Le 8 mars, c’est la journée internationale des droits de la femme, l’occasion de rappeler qu’il faut travailler pour cette cause tous les autres jours de l’année…

Like him, I was trained as a producer but I continue to attend trainings because we have to adapt to natural changes every year. When I am not in our shop, I meet other women tea producers and we talk a lot about our profession... My work is very important to me, it makes me grow and living among the tea trees brings me a great deal of serenity.

I am Asuka Kumada, I live in Kagoshima and my family has been producing teas for 50 years. I'm only 31 but I have learned the profession and have been working in tea for 11 years.

L’île de Kyushu à l’extrême Sud du Japon est considérée comme le berceau de la civilisation japonaise et du thé lorsque le moine EISAI au XIIe siècle a implanté les premiers théiers au Japon qu’il a rapporté de Chine. Les sols fertiles d’origine volcaniques (on appelle Kyushu la terre de feu) et l’intensité solaire permettent de produire des thés remarquables depuis la période Meiji au XIXe siècle.

In China, jasmine tea (Mo Li Hua Cha) is said to be the oldest of the flower teas and to have been developed under the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Our Mo Li Hua Cha is made according to an age-old tradition; a layer of tea leaves is spread out on a tarpaulin, and on top of them a layer of jasmine flowers is added, followed by another layer of tea and then 30 to 40 cm of jasmine buds. The heat given off by the flowers packed between the layers of tea accelerates the opening of the buds which...

Lors de mon voyage en avril 2019, j’ai eu l’occasion de rencontrer les équipes du projet Fair For Life (FFL). Malgré des efforts du gouvernement post-apartheid pour réduire la pauvreté en investissant lourdement dans des programmes sociaux et d’infrastructures, la situation reste très difficile pour les communautés africaines (un taux de chômage très élevé, une grande partie de la population n’a pas accès au logement, à l’éducation et la santé, 48 % vivent sous le seuil de pauvreté).

8 o'clock in the morning, daybreak, the atmosphere is still a little misty and we're off to the hills around Grasse. After a few bends on a winding road and a couple of houses, we arrive in the middle of a field of roses whose petals are still covered with morning dew. As we get out of the car, we are swept away by the heady scent of May roses.

This question was launched by the Director of the Fondation Nature et Découvertes when he visited us in 2017. Surprised, we looked at each other but were immediately attracted by the proposal: because this commitment is full of meaning for us in relation to our activity and our products which are oriented towards the organic and respect for the planet.

"My name is Lin Xiao Ping, I'm 52 and I have been harvesting tea for 20 years. I love this work even though it's very hard because I'm lucky to live near the plantations in the village …"

Interview réalisée pour le blog «d’envouthé» (une jolie boite cube pleine de surprises autour du thé que l’on peut recevoir tous les mois).