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	<title>IntegriteaIntegritea | Integritea</title>
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	<link>http://www.integritea.org</link>
	<description>A teamaker’s perspective on tea, from the family tea company that is decommoditing a commodity. A blog about tea, life in Sri Lanka and ethics in business.</description>
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		<title>Distinctively tea</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/561</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/561#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:59:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[infusions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real tea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=561</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tea and conspiracy have made strange but regular bedfellows, from the Opium Wars and the tea fuelled socialist revolutions to the Tea Tape Scandal in New Zealand last month. There is a tea conspiracy brewing though that is perhaps more sinister than ever before. Each sip of tea echoes a tradition of millennia, which harks back to the apparent discovery of tea by Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 BC. The medicinal herb that Lo Yu writes of evolved into the most popular beverage in the world (after water) and is unique in that throughout its 5,000 year heritage it has been the focus of social, political and business gatherings, formed a catalyst for war and political protest. Tea has been celebrated by royalty, yet enjoyed equally by commoners. The development of tea from 2737 BC to the present though has not always been for the greater good. More sinister than the revolt that manifest itself in the Boston Tea Party, more sinister even than the Opium Wars was the perversion of tea and its commoditization at the hands of big business. A herb that is inextricably linked to the rhythm of nature and therefore infinite in its variety, requires dedication [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Natural. Magical. Uva 2011 Seasonal Flush.</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/tea-tasting/520</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/tea-tasting/520#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:11:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dilmah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Images of Tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tea Tasting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unbelievable Tea Experiences]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ceylon Tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ceylon tea trails]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dilmah uva 2011 seasonal flush]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sri lanka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[terroir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tientsin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[uva season]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=520</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; There is no beverage quite like tea. Brewed from the leaves of a herb first recorded as a medicine five thousand years ago, tea has since been celebrated in the most revered manner by poets, emperors, kings, and commoners. Tea is universally known as a healthy herb though not often as one that is also luxurious and indulgent. The Seasonal phenomenon that is perfectly expressed in the Uva Region of Sri Lanka, is induced entirely by nature and wonderfully presents the indulgence in tea. The most popular natural beverage in the world after water hides in the aromatic infusion of its leaves an inspiring and artistic story. The luxury in real tea – tea made in the traditional style – is derived from the artisanal manner in which it is made. Handpicked, gently withered, rolled in a style perfected over millennia, expertly fermented under the eye of a tea maker with decades of experience who must individually define the perfect moment at which to finally bake the tea and conclude a process that for millennia has followed an identical rhythm. Then tea is tasted for selected by experts who have trained for decades to understand the mystery of nature’s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.integritea.org/tea-tasting/520/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>On business and biodiversity: a view from Nagoya</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/480</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/480#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:59:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business and biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business as a matter of human service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[convention for Biological diversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP 10]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nagoya]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=480</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At the Convention for Biological Diversity’s Conference of the Parties 10 that is ongoing in Nagoya, Japan, opinions are divided on whether business has a role to play in biodiversity. Strange though that may sound, at the same Conference some businesses are justifying that opinion by their actions. Major pharmaceutical companies in several Western nations blocked the adoption of important international conventions that would govern the principle of payment for environmental services. Their actions notwithstanding, business is the problem, but business is also the solution. Degradation of the environment through destruction of natural habitats began the day the first human settlement was established – 150-200,000 years ago. Man’s impact on Nature has increased and recently entered a particularly intense phase with demand for biofuels, food production creating a several unsustainable relationship between man and nature. All this comes at a cost though, for the over exploitation of nature has already had remarkable costs. The European Commission’s Biodiversity Unit revealed this morning that the contribution of world fisheries to the global economy fell by Euro 50 billion due to environmental degradation. That is set to increase, and business led environmental damage like the recent BP oil spill will only intensify opinion [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/480/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Emperor and his new clothes (Donald Trump and his new tea)</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/475</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/475#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:46:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cocoa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethical trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exploitation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fair trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[producer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trump tea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=475</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Funny how things seem to work in endless loops in business. Something becomes popular, it becomes a success, and that success attracts big business which buys up all the little guys who made the thing popular. As the bean counters take charge, things invariably go stale when they dismantle all that made the thing a success in the first place with their love of profit … the wheel turns as along along comes a guy with passion, to start the cycle all over again. And so it is with Donald Trump and his tea, or the Emperor with no clothes. First there was a great teaman, Sir Thomas Lipton. He and a handful of visionaries brought tea to the world. That changed a long time ago unfortunately and however much the blandly financially driven corporates who bought Sir Tom’s business insist that nothing has changed, everything has. Apart from his picture that is – that, and his story remain very much the same. The heart of his vision – tea &#8211; is irrevocably lost. The same goes for another great teaman and his descendants. Thomas Twining founded the company that bears his name in 1706. If he knows much about [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lies, damned lies and the coffee lobby</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/462</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/462#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:09:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facts of Tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[antioxidants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arthritis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coffee lobby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conspiracy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea and arthritis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea consumption risk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unethical]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=462</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Fact and fiction should contrast as dramatically as black and white. Strangely that truth does not seem to hold anymore as the world enters a state of altered reality reminiscent of that which George Orwell described in 1949. In this dimension, it is not the State that is Big Brother, but something far worse. The history of tea is marked by more than the occasional subterfuge. Since Robert Fortune disguised himself as a Chinese Peasant to learn the art of producing tea in 1842, through to the Opium Wars and Boston Tea Party, tea has been no stranger to conspiracy and conflict. However the conspiracy in which tea finds itself involved in the 21st Century is one that is against tea itself. A Georgetown University Medical Centre study presented at the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism suggests that women who drink tea are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Ignoring EULAR president, Prof Paul Emery’s words, &#8220;We do assert the need for caution in the interpretation of these findings as no strong causation effect has been confirmed. We also encourage patients with rheumatic diseases to consult their physician before making any significant changes to their diet [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.integritea.org/ethics/462/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Man with no Tea in him</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/tea-industry/441</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/tea-industry/441#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:23:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tea & Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tea Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unbelievable Tea Experiences]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=441</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hearing the advice, earlier this week, of a learned marketer who proclaimed that tea – in the form that we know and love it today &#8211; will disappear in five years, and that tradition, love for tea are obsolete amongst a new generation that desires only instant gratification, it seemed that the 21st Century is no time for artisans in tea. My friend’s thesis was sound &#8211; with the relentless advance of Wal Mart, the insistence on speed and convenience amongst a generation that tweets and SMSs in preference to writing or even emailing, the teapot could well become an obscure accessory. Suggestive though the signs may be, predictions of a demise in tea in the style it has endured for millennia may be premature. Tea began as a medicine and only then grew into a beverage. The protective, health benefits that herbalist emperor Shen Nung, is said to have discovered in tea have been proven by science 5,000 years later. Their significance for humanity is much greater today than it has ever been in the past. The potency of antioxidants in tea &#8211; in reducing the impact of stress, of protecting us from every chronic disease, from Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.integritea.org/tea-industry/441/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>21st Century Beverage : terroir in tea</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/tea/434</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/tea/434#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:27:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ory behind your cup of tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parkinson's disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tea & Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tea Tasting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[terroir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[variety]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=434</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The story behind your cup of tea is a fascinating one, for it is infused with art, history and dedication at every stage from hand picking the tender leaves through the ancient and traditional cycle of withering, rolling, fermentating, baking and sifting the tea leaves.  And finally there is the art of tasting and selecting the finest.  It is here that one of the most compelling aspects of this ancient herb becomes evident.  An array of tea – around 7000 different teas &#8211; are tasted each week at Dilmah. Those teas, each different, with a spectrum of colour and taste, changes the week after &#8211; in colour, strength and personality.  Terroir – the sense of place &#8211;  is the reason for this wonderful variety.   Tea, like wine, is influenced in taste, flavour and aroma by rainfall, temperature, soil conditions, sunshine, wind and of course the art of the tea maker.  That natural alchemy determines the brightness, the subtle character of tea. Tea grown, for example, on Rilhena Estate, with long periods of sunshine, dry and somewhat warm and moist conditions, exhibit a burgundy brown liquor, a malt, heavy note with black leaf appearance.  Tea grown, harvested and produced the same day [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Harsher Truth behind the Harsh World</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/tea-industry/425</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/tea-industry/425#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:08:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business as a matter of human service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tea Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ceylon Tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[commoditise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[commodity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dilmah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dominance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fairtrade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[international herald tribune]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MJF Foundation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multinational]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multinational corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sri lanka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea price]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unfair trade]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=425</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Suggesting that ‘..the fortunes of the Hill Tamil workers on its many plantations have not kept pace with the industry’s growth’ hides a much more complex reality than first meets the eye. Notwithstanding the superficial comment of the Ceylon Tea Traders’ Association representative that the workers are well cared for and not exploited, there is exploitation, but those responsible are not, as Mr. McDonald implies, the Tea Exporters and Traders in Sri Lanka.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Wall-E Prophecy</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/nothing-whatsoever-to-do-with-tea/420</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/nothing-whatsoever-to-do-with-tea/420#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:52:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nature and the Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nothing Whatsoever to do with Tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2010 environmental targets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Axiom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gred]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IUCN red List]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wall-E]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=420</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the movie ‘Wall-E’ we are transported 700 years into the future, when the last surviving humans have been forced to abandon a polluted Earth and find refuge for their corpulent selves on the spaceship Axiom. The characterization of humans as grossly overweight dugong like creatures, transported in pods &#8211; being limited in their ability to move – appears a lot less like the fiction the movie is rated as, when one considers the rate at which human greed and indulgence are evolving. The genius of the movie does not end there, for the polluted and suffocated planet Earth seems to share the same trajectory, although that is probably set to make Wall-E non-fictional a lot sooner than the 700 years suggested in the movie. Last week the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released an assessment of where the world is with the 2010 target for significantly reducing the rate at which biodiversity was being lost. It makes sobering reading and is without a doubt essential reading for everyone. For all the rhetoric about ‘creative capitalism’, the adaptation of economic systems to meet 21st Century realities and popular desire for greater sustainability, Governments have failed to listen [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.integritea.org/nothing-whatsoever-to-do-with-tea/420/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>…. and then there is tea (green tea for the first timer)</title>
		<link>http://www.integritea.org/tea/419</link>
		<comments>http://www.integritea.org/tea/419#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:32:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dilhan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[- TEA -]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dilmah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first time tea drinker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green tea with mint]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iced Green Tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moroccan hospitality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moroccan mint]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moroccan Mint Tea Lemonade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[newcomer to tea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.integritea.org/?p=419</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If there was any doubt about the ancient wisdom that tea is good for human health, they were dispelled by the findings of the Fourth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health. Yet, like those that persist in smoking cigarettes in the face of overwhelming research advising against it, there are some who still do not favour the healthy and delicious herb. If the promise of protective benefits against every chronic disease does not lure, nor the prospect of reduced stress, greater alertness and less chance of Alzheimer’s Disease, then it must be left to the taste of tea. Taste buds battered by more provincial beverages than tea, or as likely its commoditised version, often fail to appreciate the sophistication in tea. The harmony of flavours that makes a good tea, can easily be misunderstood, especially where it is a good and fresh tea. Too often have I heard the astringency in a fresh, properly stored high grown Ceylon tea being mistaken for ‘bitterness’ and the richness and character in a low elevation tea being labelled ‘too strong’. It is not that the tasters in each case were incapable of appreciating tea, but that their palates simply were not [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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