tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post7531811740751522883..comments2024-03-20T16:34:04.414-04:00Comments on Alex Zorach's Tea Blog: British Oppression: Top 5 Google SearchesAlex Zorachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08335878680429494039noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-12044674292186808342012-07-18T13:07:06.152-04:002012-07-18T13:07:06.152-04:00I do not know this company, and their website does...I do not know this company, and their website does not seem to be loading, so I can't say much about them. If you're not sure of a company's claim of selling fair trade teas, you can check with whatever certifying agency they use. Look on their website, find the certifying agency (usually one of the subsidiaries of FLO, I think in the Netherlands the main one is called "Max Havelaar"), and then check with this agency that they're a certified seller. Having each retailer be certified is important because you cannot just buy a fair trade product and then resell it and have it still be fair trade. The reason is that fair trade aims to curb the problem where businesses continuously re-sell the same items with higher profits taken at each step.<br /><br />However, if you want recommendation of fair-trade certified teas and tea companies, you can find a ton of info on RateTea. <a href="http://ratetea.com/topic/fair-trade-tea/12/" rel="nofollow">RateTea's page on fair trade tea</a> links up to a listing of brands as well as a feature to browse individual teas. Unfortunately, there's no filter to limit the search yet to companies based in (or which sell and ship to) Europe.<br /><br />Most recently, I wrote about Frontier Co-op, a company that I think is at the forefront of sustainability and human rights issues. Their teas are good, but not true artisan tea. A company strongly oriented towards fair trade, which is more oriented towards specialty teas, is Rishi Tea. I don't know as much though about the brands available in Europe. I do know that Hampstead Tea, based in the UK, sells some outstanding fair trade certified Darjeeling from Makaibari estate at a good price. If you like Darjeeling, I'd heartily recommend trying Makaibari estate--their teas are moderately widely available, and the tea garden is a long-standing leader in ecological practices. And on top of their top-notch black teas, they also produce very good long-leaf green teas, unusual for India.Alex Zorachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335878680429494039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-55369458079701002872012-07-18T10:44:07.431-04:002012-07-18T10:44:07.431-04:00Thank you, Alex, for writing this post. Unfortunat...Thank you, Alex, for writing this post. Unfortunately, the history of tea is tied up with colonialism and violence, and I am sure, still bitter oppression today. Do you have any fair-trade suggestions? Tea merchant Simon Levelt (www.simonlevelt.nl) in Holland claims to be fair-trade. Do you know anything about them?<br /><br />All the best!The Teaisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01260367870454750820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-8877197042406363772012-07-15T21:54:54.181-04:002012-07-15T21:54:54.181-04:00Thanks, Alex - you are raising a good issue for co...Thanks, Alex - you are raising a good issue for consideration.Stephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05753205572837649406noreply@blogger.com