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Written by Deepak Khandelwal
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Early in the 2005 tea season, a few
co-workers and I traveled to northern
India to visit our producer partners:
Tea Promoters, India (TPI) and the
Sanjukta Vikas Cooperative. We came
back from the beautiful mountainsides
of Darjeeling with stories of success
and the realization that we could
continue to help develop alternative
trade models for farmers in the region.
With our renewed excitement around
tea, we decided that it was time to take
the next big step in developing markets
for small-scale tea farmers here in the U.S.
Our goals included: further developing
quality; continuing to emphasize
education; strengthening relationships
with our partners; and starting
relationships with other producers.
A year and a half later, we
launched three new products:
Organic Irish Breakfast
A malty, dark blend of teas
from TPI in north India and
a new partner, the Sahyadri
Farmers Consortium in Kerala,
India. |
Organic Green Magic
A sweet and pleasant green
tea from the Small Organic
Farmers Association and
BioFoods in Sri Lanka. |
Organic Rooibos
A rich red tea from the
Wupperthal Cooperative
in the Cederberg Region of
South Africa. |
This winter we will also be introducing the first selections of super-premium small-scale farmer loose teas. This line will highlight some of the best seasonal teas from India and Sri Lanka.
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