On this day of Advent I give you Twinings Voyage Indian Chai. Chai is tea in Hindi and masala chai is usually chai made with a mix of spices. I've always enjoyed it and tea as a whole but yep masala chai has always been one of my favs. In the Western English speaking world especially North America masala chai i.e. tea made with a mix of spices is usually called chai so I guess masala chai = chai and is one of the newest cross over words from India and Hindi to English with their own special meanings joining words like pundit and chutney. So usually in the Western English speaking world if they say chai they mean masala chai and so it is tea made with a blend of spices. I often make my own version of masala chai from scratch i.e. throwing in my own cardamon, cloves and cinnamon things like that...but since I've discovered Twinings Vogage India Chai...well I find the need to make it from scratch less urgent...course it doesn't quite stack up but it does come in a good second and I often find myself swirling up a bag into a cup. So on this day of Advent I give to you Twinings Voyage Indian Chai! I still like to add a dash of cinnamon at the top ... I guess I like cinnamon as much as I like chocs! :)
Now you know I can't relax and treat myself for too long without wondering something or the other...and so now I'm all on this fair trade business so I had to check... Twinings is not fair trade but the company has this to say about ethical and fair trade practices on their website:
'Ethical & Fair Trade Policy
Twinings is committed to the ethical sourcing of tea and we do this through our membership of a growing international organisation called the Ethical Tea Partnership.
The Ethical Tea Partnership works to monitor conditions of tea production around the world to ensure that tea estates comply with the relevant laws and union agreements of their country in the areas of employment (including minimum age and wage levels); education; maternity; health and safety; housing and basic rights. The Ethical Tea Partnership strives to work in close partnership with tea producers and other stake holders to encourage open dialogue to ensure appropriate living and working conditions of tea estate workers and seek improvements where needed.
Full details of the Partnership and its work can be found on www.ethicalteapartnership.org'
And here is what the site ethical tea partnership says:
'Drinking tea is a global pleasure. Behind each cup of tea lies a much bigger picture: growing and producing tea provides a livelihood for millions of people around the world.
The Ethical Tea Partnership works to make this picture transparent – to monitor living and working conditions on tea estates, with the aim of making sure that the tea you buy from the members of our Partnership has been produced in a socially responsible way.
The following pages explain how we work and the progress we are making. Our initiative has grown successfully because it doesn’t stand still. We’re always learning and to continue to develop we need to share what we have learned and benefit from other people’s experiences. That’s why we are also committed to communicating with others about what we do.
Many consumers are increasingly curious about the quality of the products they buy and the ethical practices adopted to produce goods in overseas countries, particularly in emerging nations. We welcome this interest in what we do and hope this site provides you with the information you require.'
Now Twinings as a company is a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership but Twinings Voyage line and the Indian Chai part of that line that I so love is not a brand that is under the Ethical Tea Partnership agreement so far...but I'd like to think it will get there...You can check out the tea brands that are currently part of the partnership at this link and the fairtrade tea brands at this one.
All pics copyright of Meady's Musings Production
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