Monday, February 15, 2010

Fair Trade YOUR Home

Fair Trade My Home is a grass-roots campaign of fair trade companies, individuals and organizations who are inviting friends and fans to join the fair trade movement and make their home a “Fair Trade Home.” The goal is to create as many self-declared Fair Trade Homes as possible by having people submit a photo or video showing which fair trade goods they regularly purchase and use in their home. Submit your photos and video to www.fairtrademyhome.com.

The purpose of Fair Trade My Home is to raise greater awareness of fair trade to the American consumer, so that more people support fair trade buying habits, fair labor practices and help cut down on poverty both in America and around the world.
Currently, the U.S. has over 1,500 companies and retailers offering fair trade goods, 13 fair trade towns (Milwaukee being one!), and over 300 college campuses that support fair trade. We can grow the Fair Trade community by growing awareness!

Learn more
at www.fairtrademyhome.com and www.fairtradewhitehouse.com.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Roots & Shoots

Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program empowers thousands of young people around the world to work together to improve and protect animals, communities and the environment. Learn more about the inspiring Roots & Shoots Program by watching this video.

Proceeds from each sale of Rishi Tea's new Masala Chai Concentrate are donated to Roots & Shoots.

Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots from The Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Brewing up a New Chai in support of the Jane Goodall Institute

We are absolutely thrilled to launch our new Masala Chai Concentrate! The new chai is an improvement upon our previous formula for a few different reasons: the flavors are richer and deeper, the packaging is more environmentally friendly and will take less fuel to ship it around the globe, and most importantly, we’ve partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute! Proceeds from each sale of the concentrate benefit Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Program.


Jane Goodall has worked for almost fifty years to protect animals, habitats and communities around the globe. The Roots& Shoots Program that she founded in 1991 is a youth-driven, global network of more than 8,000 groups in almost 100 countries. Together, youth from around the globe take action to improve our world through service learning projects that promote care and concern for animals, the environment and the human community.


Rishi Tea’s Masala Chai Concentrate is an organic and Fair Trade Certified™ microbrewed blend of energizing spices and rich vanilla infused with a full-bodied single origin forest grown black tea. Unlike other companies that use soluble tea and flavor extracts, we use traditional Indian spices that are slow brewed for more than 20 hours and ethically sourced, wild-grown black tealeaves from an ancient tea tree forest.


The Fair Trade black tea is harvested in Yunnan, China’s Mannong and Manmai villages, and helps support more than 220 families living and working in the villages. Ancient wild-grown forest tea comes from a sustainable, biologically diverse ecosystem. Less than 2% of the world’s tea is harvested in such a low impact and truly organic manner.


Joshua, Rishi Tea founder and tea buyer shares “Our Masala Chai goes above and beyond its organic and Fair Trade certifications. Promoting biodiversity, preserving soil and species and preventing erosion is critical to sustaining the environment but few large-scale tea farms work to this aim. Rishi’s direct trade of sustainable forest tea is a market driven solution for environmental conservation and pairs well with what the Roots & Shoots Program is all about.”


Rishi Tea’s organic, Fair Trade and Kosher Certified Masala Chai Concentrate is also fat free, gluten free and vegan. It’s available at Whole Foods for $5.99 and will be available at www.rishi-tea.com soon!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Gyokuro Yame


Joshua is the guest speaker for Breville's Food Thinkers blog. This is his second post for them, this month's feature is Gyokuro Yame.

It’s so cold and depressing. When is winter going to end? I spend a great deal of my time in the sub-tropical heat of Southeast Asia. When I come back to my frozen homeland (Mid-Western, USA) this time of year, I often find myself complaining like this. When I feel that down and blasé mood creeping up on me, I call upon the uplifting powers of GyoKuro.

This green tea called GyoKuro (Precious Jade Dew) is amazing! Not only does it have a super kick like espresso, its energy lasts longer and does not lead to a caffeine crash.

In Japan, Gyokuro is regarded as a natural anti-depressant due to its high content of the amino acid, L-theanine, which only exists in tealeaves. Amongst all the types of tea, Matcha and GyoKuro have the most L-theanine. It is this cold and dreary time of year when I consume the most Matcha and GyoKuro.

Now, I’ve been traveling around Asia for the past 14 years and I am a strong adherent to the Taoist philosophy of Yin & Yangand the concept of seasonal food. Many like minds would claim that green tea is too Yin or cooling for this time of year and that one should be drinking Pu-erh, black tea or heavier fermented and roasted oolong teas that are more warm and potent in property (Yang). I totally agree with this theory but I argue that Gyokuro is an unusual green tea that is suited to this cold weather season and one should not avoid Gyokuro during the winter, rather embrace it. Here’s why:

#1 Scientists claim that a lack of sun and very cold weather is naturally depressing. The L-theanine in Gyokuro is a natural anti-depressant and a neural-stimulator. Its consumption leads to the production of increased Alpha Brain waves. Of the 5 brain waves, alpha brain waves trigger endorphins (energetic happy vibes) and dopamine (chill out vibes). Coupled with the caffeine in Gyokuro, the L-theanine stimulated alpha brainwaves lead to a unique, long lived uplifted mental state that one can describe as a calm state of alert and focus kind of like how a Kung Fu master must feel or what Rishi-ites and the ancient Tang Dynasty poets refer to as “Tea Drunk”.

#2 Gyokuro is not all that cold (Yin) as a green tea. Gyokuro tea bushes are shaded during cultivation. This shading blocks the production of catechin, which is the major cooling property in green tea and it is this shading that enhances the yield of L-theanine in Gyokuro. The shading produces a unique green tea that is low in cooling catechin but rich in caffeine and uplifting L-theanine.


Joshua with young Goko varietal bushes destined for future Gyokuro.

As a professional tea taster and seasonal food lover, I drink green tea during its fresh harvest season. Most green teas have a short shelf life and after December of each year they start to show their age quite dramatically. Contrary to the rule of green tea, Gyokuro is the one green tea that must, by tradition, be matured and aged a bit before consumption. Real Gyokuro is harvested in June, aged until late October and released in November. Gyokuro is at its best 6-9 months after harvest. I would say February is a great time to enjoy Gyokuro for its flavor and its complimentary seasonal benefit.