My Sweet Friends

Of all of the many blessings in my life, my sweet friends are one of the ones that I cherish the most!

Their advise, honesty and love have carried me through life's hard times time and time again and I can see a part of myself in each one of them.

As most of them are moms now, I was inspired to make a blend that is good for pregnant and nursing moms. It is called Sweet Friend Blend.

Like most of my tea blends, the idea and recipe for it came all at once--I was thinking of sitting on a porch swing in the Summer with my friend, B, solving the world's problems and our own... drinking iced tea. Sweet, red and zesty iced tea...

The result was a blend of raspberries (because they taste great and are full of vitamins) and lemongrass (because it is invigorating and cleansing with a great taste), ginger (because it is great for a nauseous stomach and it also uplifting and is a digestive and it has a million other health benefits) and hibiscus (In Mexico, I hear women use it after childbirth to lose weight. It also tastes great, sort of like a squeeze of lemon). The base of the tea is South African Rooibos and it's cousin, Honeybush. Rooibos and Honeybush are known in their native South Africa to be great for pregnant and nursing moms as well as for colicky babies.

Sweet Friend Blend is available at Whole Foods and a number of other great retailers and at partnerstea.com. Share it with your sweet friends!

Photo: My sweet friend, Mollie with a Sweet Friend Blend tea-tini.

Photo: My sweet friend, Mollie, Eliza's mother, drinking a Sweet Friend Blend Teatini. Sweet Friend Blend Teatini:

SWEET FRIEND BLEND TEA-TINI

For 9-10 4 oz. teatinis:

1. Brew 4 8 oz. cups of Sweet Friend Blend tea, as per directions on tin

2. Add 2 Tbs. sugar and 1-2 Tbs. lemon juice

2. Let tea come to room temperature

3. Add 4-6 ounces vodka, or to your preference

4. Serve over ice and garnish with fresh raspberries and a slice of lemon

World Sea Turtle Day-June 16

We love the Sea Turtle!

...and the beautiful places it inhabits...

oceans, grasslands, coastal areas.

Today is World Sea Turtle Day!

Today we are donating proceeds from the sale of

Fair Trade Teas

"Turtlebird Blend"

to Sea Turtle Conservation!

Photo: a Loggerhead sea turtle

A thanks and tribute to Sri K. Pattabi Jois

Today in New York at Stephen Weiss Studio, 711 Greenwich St. at 6pm EST there will be a memorial service for Pattabhi Jois, who passed away on May 18, 2009.

Pattabhi Jois, affectionately known as "Guruji", was one of the most influential people in yoga's journey Westward. In his book, Yoga Mala, or "Yoga Garland", first published in India in 1962 and in English in 1999, he shared the teachings of his teacher, vedic practitioner and healer, T. Krishnamacharya with teachers and students around the world.

Like ripples in a pond, Guruji's life-long dedication to the practice and teaching of yoga has brought so much peace and light to millions of people around the world!

In a way, it was Pattabhi Jois and his style of yoga, Ashtanga, taught to me by Randa Chehab at Down to Earth Yoga Studio in Bozeman, Montana, that fueled the creation of my original tea business, Fair Trade Teas in 2001 and 2002.

It was during that time that I was practicing with Randa daily and developing Firepot Chai and Fair Trade Teas. The yoga and the chai, in hindsight, sort of blended together, one affecting the other and resulting in a really peaceful time of life as well as the beginning of a journey that would become my life and take me around the world in search of tea and a way to make a difference through Fair Trade.

Guruji's practice-- and Randa's love for teaching-- lit a fire in me-- giving me energy and inspiration to stay after my work and the dream it represented. It also gave me the peace and clarity of mind to stay on my path-- to keep my eyes open to opportunities when they presented themselves...

Once, while running Firepot Chai in Alaska and teaching Ashtanga yoga twice weekly at Fireweed Station, I made plans to travel to San Francisco to take a workshop given by Pattabhi Jois. A few weeks before the workshop, I was online looking for other things going on in the Bay Area when I read about the Green Festival. As I read on, I was so inspired by the line up of Fair Trade luminaries-- the late Anita Roddick (founder of the Body Shop and an early advocate for Fair Trade) and Paul Rice (President of Trans Fair USA) and Paul Katzeff of Thanksgiving Coffee, one of the first importers of Fair Trade coffees--who were all going to be there that same week. I became so excited about the Green Festival that I started trying to figure out how I could run back and forth between the 2 events!

About a week later, I learned that Guruji had a death in the family and had to return to India. The workshop was canceled. I immediately called the Green Festival to find out if they had any exhibit spaces left. They did! They had sold out 8 months prior but had a cancellation that day and I could name my price. So, I took out my first business loan ($1000 from my dad) and was on my way!

Like that, each step of my way with Fair Trade Teas and the businesses that have blossomed from it-- Scarborough Fair in New Zealand, Partners Tea Company in the US--has unfolded divinely and I am thankful for having had my path lit by the teachings of great teachers like Pattabhi Jois.

I know many others have similar stories.
Thanks for the ripples that Guruji's life continue to create!


"Ashtanga yoga is 99 percent practice, one percent theory."

Pattabhi Jois, originator of Ashtanga Yoga

"Do your practice and all is coming."

Pattabhi Jois, originator of Ashtanga Yoga

Tea: A pathway to Peace

Since it’s first mention in European literature in Giambattista Ramusio’s Navigatione et Viaggi in 1559 and it’s first import to Holland in 1606, tea, “the China drink”, has been an object of European desire. Men have risked their lives smuggling it, Catherine de Braganza of Portugal secured her marriage to King Charles II with it’s inclusion in her dowry, it has instigated war, revolution and the enslavement of over one million tea workers bought and stolen to tend to the estates. The transformation from Empire to multi-national business in these days of the teabag have witnessed a new kind of slavery- one rooted in low wages, poor nutrition and a lack of opportunity for tea estate workers.

But modern times are changing the course of history and the world’s love for tea is being used now to promote sustainability, education and brighter futures for tea workers and for peace.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, home of the world-renowned Ceylon teas. Here, visionary tea estate owners and exporters, like Zaki Alif at Stassen Pty. Ltd, are affording education, health care, dignity and opportunity by selling their top-quality organic teas for a premium. They are bringing together the children of Sinhalese land-owners and Tamil tea pickers in sport, to forge friendship and understanding. They are turning the world’s demand for an ethically sourced, organically produced tea into hope for a country’s widespread strife. One Sri Lankan family company, according to the BBC,”is challenging the multinational control of the global tea industry. Dilmah says it has become the third largest global tea brand by marketing its pure unblended Ceylon tea directly to the consumer in more than 80 countries worldwide…”

Similarly, in Tanzania, China, India and Taiwan, efforts are being made to instigate just and peaceful relations for the empowerment and betterment of every part of the supply chain, right down to the consumer**. Modern times have taught business that the only successful business model is a fair one. ‘Globalization”, widespread access to information and technology, is helping towards this effort.

Working alongside stakeholders in the ethical tea supply chain to maximize the positive global impact of the US $227 billion LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) market, a growing niche of shoppers willing to spend money for products that let them feel they are acting in a socially responsible fashion, is the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO). Based in Bonn, Germany, FLO grants the Fair Trade certification to producers practicing ethical trade and working towards social, environmental and economic sustainability.

Fair Trade sales are rising at 33% per year globally and now total 1.1 billion GBP. The global market is predicted to reach $25 billion USD by 2020. This growth coupled with that of tea globally, provides a platform for the tea trade to pioneer a pathway to peace.

• **At the Makaibari tea estate in India, the workers have created a community load fund. Small loans have been distributed to families to address specific medical and educational needs. They also have utilized funds to support women and children’s health programs that focus on nutrition and family planning.
• On the Da Zhan Shan tea cooperative in China, tea farmers have placed an emphasis on education. A portion of the premiums have been invested in building library and computer facilities for students. Funds have also been allocated to each of the tea farmers’ children to support their enrollment in high school and university.
• At Herkulu estate in Tanzania, workers have dedicated funds to repairing dilapidated housing and constructing new village facilities, including a medical center, grain mill and food dispensary.
• The small farmers of the SOFA tea cooperative in Sri Lanka have chosen to use the premiums toward tea-quality improvement initiatives, including organic inputs and tools, which increase efficiency and production. They have also used their Fair Trade tea funds for income diversification projects such as bookkeeping and dairy cows.

Photo: A tea picker at Indulgashinna Estate, Sri Lanka fills a woven basket, which keeps the tea aerated and fresh. Extra money earned from the sale of this quality tea affords wicker baskets (100 rupees (~$1 USD) each). Plastic bags used at other estates cost only~20 rupees each. Sarah Scarborough, 2006.

Tea Poetry: Lu T'ung

The first bowl sleekly moistened throat and lips;

The second banished all my loneliness;

The third expelled the dullness from my mind,

Sharpening inspiration gained from all the books I've read.

The fourth brought forth light perspiration,

Dispersing a lifetime's troubles through my pores.

The fifth bowl cleansed ev'ry atom of my being.

The sixth ha made me kin to all the Immortals.

The seventh is the utmost I can drink--

A light breeze issues from my armpits.

-Lu T'ung (d.835)

Tea: An Earth Angel

Tea is the second most widely consumed beverage after water in the world and that is a good thing because it looks like it might also be the second most planet friendly, as far as carbon emissions are concerned. "On average, a loose tea which you drink at a tea lounge has about 20g CO2 per cup. As a reference point, the carbon footprint of a cup of beer is 374g, a can of Coca Cola is 129g and a cup of cow’s milk is about 225g. As such, loose tea is a far better choice environmentally than any of these."

These are the findings of Nigel Melican, a tea technologist at Teacraft, in his recently concluded in-depth study on tea's carbon footprint "from Asian tea farm to American teapot". He found that, "if tea is well made, if we look at the supply chain properly, if we make some adjustments, we can actually get tea to be carbon neutral...some tea in some countries we could get to be carbon negative."

But, HOW carbon negative? Could tea be a contestant for Richard Branson and Al Gore's Virgin Earth Challenge, a competition offering $25 million US "to encourage a viable technology which will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases each year for at least ten years without countervailing harmful effects".

Perhaps Nigel Melican, a tea technologist, is just the kind of technologist Branson is looking for?

Photo: Organic and Biodynamic tea grows in Sri Lanka's central tea growing region, near Haputele. Sarah Scarborough, 2005

What Melican found is that tea's actual environmental impact has much to do with the tea drinker. Here are a few ways that you can reduce the impact of your cup:

1. Reuse your tea/ tea bag. Did you know that most teas can be steeped more than once? Over 85% of the caffeine content comes out of the tea leaf within the first 20 seconds of steeping, so your second and third cup of tea will be lower in or caffeine-free. Whites, greens and Oolongs are especially well-suited to be re-steeped. Some tightly- rolled Oolongs make a fuller flavored second, third and fourth cup and some can be steeped up to 8 times.

2. Compost your tea. Our planet could use more organic matter and so could your garden. Throw it in your compost pile or in a house plant. Tea leaves also help soak up odors, give it a try.

3. Reuse/ Recycle your packaging.

4. Cook with gas. According to Melican, gas cooking is much easier on the earth than electric. It is a more natural way to cook, and so more enjoyable. The end result from a gas stove tends to be better too.

A little light on the sustainability debate

"Sustainable. Certified organic. Bird friendly. Shade grown. Fair trade.

There are more ways to define virtuous production of tea and coffee than ever before. And for every opinion about the “right” way to grow, harvest, transport and process them, there’s a counterpoint to consider..."

...begins Kara Newman in her recent quest (Fresh Cup Magazine, June 2009) to decipher the different terms used to quantify, describe or certify "sustainable" teas and coffees.

Speckled with quotes from industry leaders and organizations, Kara's article sheds a little light on what makes tea and coffee "sustainable", but I think the whole truth--the bottom line-- about sustainable teas and coffees lies in the big picture, in the forest, not the trees.

This isn't about rules and regulations. Sustainability is about a lifestyle-- like a diet or a religion. For it to stick, you have to feel it. love it. love the way it makes you feel. love the positive impact it has on your life. The "you" here is the tea and coffee drinker, which is why it is up to tea and coffee companies to inspire tea and coffee lovers with beautiful cups of tea and coffee, with happy farmers with clean, prosperous land. Share the fun of being involved in the tea and coffee trades and having the opportunity to make things better-- for our planet and it s people. Like Kara said in her article,

"To help educate consumers, Scarborough recommends interactive cuppings and tastings—between organic and non-organic, and between different regions and blends. 'Getting people to enjoy tea and coffee and getting them to try the differences between high-quality organic teas and the alternatives is better than guilting people for not purchasing the ‘right’ tea or coffee.'"

Photo: Compost heaps in Darjeeling, N. India, where 100% of the tea estates are
being converted to, or already are, Organic. Sarah Scarborough, 2006.