Justice Tea Just Tastes Better

Thistle Farmers, ready for something new? We've just launched a new collaborative project, extending economic freedom to women in 5 social enterprises in 4 different countries.

The Tea Survival Kit provides everything you need to fill your cup: four blends of tea, honey sticks, spoon, tea filters and even a thermos! Wrapped in a tote sewn in Kenya, you’ll also be styling your favorite print. Through a new initiative at Thistle Farms called Shared Trade, we’re creating collaborative products like this to spread the message that love heals around the world.

Bringing five social enterprise partners together for one beautiful product is no easy feat. First, we had to source our four blends of tea.  Ajiri Tea is grown and harvested in Western Kenya at the Nyansiongo Tea Factory, a cooperative owned by small-scale farmers. As independent growers, our friends at Ajiri handpick the leaves and ensure the highest quality for our kits. The Moringa Black Health Blend is a blend of moringa, black tea, and lemon grass. The blend features the tea leaves of two Shared Trade partners: Moringa Madres in Mexico and Hope Tea in Uganda.

The third tea in the kit is the Thistle Stop Café Herbal Blend. Made of Milk Thistle, dandelion root and cardamom, this tasty blend of flavors is a natural tonic for liver health. And finally, the Gunpowder Green Tea Blend is made of green tea, orange peel and ginger root, and aids digestion. The gunpowder leaves are closed until they open in the water.

We think you’ll enjoy sweetening up these teas with ten organic honey sticks that have been regionally sourced. The spoon and filters are the last tools you need to enjoy a cup of tea! If you don’t have a cup, the new Love Heals thermos will keep your drink warm and delicious.

Each tea kit ingredient has a special pocket in the satchel that folds up and is easy to carry. In consultation with the Thistle Studios, women at New Visions Sewing Group created each satchel. New Visions is an enterprise of Lwala Community Alliance, a nonprofit initiative to empower women in Kenya through education, healthcare and employment. New Visions also sews the Evening Survival Kit and will be a Shared Trade partner.

Well, each of these pieces arrives separately at Thistle Farms here in Nashville. Thistle Farms then put the pieces together in the satchel. We even blend the Moringa tea in manufacturing! The finishing touch to each Tea Survival Kit is the leather tie sewn on by the team at Thistle Studios.

The Tea Survival Kit is a great companion for your next adventure. The sale of each kit supports women artisans from around the globe. The Tea Survival Kit is now available online. Order and we’ll ship it out to you, or drop by the café to buy your favorite satchel print in person! 

Look for more SharedTrade products coming to you in October!