Smuggled tea captures market

Smuggled tea captures market

Chai Walla India

Tea Chemistry

English Tea How To

Temples, tombs and teabags

Egyptology News: Travel: Temples, tombs and teabags

Indonique Featured on Triple Pundit!!!

Indonique Tea & Chai Restarts After Katrina Washout - Indonique, Tea, Mercy Corps

MERCY CORPS profile of Darjeeling Estate Owner

Indonique donates 10% of every sale to Mercy Corps to fund programs like the CHAI program in India. Check out this link to a MERCY CORPS article about one of the great tea men in India, destined to be one of the great humanitarians of our time.

Buzzing with Cosmic Energy | Mercy Corps

To buy his tea visit:

Makaibari Estate Black

Makaibari Estate Green

Tea and the Opium Wars

Here's the setting, China having discovered tea thousands of years ago, reluctantly, at first, sells it to England. Refusing to accept international banking terms, China requires payment in silver at time of purchase. England, absolutely addicted to the stuff, imports so much tea that the drain of silver from the Isles threatens economic ruin. The Chinese further protected their tea trade by making the secret of tea a state secret. Discussing any aspect of tea or teaching Chinese languages to foreign devils was punishable by death. 

Poor England, small country with a big addiction and a very big trading partner. China was the riches most powerful nation in those days. And so, under these dire circumstances, England, reluctant to wage war, devised, in the early 1800's a clever scheme to get the tea out of China and keep the silver at home. 

England controlled much of modern day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where cheap opium could be had. England offered credit terms to shipping agents and brokers to sell India tea to Chinese merchants provided they only take payment in silver. This silver was used to settle accounts at English banks in Canton China. The same silver was used to buy tea also in Canton. Opium in, tea out and economic crisis averted. Unfortunately, the sudden supply of cheap opium created about 6 million Chinese opium addicts forcing the Emperor to ban its trade. Facing economic ruin again, the British did the unthinkable. They sent the gunboats in and surprised everyone with one victory after another in the first Opium War of 1842. A second war a few years later witnessed the greatest expansion of British economic growth ever, gobbling up huge chunks of China and seizing the Emperor's palace. 

Seeking Coffee & Chocolate

Indonique is seeking manufacturers of Coffee and Chocolate from estates/plantations that are accessible to NGOs like Mercy Corps or Feed the Children or others. 

Please contact George Constance at george@indonique.com

Expanding Social Network

Indonique has made donations to several organizations that work to end Human Trafficing and Child Prostitution. You buy the tea, we make the donations. Doing the right thing should be automatic, built into the business. Some organizations we work with are:

Not For Sale Campaign

Born2Fly

We're offering free tea to the first donors of $20 and $100 to either of these organizations. Donate, save a life, get some free tea.

Assam, India

What's an Assam Tea?

The 380 plus varieties of tea plant can be grouped into two main groups or subspecies of the camellia sinensis tea plant: Camellia sinensis sinensis and Camellia sinensis assamicus. The sinensis sinensis variety is a high grown thin leafed variety or JAT that is native to China. The sinensis assamicus variety is a broad thick leafed lowlands JAT native to Assam India. As would be expected, the assamicus leaf makes a much heavier malty tea than the lighter chinese variety, making it a perfect breakfast tea.

The Assam jat was discovered growing wild in abandoned patches in Assam in 1820's by a Scottish Company man whose brother, after his death eventually established a plantation in the 1850's. This discovery was by far the most important economically for 19th century tea addicted Britain. An addiction that threatened England with economic ruin and lead to two Opium Wars. That's a story for next week.

Indonique donates 10% of every sale we make to the communities where our teas are picked through NGOs like MERCY CORPS. A single box of tea can generate a donation large enough to provide a child in India with school lunches for one week.

GROG

Several European nations claim to have invented Grog. Our favorite story involves the British version. Accordingly, in 1742, British Admiral Edward Vernon avoided near mutiny after cutting his sailors rum ration from one cup to a quarter cup, when his sailors discovered the watered down concoction actually tasted pretty good when the water was hot and steeped in tea. They named it after the Admiral, nick named Old Grog because of his penchant for water resistant grogram cloth. Unfortunately the story is probably not accurate as older references to grog have surfaced recently.

An interesting side story:
Because sailors rightly believed tea was a medicinal drink, they administered it to fever stricken ship mates. The sailor was put to bunk with his at the foot of the bed. He was then administered grog until he could see two hats. At that point the grog was suspended and he was left to sleep it off. The next morning, he was excused from ship's duties as he was considered "GROGGY". So now you know.

Indonique's Grog blend is as close as we can figure Old Grog's recipe. We blend several spices with a whole leaf black tea selected specifically for this Grog blend. Steep and add your own rum and brown sugar. We guarantee you'll re-enlist!

Indonique World Tea Party

OK guys we've set a date for the next Indonique World Tea party: February 27 at Narcissus Chocolate Cafe in Wethersfield, CT. We hope our friends around the world will join us in their own parties and send us some photos or video. We have a theme for this one: Gave up coffee for Lent? Try TEA!

Remember, if you're having Indonique tea, a donation has already been made by Indonique to Mercy Corps to fund programs in the communities where our teas are picked. If not, use any tea and send a dollar per person participatinhg to Mercy Corps. You can make out a check to Mercy Corps with programT42 in the memo section and send to Indonique. we'll forward all the checks to them.

Go to www.indonique.com/wtp for details

Who we are: www.indonique.com

How we do it: www.indonique.com/t42

Watch for our Facebook account this week.

Twitter with us at www.twitter.com/indonique

snail mail at PO Box 1298, Glastonbury, CT 06033

Thanks, George

Woman overpowers thief with tea and sympathy

Woman overpowers thief with tea and sympathy
| Oddly Enough
| Reuters

Healthy lifestyle triggers genetic changes: study

Such small changes in our lifestyle can lead to a much healthier longer life. This article indicates that dietary changes can actually trigger positive health benefits on the genetic level. 

Healthy lifestyle triggers genetic changes: study
| Health
| Reuters

Tea tree oil does not come from the tea plant!

Tea tree oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Utah teapot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Utah teapot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of the world's first computer generated 3-D images.

The Hindu : National : Tea factory to be open to tourists

The Hindu : National : Tea factory to be open to tourists

Thousands of tourist riot when they discovered Happy Valley tea is actually only tea and Happy Valley is just the name of the valley.

OK  no one rioted but Happy Valley tea - Highest in the world does sound inviting. It's actually an old tea estate reopened as a tea museum with cool vintage 1854 tea making equipment from the earliest days of tea in India.

Visit the link for more.

Black Tea, Miracle Cure: Left Flank

Black Tea, Miracle Cure: Left Flank

Anthrax and English Breakfast - The Current

Anthrax and English Breakfast - The Current

Woman jailed for 'worshipping tea pot' - Telegraph

Woman jailed for 'worshipping tea pot' - Telegraph

BBC NEWS | Health | Milk in tea 'blocks health gains'

Dreadful News! Apparently some of the health benefits of tea are blocked by the addition of milk. Check out this BBC link for details.

Next month - Riots in Britain - reaction to Tea and Milk study.

Groups tell couples to boycott Valentine's Day-India-The Times of India

Groups tell couples to boycott Valentine's Day-India-The Times of India

At restaurant in India, best tables are graveside

At restaurant in India, best tables are graveside

Monkey crackdown no funny business for city - CNN.com

Monkey crackdown no funny business for city - CNN.com

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Sales soar at all-women garage

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Sales soar at all-women garage

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Indian women win bartender ruling

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Indian women win bartender ruling

Bright Lights Film Journal | The Politics of Deepa Mehta's 'Water'

Bright Lights Film Journal | The Politics of Deepa Mehta's 'Water'
More on Indian born Canadian director Deepa Mehta and her latest film "Water" part of a trilogy of films(Earth, Fire & Water) dealing with taboo topics in India. Hindu extremist have attacked and destroyed her set on the second day of shooting.

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Bright Lights Film Journal | Deepa Mehta: Fire

Bright Lights Film Journal | Deepa Mehta: Fire
Interesting article about one of the world's best directors, Deepa Mehta. Her films, dealing with taboo topics in Indian culture, have incited riots and death threats in her native India.

ABC News: Rehab for Rhinos -- Fight to Save Species

ABC News: Rehab for Rhinos -- Fight to Save Species

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Calcutta calm after day of riots

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Calcutta calm after day of riots

Indian fashion industry to be worth Rs 750 cr by 2012-India-The Times of India

Indian fashion industry to be worth Rs 750 cr by 2012-India-The Times of India

Cobra Breeding

The Hindu : Front Page : Captive breeding of cobras at Pilikula Nisargadhma

Revenue generation: US techies on top-Intl Business-Business-The Times of India

Revenue generation: US techies on top-Intl Business-Business-The Times of India

Monkeys kill Deputy Mayor in Delhi

If you've read our October Newsletter, you know how George feels about monkeys. Check out this story regarding just how bad these miserable little buggers have become.

Plastic Garbage a hazard to Indian Cows

Excess packaging, new to India, is wreaking havoc with local cows that survive on scavenging street garbage.

Rhinos and Elephants Invade Tea Estate in India

Really interesting link about the rare Assam Rhino and native elephnts disrupting work on an Assam Tea Estate.

New Packaging

Indonique is now shipping its new packages!

Indonique Commercial Video

University of Connecticut drama students and University of Hartford film student created an internet commercial video for Indonique. Please take a look and return here to comment. You can comment by clicking on the "Comment" link below this post. The teaser takes about 15 seconds to load with a high speed connection.

We'd also approciate your passing this link onto anyone and everyone. That's our total marketing budget!

Thanks and enjoy.

New Labeling

Indonique has developed a new, retail hardy label for our new large tea tins for retail distribution. The tins are now available in half pound and soon in quareter pound black textured finger print hiding, smudge proof tins.

Rebuilding our Wholesale Business

It’s been nearly a year since hurricane Katrina forced our closure and still we have no FEMA/SBA low interest loan. So on with our bootstrapping recovery. If any of our customers has a marketing idea, please contact us. For now, please consider:

Sign up a new subscriber to our mailing list and receive a Free Bag of our Authentic Indian Masala Chai! Just have the new subscriber mention your name in their subscriber form.

Sign up 10 new subscribers and receive a Years Worth of Free Authentic Indian Masala Chai!

Get our products into a local Café and receive a Years Worth of Free Authentic Indian Masala Chai!

http://indonique.com/subscribe.php

http://indonique.com/wholesale_about.php

Thank you all for your past and future support. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

George

Assam to honour Scottish pioneers of tea .:. NewKerala - India's Top Online Newspaper

Assam to honour Scottish pioneers of tea .:. NewKerala - India's Top Online Newspaper

Water rushed into Chalmette so fast, that cars didn't have time to fill and sink.

 
 

House moved down the street in Chalmette

 
 

Chalmette neighborhood

 
 

Chalmette house

Chalmette House

Chalmette Street scene. Many residents returning to Lakeview, Chalmette and other areas are returning with bacterial infections from the toxic flood water.