Tea Time

Not often is it that men have the heart, when their one great industry is withered, to rear up in a few years another as rich to take its place, and the tea fields of Ceylon are as true a monument to courage as is the lion at Waterloo. — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Mountain culture, certainly in North America, Continue Reading

Rwanda Fully Washed Specialty coffee

There is a strong emphasis on social and environmental initiatives, which help the small producers in the region. Many of the producers have less than 1 hectare of coffee. Each member is provided with free healthcare as well as basic agricultural training and adequate fertilizer. The washing station uses mechanical pulpers and ferments underwater to give the coffee good clarity. Continue Reading

Lean management to replace feudal model on tea estates to improve revenues

The age-old feudal work structure on tea estates still in existence since time immemorial has to improve productivity and welfare of workers, a new research revealed. In this regard tea estate labour unions need to work regularly with plantation companies, policy makers and workers in consultation with ex-planters to push for more welfare facilities for the people they represent and increase Continue Reading

Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms protect forests, soils, waterways and wildlife habitat, and they ensure that farm workers benefit from decent wages, safe working conditions, dignified housing, medical care and schools for their children.

Our little green frog really gets around--and that’s good news for people and the planet. These days, you can find the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal on a rapidly growing list of products and services, including coffee, chocolate, tea, fruit, flowers, paper, furniture and tourism lodges.

Products bearing the seal originate on--or contain ingredients sourced from--Rainforest Alliance Certified farms or forests. These farms and forests are managed according to rigorous environmental, social and economic criteria designed to conserve wildlife; safeguard soils and waterways; protect workers, their families and local communities; and increase livelihoods in order to achieve true, long-term sustainability. Tourism businesses that feature the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal meet the Rainforest Alliance comprehensive sustainability standards for tourism.

UTZ Certified is a program and a label for sustainable farming. The UTZ Certified label is featured on more than 10,000 different product packages in over 116 countries.[1] As of 2014, UTZ Certified is the largest program for sustainable farming of coffee and cocoa in the world.[2] The UTZ Certified program covers good agricultural practices, farm management, social and living conditions, and the environment.

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The story of tea begins in China. According to legend, in 2737 BC, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water, when some leaves from the tree blew into the water. Shen Nung, a renowned herbalist, decided to try the infusion that his servant had accidentally created. The tree was a Camellia Sinensis, and the resulting drink was what we now call tea...

What's Tea? 

Tea as a brew is a luminous coloured liquid which possesses a pleasing aroma and is a delicious and fragrant beverage taken hot or cold. This beverage which has managed to retain, and indeed, increase its popularity over millennia.

The Tea Plant 
The tea plant (Camellia Sinensis) is a species of tree related to the Camellia. Its flowers are yellow-white which bear small, hard-shelled fruits, similar to a hazelnut. The evergreen leaves are leathery, dark and slightly serrated. A tea plant can easily grow to become 100 years old. In fact, wild tea plants are reputed to reach an age of up to 1,700 years.

Most believe that coffee was initially discovered by mankind in Ethiopia.  According to a coffee history legend, an Arabian shepherd, named Kaldi, found his goats dancing jubilantly around a dark-green leafed shrub with bright red cherries, in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Kaldi soon determined that it was the bright red cherries on the shrub that were causing the peculiar euphoria and after trying the cherries himself, he learned of their powerful effect.  The stimulating effect was then exploited by monks at a local monastery to stay awake during extended hours of prayer.

Once local monks had discovered it, they began to dry the berries and ship them to other monasteries. The berries would be refreshed with water, the fruit would be eaten and the water that the berries had soaked in would be drunk as well.