Zhena's Tea

Zhena’s Tea

Tea is terrific, tasty, tantalizing–think of all the warm, pleasant adjectives you can think of and you’re describing a nice big mug of hot, soothing tea. It’s a soothing drink that has quite a lot of interesting health benefits, and in the case of Zhena Muzyka, it helped save the life of her son. Ten years ago, Zhena’s son was in dire need of a kidney operation, and to help fund it, she began to sell her tins of tea on California street corners. Today, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea is not just known for its distinctive range of flavors, but also as a friend to the environment.

The brand has successfully made a name for itself as the first tea company in the U.S. to produce only 100% organic and fair trade certified products, and it even purchases green tags to support renewable energy sources as well as to offset its carbon footprint. The teas come in tins made from recycled steel, and are bagged in GMO-free corn silk sachets. Zhena’s Gypsy Tea is also minority woman-owned, another feather in its cap, and because it’s fair trade, it has also been instrumental in supporting the Indian and Sri Lankan families who grow and harvest its organic teas.

Check out the Zhena’s Gypsy Tea website for more information.

Grom

If you’re in the mood for some high end gelato in New York City, get a taste of Italy at Grom. Their Grom loves world project means that instead of plastic, they use Materbi, a biodegradable material made from vegetable oil and cornstarch.
They use only fresh seasonal organic fruits, whole milk, organic eggs. You can taste the difference. (Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of what we ordered. It was gone before we knew it. Visit their website to get you salivating.)

There are no artificial additives or colorings in their products.

They use FSC certified paper.

They utilize eco-friendly waste management and low emission trucks.

Want to be a locavore?

TheFarmersGardenLogo

The Farmer’s Garden defines a locavore as “…someone who only or primarily eats food grown or produced within their local area, usually within a radius of 100 to 250 miles.” The site was started in May 2009 and run by Ms. Maureen Farmer, a master gardener who works as a programmer/project manager. The site allows people to sell, trade or give away their excess garden produce by posting free classified ads.

If you’ve got a green thumb or if you have additional produce from your garden, then go see the website. Registration is free.

Logo from The Farmer’s Garden website.

Sylvania’s giving away free ice cream in NYC!

Do you live in New York City? This bit of fun news made me wish I did.

In celebration of Earth Day, SYLVANIA (the lighting innovations leader) will have an ice cream truck roaming the streets of New York City and giving away FREE soft serve ice cream (yeah, coz they have those swirly-shaped CFL bulbs). They will also give out coupons and share tips on going green and saving green when using their eco-friendly lighting products.

You can find the Sylvania Ice Cream Truck here: Lowe’s Brooklyn, Union Square, Times Square and Bryant Park.

Sip tequila and save the world

Forget the cheerleader–a good solid drink is what people need to save the planet! Manufacturers of alcoholic drinks such as 4 Copas Tequila and Anheuser-Busch are going organic, with the former taking pride in providing the world with the first organic tequila.

Unlike organically grown food however, organic liquors don’t really mean that you’re drinking something more healthful or better tasting. This simply means that the liquor you’re drinking was produced in a more eco-friendly manner.

Read the rest of the article to find out more about these organic drinks. The holiday season isn’t over yet, so you might want to check out one of these drinks to serve at your New Year’s Eve celebration.