JustJames Send Message

i bought this tea as the finishing touch for an upcoming project in my human geography class. the mission? choose a sub saharan country, identify a SPECIFIC aspect (ie the UN millenium goals, or an outstanding issue within the country).

our prof was clear: ‘choose something you’re passionate about.’ well that made it a bit tricky. i began to dig.

i really want to get a good mark on this, which meant advanced planning and study. i went to TED online and stumbled upon a brilliant ugandan speaker, andrew mwenda, who gave a talk entitled ‘aid for africa? no thanks.’ http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mwenda_takes_a_new_look_at_africa.html

he made the point that aid usually finances government corruption and that even when it doesn’t, poverty reduction is by no means the same as the creation of wealth. one of the ways to create wealth was to find a vendor with whom to do business.

the gears began to turn. mwenda’s lecture had convinced me that uganda was who i wanted to look at, but what did i want to look at? ‘choose something you’re passionate about’ echoed in my head— i began to look into ugandan tea farms!

if i’m not very careful here i’ll start to take you through my whole presentation! so instead i’ll move on to the tea and the estate that it came from.

this tea is unlike any other i’ve tried: absolutely no floral or fruit notes. instead it is a blend of sweet tobacco and wood notes reminiscent of honeybush crossed with the smell of balsam.

this tea pulls no punches! definitely high test. a certain amount of caffeine stick, but a remarkably smooth execution. definitely an unashamed booyah!

must admit the appearance of the tea threw me a bit, lol. the tiny curled leaves made me think very much of coffee grounds (didn’t quite know what to expect!).

nicely done mitiyana! the mityana estate has cleverly diversified. it produces resources for tea manufacturers like lemon grass, but also essential oils like rosemary.

my specific focus is looking at how fair trade practices have effected tea farming in uganda…. i haven’t been able to confirm whether mityana is fair trade certified or not, though i would lean towards not. when i know for sure i will update! (i’ll let you know what mark i get as well at the end of the semester too). i can tell you the prof seems rather thrilled that tea is going to be served!

FYI: i bought a ton to serve with presentation, but aside from that i am more than willing to share out samples!

you can get this tea through tweed and hickory, but i really wanted the kudos to go to the tea pluckers and farmers. uganda needs more press if they are going to create more wealth.