Review and Giveaway: Indonique Provides Social Responsibility in Every Sip

Those who know me well know that I am fond of saying that there is a tea for anything that ails you. Human beings survived for centuries without the help of what we refer to as “modern medicine” and herbal teas have always played a huge role in the health of these populations.

However, the fact that many of the herbs and flowers that go into conventional tea are harvested in countries with little respect for human rights, environmentally-conscious agricultural practices or fair wages for workers, makes buying tea somewhat of a moral dilemma.

Although you may depend on your morning Chai latte to get you moving through your day with a smile, how often have you ever stopped to think about whether the company that sells it really cares about true health and wellness?

Thankfully, there are companies like Indonique who are committed to providing authentic whole leaf teas while at the same time giving back to the people who pick and package them.

Founded by a native of New Orleans, George Constance, and then washed away in the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina, Indonique has risen again as a testament to the fact that the socially-minded businesses are some of the most resilient in the marketplace.

Restablished in Conneticut, Indonique is a tea and chai company that sells its specialty blends and tea brewing accessories directly to consumers via the internet as well as retailers and wholesalers. What makes Indonique truly unique is not simply that they donate 10% of every sale to the communities where their tea is picked through their Program T42.

If you’ve never given much thought to the lifestyle of those that painstakingly pick and prepare the teas that you enjoy, it might surprise you to learn that the average daily pay is about $1.28 for a tea plucker in Darjeeling, one of the lowest wage rates in the formal economy. These people are left to the mercy of large corporations that waltz in and name the (low, low) price that they will pay for the teas they ship all over the world.

T42 is a new way of doing business that links the success of Indonique with the well being of the people people who pick their teas. These 10% donations are funneled into international non-governmental organizations like Feed the Children and Mercy Corps. Unlike a charity, Indonique consider the tea pickers to be partners in the more profitable retail end.

To get connected with Indonique, follow them on Twitter, and join their Facebook group Program T42. Also, browse their list of current vendors to see if the tea can be purchased near you!

I had the pleasure of sampling some Indonique teas in preparation for this review, and have to say that they were truly delicious. The lucious, fragrant Vanilla Chai has earned a spot on my morning (and night time) tea list, as well as the anti-oxidant rich Ginger Peach Orange Green Tea, which is great for a healthy pick me up during the post-lunch slump.

But you don’t have to take my word for it…

GIVEAWAY: Indonique has generously offered to give FOUR BOXES of their amazing tea to one lucky EcoSpheric Blog reader! Enter today!

**Note: Please leave your Twitter Username or Email address on your entry so that you can be contacted if you win.

To Enter: First Entry (required) – Visit the Indonique Website and leave a comment on this blog post telling which tea variety you’d most like to try.

Second Entry – Follow @ecosphericblog on Twitter (or let me know you’re already a follower) and Tweet about this giveaway. Leave a separate comment on this blog post with your a link to the tweet.

Third Entry – Become a follower of The EcoSpheric Blog and leave a comment on this post telling me you followed.

Bonus for Two Extra Entries – Post this Giveaway on your blog or website and leave a comment on this blog post with the link to your post.

This giveaway will end on Monday, November 2nd at 12 pm Mountain Time.

Tags: chai, fair trade, giveaway, green tea, Indonique