Put On The Kettle And Help Save The Planet! (Teadirect Gold Fairtrade Tea)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Teadirect Gold Fairtrade Tea
Date:	07/01/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fair-trade,ethical and committed to improving the lives of the growers today and in the future.

Disadvantages: None except will cost a little more.

Teadirect has been in my cupboard for a long time and I love it! The tea is delicious and full bodied so it has that Yorkshire strength to it, not the kind of tea which takes ages to brew, but a delicious variety which tastes good but isn't overbearing-just right!

I have been buying it for many years because the company who make it- Cafédirect is devoted to supporting farmers and to making a difference to countries that are living on the edge and well inside poverty. This is why this tea is stocked in Oxfam shops all over the UK.

The tea bags are produced by expert growers, but the important point is that growers receive a minimum price for their tea no matter what happens to the market price in between negotiation and the harvesting of the crop.


There are three varieties made by Teadirect, one is decaffeinated, one is the normal and the one I prefer is the subject of this review- the gold. This tea comes from a mixture from Kenya, Rwanda and India, but it is the Rwandan tea which gives the deep golden colour as it is grown on steep slopes at high altitudes. The cost is £2.39 for 80 bags and it is available from Waitrose and Oxfam and mail order from www.cafedirect.co.uk. The normal standard version of the tea is widely available in most supermarkets and is lovely too.

If you visit the website www.cafedirect.co.uk you will discover a wealth of information about the way the company works and how they plough 60% of their profits actually into the businesses of the growers of tea, coffee, and cocoa. An interesting fact to emerge from their site is that 93% of all carbon emissions come from boiling the kettle for your cup of this tea so it reminds us only to boil the amount of water we need. I have to say reading this today has made me stop and think because I have become lazy about this. When my daughter is home from university she puts me on the straight and narrow (she is doing a degree in Sustainable Development) so is passionate about these issues and watches me like a hawk if I get into bad ways, which thanks to her and to my own thoughts I am improving a lot especially in the areas of recycling and energy conservation.

One of the things which made me stop and think is a film on their website which talks about climate change and the way our lives in the west are affecting the lives of the people in the countries where these teas are produced. The carbon emissions from developed countries like the UK are affecting climate change in these regions and they are seeing more hurricanes and droughts. Cafédirect are devoted not only to reducing the carbon emissions but to look into ways to help these people adapt to the changing weather conditions so that they can survive and adapt going forwards. They have joined forces with a company called GTZ to do a 3 year study in which they are looking into regional specific effects of climate change, then looking at ways to adapt to these new challenges and finally to seek funding to implement them.


In 2008 a hurricane destroyed a million pounds worth of coffee grown for cafédirect in The Dominican Republic. These hurricanes are getting more severe each year and the same things are happening in the tea growing regions of the world.

While we live a relatively affluent life in the west starting our cars and boiling our kettles the effect this is having on these third world countries livelihoods is too vast to even begin to quantify. We go to work by car or bus, not by donkey as some do for instance in Peru, but yet we enjoy the produce from these countries so much in our everyday lives. I think buying fair-trade tea may help in a small way to provide a safe and an improving future for these people.



Cost wise it will impact your shopping a little depending on what you normally buy. I did a price comparison this morning and found that Yorkshire Tea bags which are similar in taste will cost the same £2.59 for 80 bags. Yorkshire Tea also shows commitment to ethical and responsible trading and this has led them to become a founding member of the Ethical Tea Partnership, so they are also committed to paying a fair price for their tea. If you buy the plain Teadirect rather than the gold version these are £2.18 so represent a good start if you want to help a little without inflating your bill too much, and these are a great choice. PG Tips are £1.79 and Twinings Everyday Tea bags are £1.97 so these are a few pennies less and I recently discovered that by 2010 all PG Tips tea will be made from tea grown on Rainforest Alliance certified farms which ensures a fair price will be paid. Twinings are also members of the Ethical Tea Partnership.

So whilst these other companies are also doing their bit Teadirect is at the forefront of this and the great thing is it is lovely tea too.

To make a perfect cup I put just the right amount of water in my kettle (even if my daughter isn't watching me!) then I put the tea bag in the cup. When the water boils it is best to just wait a moment to let it settle and then pour onto the tea bag. I leave mine for less than a minute (they suggest 3 to 5) I can't wait that long as it is too strong for me. Then I add milk preferably organic and it's ready. Fair-trade and delicious tea and maybe its helping in a small way to stop the world we know from changing so our grandchildren will enjoy what we have left for them.

Summary: A great tasting tea which is ethical and fair-trade.