Big Thanks to Steven Knoerr of 39 Steeps

Tea enthusiast Steven Knoerr recently reviewed our Green Twisted Spears on his tea blog 39 Steeps. This particular tea is an Organic & Fair Trade certified loose green tea from Sri Lanka - a region that has traditionally produced black teas, black ceylons.

He discusses the leaves, the tea, the preparation, the cup, and his overall impressions. We're pleased that he seemed to enjoy the tea overall and noticed the unique notes of the Sri Lankan terroir,

"I like how the Sri Lankan terroir affected the flavor of the green, because it was like finding a friendly acquaintance in an unusual place: say, a friend from church, greeting me when I'm climbing up a mountain slope in Colorado."

He also commented on the unique new taste of green tea from Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon),

"I've never had a green Ceylon before, and I'm pleased with the beautiful handcrafting of the leaf, which was sufficiently interesting to merit an experiment with the tea, all by itself. While this tea isn't as nuanced or bold as the Chinese greens I am more accustomed to, when taken on its own merit, it's pleasant. I'd be interested to see what kind of tea the Ceylon producers will be producing in a hundred years, after much practice and developing cultivars specifically for the green tea style."

You can read the full tea review here. Be sure to check out the comments section where an interesting discussion takes place about green teas from Sri Lanka - a relatively recent endeavor in this nation.

Thanks, Steven, for checking us out and for the feedback!

Simply Green: Focusing on Local, Organic, and Fair Trade- How one coffee shop makes the switch!

Happy Earth Day!

In my travels and conversations, particularly because I live in Colorado, there are many people, stores, restaurants, etc. who live a very green lifestyle and make a conscious effort to do so. Living green can me lots of things. It can mean composting all of your food. It can be recycling all plastics, paper, glass. It can be riding your bike to work, or eating locally grown and organic foods. There are copious ways in which one can be green and one coffee shop in Fort Collins is going for them all.

The coffee shop is called MUGS Coffee Lounge and it's located in the old town Fort Collins on College St. The owners have made a very big move this past March to ramp up their already green efforts, to be a Conscious Consumer is the main focus of their business.

According to MUGS a Conscious Consumer "considers what the environment, social and economic impacts his or her purchases make. Quite simply, the conscious consumer considers the options available, and chooses the most responsible, sustainable, and least harmful option" .

MUGS has become a Conscious Consumer themselves by focusing on organic, fair trade, local, homegrown, reusing, reducing, recycling and composting. By doing so they are not only making an effort to be more green and help the environment, but to pass on this education to their customers. Their menu board indicates when something is Local (l), Fair Trade (ft),Organic (o) and Homegrown (h) which compliments and holds them accountable to the focus and mission of their store and at the same time demonstrates their sustainable efforts to the customers.

There are many ways in which we can be green this Earth Day, one way is to support businesses like MUGS who focuses on their green efforts EVERYDAY! It can be done and as long as each of us are taking some part, some small steps towards being more green, more sustainable, we will be helping towards the greater cause!

Image from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1539915/earth_day_2009_events_in_the_detroit.html?cat=8

What is Fair Trade & why buy Fair Trade Certified™ products?

In short, “Fair Trade guarantees livable wages for farmers and their families, improving their opportunities for better healthcare, housing and education. By choosing this Fair Trade Certified™ tea, you are directly contributing to the livelihood of tea growing communities.” www.fairtradecertified.org

We are excited to now offer a selection of Fair Trade Certified™ teas, which are also 100% Organic:
Green Twisted Spears
New Moon Darjeeling
Blue Mountain Nilgiri
Monkey-Picked White

Look for this label to the right in our loose leaf tea selection...
The Fair Trade Certified™ label allows you to know that these products were produced under socially, economically and environmentally sustainable conditions.

How it works
Farms apply to be certified as Fair Trade suppliers through a third party certifier. To qualify, they are required to pay their workers living wages, provide a safe and healthy working environment, prohibit forced child labor, and offer transparency in their books which are reviewed in annual audits. Tea vendors, such as ourselves, can then choose to buy their tea at a fair price which includes an additional fixed "social premium". The "social premium" goes back to the farming community to be invested in the social, environmental, or economic programs created to benefit the specific needs of that community. An additional fixed "administrative premium" gets paid to the 3rd party certifier, such as TransFair USA, to cover their costs of certifying and monitoring the tea farms & vendors to ensure that their standards are met.

Here is an example of how the Fair Trade program has benefited the community of the Seeyok Tea Estate, located in the Mirik Valley of Darjeeling... our New Moon Darjeeling tea. The Fair Trade price has enabled the workers at Seeyok Tea Estate, numbering over 480, to establish various social and productive programs.

Credit Program:
Seeyok Estate runs credit programs for members to fund expenses such as weddings and death ceremonies. Additionally, members began a cow loan and floriculture program, enabling additional household income.
Health:
Members have access to midwives and a pharmacist who provide care on the estate. Ambulance service to an off-site government hospital is also in place, and a program to distribute vaccines to children was enacted.
Home Improvements:
With Fair Trade revenue, gas connections, ovens, and pressure cookers were made available to households.

We're really looking forward to contributing to these types of social development projects enabled through the Fair Trade programs. Stay tuned to hear more...

You can take a look at all of our loose leaf teas here.