Guiding Principles

Here are a few of the guiding principles that I use when developing or choosing ingredients for all of my products:

1. Ethically Sourced Ingredients:

All of the ingredients that I use in any of my products must pass the following tests:

Grown Without Chemicals:  All ingredients are either certified organic, grown without chemicals or ethically wild-crafted.

Fair Trade: Wherever applicable, I choose ingredients that are certified fair trade.  This includes all of the cacao products, as well as the exotic spices such as vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper.

Plants are not at Risk:  none of my products contain ingredients derived from species that are listed as endangered, threatened or at risk.

2. No Yucky Additives:

None of my products contain any artificial flavours, colours, fragrances, binders or preservatives.  I use herbs, fruit and essential oils to flavour and scent my products.  

In order to the completely transparent, I'd like to point out that there are three products in my tea line that contain "organic natural flavour."  These include the Blackberry Caramel Pu-erh (organic caramel flavour), Lavender Bliss (organic black currant flavour) and Radiance (organic peach flavour).  These are 100% certified organic and do not contain any artificial ingredients.

3. Environmentally Friendly Packaging:

Tea Packaging: My tea packages have a multi-layered construction which ensures optimal freshness (tea needs to be protected from light, air and moisture).  The zip pouches are made from white paper with an omnigradable foil lining and are fully biodegradable.  Their light weight and flexibility ensure lower shipping costs and less fuel for transport. The tins I use are made from steel with food-grade, BPA-free lining and an airtight lid and are fully recyclable.

Aromatherapy Packaging: all aromatherapy products are packaged in glass containers with metal or BPA-free plastic fasteners.

Labels: printed on labels made from recycled paper.

4. Research-Based Ingredients:

I put a lot of thought, time and research into creating each and every one of my products.  While taste, scent and colour are all very important, each ingredient is selected only after I have researched its efficacy (supported by clinical research) as well as its safety.