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Quake42 said:
I think it's incredibly difficult to persuade the consumer to make political decisions when they shop. There have been a few successes with free-trade coffee, free-range eggs, and organic produce but the price-tag or quality seem to regularly trump all other considerations.

Close to where I grew up was Ringtons Tea Factory. If the wind was blowing in the right dorection, you got the smell of the tea, all warm and dry, Mmmm. One of the things that as a child I'll always remember is the smell, and the van that came around delivering the tea. Now, I have to say, that when the Tea Factory closed, as a family, we made a point of getting the tea delivered, as a political statement, as the tea wasn't thatgood, for years. I know that it kept only around half a dozen drivers in their origional job, but also meant that some of the factory workers were given a job as a driver/deliverer. Not many, but some.

When I got my first home, my Aunt kindly employed the window cleaner, milkman, paperlad and teaman for me. When I asked why, her reply surprised me. (I'm paraphrasing)

"Your Grandfather was the last man to deliver coal from Middleton mine in a horse drawn cart. He loved his job, his horses (proper fat Shire horses!) and his customers, and his family. When he lost his job, he had to lose his horses. When he didn't see his customers, he lost his standing with his neighbours, so he thought. When he couldn't provide for his family in the same way, he lost his heart. He died two years later. No-one should die feeling like that."

I guess people show their politics in many ways, I hope some similar support can happen for the Twinnings workers.
 
Your aunt was a lovely lady!
I think we've all got to start spending in a 'political' way (as much as we can anyway).
I used to make a point of 'buying British' years ago, but now I can't do that with most things these days. :cry:
 
I'd love to buy British, but man can't live on corriander alone!

(I vaguely remember a 'local' news report about a boom in growing corriander locally)

But look here -

http://buybritish.com/
 
That domain name is registered in Hampshire... i just thought i'd run a quick whois after i remembered that Buy British merchandise has been known to have been made in Hong Kong :roll:
 
They've got a Jag in that animation, Jaguar is now owned by an Indian company...
 
Sorry to hear this news.

Yes, the race is to the bottom. Companies over here (USA), more often than not, outsource because the executives/shareholders are very, very greedy--not because the company can't do business and also pay taxes and meet regulations.
 
SHAYBARSABE said:
Companies over here (USA), more often than not, outsource because the executives/shareholders are very, very greedy--not because the company can't do business and also pay taxes and meet regulations.

I think this is the trend now. It's just outright greed.
It's not enough for them to just make a profit - oh no, they've got to make an obscene profit.
 
Timble2 said:
They've got a Jag in that animation, Jaguar is now owned by an Indian company...

I thought that was odd too, but if you look to the Jaguar info, it's British credentials come from production and design in the UK.
 
One for the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" shoe-box:

We're pining for our old Twinings: Furious Earl Grey drinkers dismiss new recipe as 'an affront to tea'
By Alan Watkins
Last updated at 10:30 PM on 27th August 2011

It is the company credited with transforming tea into the nation’s favourite tipple more than 300 years ago.
But now Twinings has provoked the ultimate storm in a teacup by tampering with one of its best-known and most cherished blends.
Fans of the company’s Earl Grey tea are furious that the firm has altered the traditional flavouring and relaunched it as The Earl Grey.
They say the new product tastes like ‘lemon cleaning product’ and describe it as ‘dishwater’ served up in a cup.

Dozens of angry tea drinkers have posted complaints about the new flavour on the company’s website since the new brand was launched in April.
One wrote: ‘I cannot describe how awful this new tea tastes. The old award-winning tea was in a completely different league to this foul-tasting dishwater.’
Others have simply described the new product as ‘horrid’, ‘vile’ and ‘an affront to tea’.
One wrote: ‘I agree with the other posts here that the new Earl Grey is an awful disappointment!
‘Bring back the old recipe that was refreshing and flavoursome.’

Some tea drinkers are so dismayed by the new blend they have added their names to a Facebook campaign called ‘Bring Back the Original Twinings Earl Grey Tea’.
Several have enquired on the campaign page where you can find old stock of the original Twinings Earl Grey on supermarket shelves.

Twinings, which was founded by Thomas Twining after he opened a tea room on the Strand in London in 1706, is generally acknowledged to have been the first company to sell the first brand of Earl Grey tea.
It launched the blend in 1831, naming it after the Prime Minister of the day, Charles Grey. The distinctive taste is created by infusing black tea with the oil of the bergamot orange from South-East Asia.

Though Twinings was first to market Earl Grey, its origins have been disputed for nearly 200 years.
According to one story, the blend was first created by accident when a gift of tea and bergamot oranges was made to Earl Grey from diplomats in China and the tea absorbed the flavour of the oranges during its journey by sea from Asia.

Others say Earl Grey was gifted the recipe for the blend by a visiting Chinese dignitary.

Twinings’ new The Earl Grey contains extra bergamot and citrus.
According to the company’s website the product has been ‘refreshed’ with an ‘additional hint of bergamot’.

Alex Probyn, a master tea blender who runs the firm Blends for Friends, said: ‘You are talking about changing a product that people have been drinking for decades. A reaction is inevitable.’
A spokesman for Twinings insisted it had carried out extensive market research before implementing the changes.
He said: ‘As with all changes to blends, our new Earl Grey has undergone rigorous consumer tasting, receiving strong preference feedback over the previous blend.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1WJZlUent
 
The latter, I suspect. Twinings do some reasonable enough leaf-teas and not all their bags are horrible. I quite like the rose-scented one. And I've just acquired a stack of their white tea-bags with a cherry hint. I feared the worst, finding them stockpiled in a bargain outlet, but they are good. I doubt if the health benefits of white tea are any more real than those claimed for green tea but at least it does not taste like spinach-water. OK I will have gunpowder tea sometimes but more for the imagery of having each ball hand-rolled by monkeys or whatever.

I do begrudge Twinings' withdrawal of large-leaf Lapsang Souchong . Or maybe it is just the supermarkets that don't stock it. The tea-bags are just tea-dust. Anyway it does tend to cost a lot more at Whittards or other specialist outlets. That autumnal bonfire aroma is very nostalgic to me. :)
 
This guy would puke at the idea of a tea tablet.

A master blender is to have his tastebuds insured by a leading tea company for £1m (€1.26m).

Sebastian Michaelis, one of a small group of tasters employed by Tetley, can grade a variety of tea in just 15 seconds. He spent nine years touring tea gardens in Africa and India before embarking on his career.

Michaelis said: “Blending tea, like blending whiskey or champagne, is a fine art. First, I examine and grade the colour, size and density of the leaf, then I assess the brew’s purity of colour, the weight of the tea in the mouth, and the overall liveliness of the tea on the palate.”

http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/mast ... 99561.html
 
Talking of tea..

If you were ever tempted to buy Tesco's Finest Earl Grey Teabags, then I would recommend you don't. They taste and smell of disinfectant. Had to go and get some Twinings. No apostrophe apparently. Like Hells Angels. Check if you don't believe me.
 
Talking of tea..

If you were ever tempted to buy Tesco's Finest Earl Grey Teabags, then I would recommend you don't. They taste and smell of disinfectant. Had to go and get some Twinings. No apostrophe apparently. Like Hells Angels. Check if you don't believe me.

I've noticed this (and been met with scepticism). But it's true, and Sainsbury's offering, for example, is far more flavourful. However, if you pair 1 x Tesco E.G. bag with 1 x Sainsbury's's equivalent in your teapot you'll get a result that is mysteriously greater than the sum of its parts.

One of the best Earl Greys I've ever had was an obscure Eastern European brand called (sic) 'Loyds' (obviously meant to sound quintisentially posh and English whilst costing only 98p per box (whatwhatwhatwhatwhatferfucksake) The contents looked like dust from the factory floor but flavour was delicious, yet so feeble you'd need two bags for a decent cuppa. This double-shot method made an exquisite mug of Rosie and I became quite keen on it.

The pleasure proved to be short-lived: I've only ever seen this stuff in one shop - which closed down after approximately a month of selling off what appeared to be a job lot of similarly random products previously untested in the UK marketplace. Bah.
 
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One of the best Earl Greys I've ever had was an obscure Eastern European brand called (sic) 'Loyds' (obviously meant to sound quintisentially posh and English whilst costing only 98p per box (whatwhatwhatwhatwhatferfucksake) The contents looked like dust from the factory floor but flavour was delicious, yet so feeble you'd need two bags for a decent cuppa. This double-shot method made an exquisite mug of Rosie and I became quite keen on it.

The pleasure proved to be short-lived: I've only ever seen this stuff in one shop - which closed down after approximately a month of selling off what appeared to be a job lot of similarly random products previously untested in the UK marketplace.
Go to a Polish supermarket.
 
Good thinking. We don't have such a thing round here, but I'll be visiting a couple of places this month that do. I'll see if I can find it. I've never seen it in the Polish sections of supermarkets, nor even in our nearest 'ethnicy' indoor market - where you can buy almost every foodstuff imaginable - up to and including nightmarish sea creatures in jars that look like something out of Lovecraft.
 
Talking of tea..

If you were ever tempted to buy Tesco's Finest Earl Grey Teabags, then I would recommend you don't. They taste and smell of disinfectant. Had to go and get some Twinings. No apostrophe apparently. Like Hells Angels. Check if you don't believe me.

Yes, Tesco 'finest' products are usually misnamed. There's not many of their own brand products I would buy any more as they're usually a disappointment to say the least.

One exception is their 'finest' English Breakfast Tea which is actually OK.
 
Talking of tea..

If you were ever tempted to buy Tesco's Finest Earl Grey Teabags, then I would recommend you don't. They taste and smell of disinfectant. Had to go and get some Twinings. No apostrophe apparently. Like Hells Angels. Check if you don't believe me.
Concur, Tesco's EG is pants.
 
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