Now Lyons Tea offers you have an easy way to settle tea disputes.   You can use the Lyons Spin the Teapot to make the office a happier place.

Just click on the image to be taken to the official Lyons Tea web site and play the game.

This homely can of painted tin

Is casket precious in my eyes;

Its withered fragrant leaves within,

Beyond all costly gems I prize.

For for those crumpled leaves of tea,

The sunbeams of long summer days,

The song of bird, the hum of bee,

The cricket’s evening hymn of praise,

The gorgeous colors of sunrise,

The joy that greets each new-born day;

The glowing tints of sunset’s skies,

The calm that comes with evening grey;

The chatter of contented toil,

The merry laugh of childish glee,

The tonic virtues of the soil,

Were caught and gathered with the tea.

Lifeless those withered leaves may seem,

Locked fast in slumber deep as death,

But soon the Kettle’s boiling steam

May rouse to life their fragrant breath.

With sigh of deep content we breath

The sweet mists rising lazily,

With eager, parted lips receive taste of tea.

Forlight and warmth and mood of men,

Whate’er the plant hath heard or seen

Or felt, while fixed in field or fen,

And stored within its depths serene,

Are now transmuted into thrills

Of sense or feeling, echoes faint

From peaceful perfumed tea-cladhills,

From placid Orientals quaint.

And fancies born in other lands,

Which dormant lie in magic tea,

Dream-castles fair not made with hands,

By some mysterious alchemy

Emerge from cloudland into sight,

Transform the sombre working-world,

The gloomy hours of day or night

From leaden hue to tint of gold,

Bring rest to wearied heart and brain,

Kind nature’s soul to us reveal,

Enlarge the realm of Fancy’s reign,

Renew the power to see and feel

The radiance of the rising sun,

The sunset’s glow, the moon’s pale light,

The promise of a day begun,

The rest from toil that comes with night.

And as I sip my cup of tea,

Though not a friend may be in sight,

I know that a brave company

Is taking tea with me this night.

Recently, we were contacted by Typhoo’s PR Agency, Cirkle Communications, based in the UK, who gave us the following information.

Typhoo are fully aware of the good work which Fairtrade to, and support them throughout a number of tea products which they sell, however the Typhoo brand itself will not be going fairtrade.

Typhoo tea are committed to ensuring that they trade fairly with all the tea estates that they buy tea from. They are uniquely placed in the Tea industry and demonstrate their commitment through trading fairly with tea estates in two ways; firstly to support the Fairtrade foundation by using Fairtrade tea with their Ridgways brand; secondly to use their Typhoo certification scheme to monitor the tea gardens they buy from are continuously improving fair labour standards (measured against the ETI base code), health & safety, quality and food safety, and sustainable environmental practices.

An example of how their certification scheme works is in the Makandi estate, Malawi where they have worked closely with the estate to deliver significant benefits including the introduction of terms and conditions for workers, greater wage transparency, improvements to housing, sanitation and access to water, as well as a focus on the elimination of discrimination against women and illegal disciplinary practices.

Over the next 12 months they intend to double the number of Fairtrade products that they sell, clearly demonstrating their commitment to the Fairtrade organisation for the long term. However they believe that their core Typhoo customers should be allowed the opportunity to freely choose between Fairtrade accredited products and standard products.

A box of Typhoo Tea.

In an effort to set themselves apart from other English brands, Typhoo is planning to make all teas FairTrade certified, according to a report in Marketing Magazine.  At the same time, the company will introduce a new tagline “Make Tea Fair.”   The expected date when this is to happen is unknown.

Recent research shows that most consumers would like tea brands to become FairTrade certified.  Although its teas are not currently FairTrade certified, Typhoo has an ethical sourcing program, which, the company says, improves conditions for growers and workers.

A box of Typhoo Tea.