Advent Calendar:Sun 21 Dec-Twinings Voyage, Indian Chai

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

Advent Calendar:Fri 19 Dec = Fairtrade Products!

On this day of Advent I give you Fairtrade products! The thing that kicked off this blog is coffee and later on chocolate and cocoa was often discussed on this blog for this year. So it is fitting that my gift to you on this day is to discuss fairtrade products and in particular fairtrade coffee, cocoa and chocolate.

First of all to discuss it we should first of all define it...I often find that a good place to start and puts everyone on the same page especially those lurking in the corner afraid to admit they don't know what the thing means and ashamed for some silly reason to simply ask - "What does fair-trade mean?".

If they did ask it though some lovely person would have then said to them according to the official Fair Trade Foundation's website :
'Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives. '

And today I plan to share with you The Fairtrade Foundation's site honour roll of fairtrade coffee, cocoa, chocolate and hot chocolate. And here they are:

-Coffee
-Cocoa
-Chocolate
-Hot Chocolate

Interesting to note that Cadbury whose Cocoa I offered to you on Wed is not on the honour roll. However they recently this year broached their own sort of agreement. Many a blogger and news columnist out there have been going on about how they did it just cause it secured their economic interest and their long term financial viability plans. You know not cause they really cared about the poor farmers and all! But I say...SO WHAT?! I mean yea it would be lovely if they really did care but what if the future way to do business means it has to be fair... What if it is how the world is getting when there will be no business but good ethical business it would be the only business we know!? :) Cause to me that is what the future will bring if all the consumers become conscious and say it is how it has to be! Social entrepreneurship will soon become what all entrepreneurship is! Either way if two hands are clapping so what if Cadbury didn't broker this agreement from the bottom of their heart but to secure survival and long term profitability? Cause what is important is both them and the farmers and us the consumers or the eaters are all happy ?! :)

And according to Cadbury's main corporate site. Here's Cadbury's approach:
'The Cadbury Approach

In 2008 we announced the establishment of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, to secure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of around a million cocoa farmers and their communities in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. This ground-breaking initiative, which will be carried out in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners, marks 100 years since the Cadbury brothers first began trading in Ghana and aims to support the development of sustainable cocoa growing communities. Cadbury is initially investing £1m in 2008 as a seed fund to establish the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, with annual funding levels rising to a steady rate of £5m over the next several years.

The majority of the Partnership funds (70%) will be invested into farming villages in Ghana. Ghanaian cocoa trades at 10% above the global market price due to the quality of beans. Cadbury recently funded research by the Institute of Development Studies and the University of Accra into "Sustainable Cocoa Production in Ghana" which showed that the production of some cocoa farms is only 4-6 sacks a year, and so it is an improvement in productivity that is critical to improving incomes of farmers.
The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership aims to:

1. Improve cocoa farmer incomes: by helping farmers increase their yields and produce top quality beans
2. Introduce new sources of rural income: through microfinance and business support to kick start new rural businesses and introduce additional income streams such as growing other crops
3. Invest in community led development: to improve life in cocoa communities e.g. supporting education through schools and libraries, supporting the environment through biodiversity projects, and building wells for clean, safe water
4. Work in partnership: developing a pioneering model which will be led from the grass roots. Farmers, governments, NGOs and international agencies will work together to decide how the funding is spent and work with local organisations to turn plans into action

In summary, we are trying to reach a huge number of farmers with the principles of Fairtrade - such as collaboration and community engagement - and we're working with a range of partners. We hope that this partnership way of working will inform development work in the future.'

Hey! Sounds good to me on paper or Web 2.0! So let's not complain about the approach let's follow up and see if the approach is followed...and if they don't...take action by getting involved on here.But hey it's Christmas and this is my Advent calendar gift to you and since for sure we know that the company that Cadbury gobbled up Green&Black has the chocolate bar that was the first ever FairTrade product in the UK 14 years ago- Green and Black's Maya Gold Dark Chocolate Bar I also gift it to you! I've eaten it a couple times and it is absolutely divine by the way!You can check it out and US readers can buy it here.