I'm a locavore. For me that means most of the food I eat is grown or produced within a 150 mile radius. It has become my passion, more so over the last year then ever before.
I grew up with parents who gardened. I took a wonderful Ag class my freshman year of high school where we learned how to plant with the seasons and got our hands dirty. I fell in love with, and still miss, the
Central Market in Lancaster, PA, where I lived most of my life. Lancaster is a agricultural area, and what part of the economy that isn't tourist related, depends on that agriculture. I can tell you what the season is by the smell of the fields. When I lived in Pennsylvania, eating local was easy and something I didn't think about.
In Charlotte it's not as easy or simple. We may be a small city, but we're definitely urban. When I moved here I learned what eggs taste like when you buy them at the store. I definitely prefer my eggs fresh from the chickens who laid them. If you look hard in this town you can find local foods and products that come from people who have a passion for their produce. Or if you go to the
Tailgate Market in South End you just have to look around: everything offered here is locally made or produced with local products.
I bring this passion and community to Felicitea. We use local products, as much as possible, in the teas, soaps and gifts. I believe that local is more sustainable. And, since I know the growers, I know the products are produced safely and organically, even if they don't have the USDA's seal of approval.
Eating local is about relationship, community and commitment. It's about supporting each other and creating a relationship of knowing interdependence. Felicitea is also about relationship, community and commitment. The custom blend process is about communicating our relationship with tea, with each other, and our selves. Sharing these teas with each other we create a community where we share each others tastes and stories. We commit to make tea a wonderful experience that we can share or enjoy alone, creating a space where we can tell stories or sit in peaceful silence with friends. Choosing local means choosing peace, passion and sustainability. Isn't that what tea means to so many of us?
I am blessed with the ability to share a cup of tea with most of the people who's products we use here at Felicitea. I can go take a look at the place where the products are grown or raised. Our teas come from companies who can go look at the estate, talk to the pickers and tea masters and estate owners. Each cup of tea you drink comes thanks to the hands that grow it, pick it, dry it and then pass it on to me where I blend it together just for you with my two hands. Every sip of tea was created by a community of people with names, stories and a passion for their work.
To widen this community and allow you to know the people who grow and participate in the creation of Felicitea products we'll be honoring and introducing you to them. In this space we'll share the stories of the people who grow and produce the ingredients in your teas, soaps and gifts. We'll also be sharing profiles of the vendors who offer Felicitea products along with those who carry and create complimentary products such as chocolates infused with our teas or local honey to sweeten your cup. There will even be a stories from customers - the people who not only enjoy the final product of this communities co-creation process, but support its continued existence.
My hope is that even if you're too far from Charlotte or India to shake the hand of the people who bring you your tea, you'll get a sense of who these people are and what they bring to your cup. Knowing this community of amazing, passionate people has made each cup of tea a happier experience for me. I hope it does the same for you.
Labels: commitment, community, custom blending, local, passion, slow food, tailgate, tea
