to a tea party. Available at Frothy Monkey, Caldwell Collection, Cupcake Collection and Bread & Co., among other stores, Partners Teas cost about $10 per tin of 12 biodegradable sachets" -Carrington Fox

Photo- L to R Sarah Scarborough and Jodi Banks with tins of Partners Tea Company's teas

Tea for Peace in Burma- Project AK47

I recently met with Project AK 47's Jeremy Anderson to start bringing teas grown by the boys and girls in Burma who they rescue from being raised as child soldiers to markets in the US.

Burma has the most child soldiers in the world, according to the Human Rights Watch report (2002). In 2009 there are more than 100,000 kids from age 4 up who have been are orphaned, stolen or sold into slavery to be trained by millitary insurgents and by Burma's own national government to fight each other-- even though recruiting children under the age of 13 is illegal according to the country's law and global legislation.

Jeremy and AK47's founders, Marcus and Alyxius, provide a safe home, education and vocational skills, like growing tea, to these children. Since some of the best teas come from Burma, including the elusive "laphet" for Burmese tea leaf salad--which is apparently very difficult to find and in high demand in the US-- they are working to bring these teas to US consumers to support their work and the children's safety and healthy development in Burma.

We expect to have this tea for sale at fairtradeteas.com in early 2010 upon Marcus' return from Burma. Stay tuned for more photos and tasting notes on the teas once they arrive. Help me help Project AK 47 and the boys and girls they work for by buying their tea!

Thanks!

Photo: Project Ak47, Children growing tea in Burma

Org info for Project: AK-47 Project: AK-47 rescues young girls and boys who are enslaved as child soldiers in Southeast Asia’s armies (where there are over 100,000 child soldiers) and provides dedicated, comprehensive care, education and vocational skills and/or university prep for them. This is unheard of in these extremely dangerous, restricted-access areas, where literacy is a mere 1%. Our vision is to raise these children as the future healthy, moral, educated leaders of their societies, where they effect real change, not export them to wealthier nations.