February 5, 2008

Stripped Teas

Equal Exchange Small-Grower Teas

Big-name car companies. Cola makers who perpetually reproduce. Ever-expanding malls.

In a world of big business, it’s nice to see the little guy get some.

Enter Equal Exchange small-grower teas. Instead of sourcing from the industry-standard plantations, the West Bridgewater-based tea and coffee company is gathering specialty organic teas from small-scale, fair trade-certified tea growers.

It falls in line with fair trade coffee practices, giving tea farm co-ops in South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Northern India more bargaining power and a bigger piece of the pot. And since their teas are handpicked, they can offer special blends like Darjeeling First Flush and Second Flush (which come from either the first or second harvest). There’s also Ceylon Green Tea and Ceylon High Grown Black.

Each loose-leaf tea arrives in a reusable silver tin.

Which you can use time and again to really stick it to the man.

Available online at equalexchange.com.

In need of a Fashion Week fix? Check out the DailyCandy Dossier.