(My attempt to keep the peace).
The tea we drink and love comes from a variety of countries, and it is natural that we may have strong feelings about those places and their governments. I for one jones for Fair Trade, while others have very distinct thoughts about China. My hope is that by creating a place for that kind of ranting, it will be better received by the forum.
By all means adhere to forum rules, but if you have something to say, I think this is a better place than cluttering up other threads.
(Mods, if this is a bad idea, feel free to delete it).
Jul 11th, '08, 12:12
Posts: 1559
Joined: Jan 28th, '07, 02:24
Location: Fort Worth, TX
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Space Samurai
Jul 11th, '08, 16:47
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
OK...this is an experiment, clearly!!! *I don my Mod Hat*
I will add this...I will advise mods to watch this closely. I hope we can all be respectful of each other. If this gets personal or strongly argumentative, we will declare the experiment a failure and ban Space to a purgatory of Lipton (I of course get all his teaware).
So, keep it light. Remember these words, this is a potent subject and can easily make tea friends become tea enemies.
I have a rule to add...this is to discuss tea as it relate to politics or vice versa!!!! This is not a forum to express domestic polital viewpoints...PERIOD.
I will add this...I will advise mods to watch this closely. I hope we can all be respectful of each other. If this gets personal or strongly argumentative, we will declare the experiment a failure and ban Space to a purgatory of Lipton (I of course get all his teaware).
So, keep it light. Remember these words, this is a potent subject and can easily make tea friends become tea enemies.
I have a rule to add...this is to discuss tea as it relate to politics or vice versa!!!! This is not a forum to express domestic polital viewpoints...PERIOD.
Jul 11th, '08, 16:55
Posts: 1559
Joined: Jan 28th, '07, 02:24
Location: Fort Worth, TX
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Space Samurai
Jul 11th, '08, 18:12
Posts: 1936
Joined: May 22nd, '06, 11:28
Location: Trapped inside a bamboo tong!
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hop_goblin
What, there are tea wars going on in here?
Don't always believe what you think!
http://www.ancientteahorseroad.blogspot.com
http://englishtea.us/
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http://englishtea.us/
Jul 11th, '08, 20:49
Posts: 1598
Joined: Jan 11th, '07, 16:13
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scruffmcgruff
This is just the response I would expect from a dirty commie.Space Samurai wrote:WHAT!? I'm Just trying to help.Chip wrote:...we will declare the experiment a failure and ban Space to a purgatory of Lipton (I of course get all his teaware).
That should get things started. Bwahahahaha!
Tea Nerd - www.teanerd.com
If it leads to peace and harmony then it is the way to go.
It seems to me that our current version of free trade with tea producing countries is working just fine. With a phone call or internet connection, I can purchase tea from all over the globe, from the best to the worst, with no difficulty as long as the price of oil/shipping or internal politics of tea producing nations doesn't make it impossible to get. I know of no tea plantations in the North East America.
I'm not ready to boycott tea because of politics yet so, for now, in the present, all is well.
It seems to me that our current version of free trade with tea producing countries is working just fine. With a phone call or internet connection, I can purchase tea from all over the globe, from the best to the worst, with no difficulty as long as the price of oil/shipping or internal politics of tea producing nations doesn't make it impossible to get. I know of no tea plantations in the North East America.
I'm not ready to boycott tea because of politics yet so, for now, in the present, all is well.
Jul 12th, '08, 10:30
Posts: 262
Joined: Oct 18th, '07, 20:45
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:
Katrina
Fair Trade
I'm kind of afraid to post here because I don't want to open a can of worms, but....
I read awhile back about coffee workers starting to initiate new discussions on payments since Fair Trade labor rates haven't been renegotiated in something like 10 years. (Please don't quote any of this data as fact since I'm trusting my sleep deprived memory.) Does anyone have any info or article references on this? Anyone know the state of the tea industry regarding Fair Trade wage negotiations?
Thanks!
I read awhile back about coffee workers starting to initiate new discussions on payments since Fair Trade labor rates haven't been renegotiated in something like 10 years. (Please don't quote any of this data as fact since I'm trusting my sleep deprived memory.) Does anyone have any info or article references on this? Anyone know the state of the tea industry regarding Fair Trade wage negotiations?
Thanks!
Visit my website and blog at http://www.teapages.net and http://teapages.blogspot.com
Taiwanese oolong
Here's a couple of brief topics that may be of interest to drinkers of Taiwanese oolong. If I can find the original info, I'll post it later.
1. Recent claims have been made that officials within the Taiwanese government are harassing and attempting to put out of business many Taiwanese tea farms. I don't know why they would do this, but the next topic may be related.
2. Government corruption in Taiwan, which is very well known, apparently extends to the tea business. Recently a very large quantity of tea labeled as native Taiwanese oolong was found to be seriously contaminated with chemicals. When I first read this, I thought my defense of the safety of Taiwanese tea might require a second look. Fortunately, investigators traced the tea's origin back to Vietnam. Corrupt Taiwanese officials had assisted the importer in approving and labeling the tea as native Taiwanese oolong.
I still believe Taiwanese tea is safe, but it is important to use a known and trusted source as many take advantage of the high regard placed on Taiwanese oolong and will relabel inferior, imported tea as originating in Taiwan or Formosa.
Note: The island of Taiwan used to be called Formosa. It was renamed after World War 2 when Mao and the communists took control of China. The defeated opposition forces of Chiang Kei Shek fled to the island of Formosa, took control there, and renamed it Taiwan.
Most if not all current Taiwanese tea originated in mainland China. Tea plants/trees were imported from there to Taiwan, and the rest is history. Many believe that Taiwanese oolong is the best in the world, and I tend to agree. Although innovation, which is something to be expected from free countries, is certainly responsible for much of the progress and IMO improvement, Taiwan's climate and high mountains also share the credit. However, if anyone believes that high mountain oolong originated in Taiwan as I did, that belief is false as this type of tea was also brought to Taiwan from the mainland.
1. Recent claims have been made that officials within the Taiwanese government are harassing and attempting to put out of business many Taiwanese tea farms. I don't know why they would do this, but the next topic may be related.
2. Government corruption in Taiwan, which is very well known, apparently extends to the tea business. Recently a very large quantity of tea labeled as native Taiwanese oolong was found to be seriously contaminated with chemicals. When I first read this, I thought my defense of the safety of Taiwanese tea might require a second look. Fortunately, investigators traced the tea's origin back to Vietnam. Corrupt Taiwanese officials had assisted the importer in approving and labeling the tea as native Taiwanese oolong.
I still believe Taiwanese tea is safe, but it is important to use a known and trusted source as many take advantage of the high regard placed on Taiwanese oolong and will relabel inferior, imported tea as originating in Taiwan or Formosa.
Note: The island of Taiwan used to be called Formosa. It was renamed after World War 2 when Mao and the communists took control of China. The defeated opposition forces of Chiang Kei Shek fled to the island of Formosa, took control there, and renamed it Taiwan.
Most if not all current Taiwanese tea originated in mainland China. Tea plants/trees were imported from there to Taiwan, and the rest is history. Many believe that Taiwanese oolong is the best in the world, and I tend to agree. Although innovation, which is something to be expected from free countries, is certainly responsible for much of the progress and IMO improvement, Taiwan's climate and high mountains also share the credit. However, if anyone believes that high mountain oolong originated in Taiwan as I did, that belief is false as this type of tea was also brought to Taiwan from the mainland.