Jovita Idar was a staunch defender of the first amendment, women’s rights and equality in education.

Her father edited newspapers, and she was a professional journalist at the young age of 17.

Her two brothers also wrote for her father’s paper – a vital source of news for the Mexican American activists.

Jovita wrote about racism frequently and was openly supportive of the Mexican Revolution and women’s suffrage.

A former teacher, Joviat also believed in education – the first act of Jovita’s organization, La Liga Feminil Mexicaista (the League of Mexican Women), was educating Mexican American students.

Jovita continued her activism her entire life, publishing newspapers,  joining the Democratic Party in San Antonio, working for women’s rights, running a free kindergarten, publishing a Spanish language newsletter for the Methodist Church and volunteering as an interpreter at local hospitals – she never backed down from a fight that improved lives.

🍵 Passion Fruit Black Tea – This tea has enough flavor to stand up to ice …

▶︎… just like Jovita Idar stood up to the Texas Rangers who arrived to destroy her printing presses when she wrote a critique of Woodrow Wilson.

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Amalia was pregnant with twins, but only one daughter survived. Her husband died of dysentery within a few weeks of little Ida’s birth, and Amalia is once again alone, and with a child to raise. Widowed and impoverished at age 35 … baby Ida fell ill soon after and Amalia was unable to afford medicine from a druggist. Desperate to relieve her daughter’s sickness, she blended peppermint oil, vinegar, and sugar, along with other ingredients, into what she hoped would be a health-restoring concoction.

Although Eriksson’s creation, which she dubbed “polkagris,” did not prove to have medicinal value, its taste was a big hit with little Ida and, eventually, with children all over Sweden.

🌿Her store was visited by the Swedish royals, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg.

Amelia continued making her candy until she died at 99, and only on her death bed would she divulge her secret recipe to Ida, who continued the business until 1945.

🍵 Peppermint leaves meet black tea flavored with the natural essence of chocolate. This tea is a treat.

▶︎ Amalia is the grandma – mormor in Swedish – we might all want, so we call her tea MorMor Peppermint – fresh mint combined with chocolate tea for a decadent cup, far better than an after dinner mint, and delicious iced or hot.

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Manikarnika Tambei lost her mother when she was only 4 years old, and her father encouraged her to learn horsemanship, archery, self defense and shooting.

At 15 she was wed to Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, and become the Rani Lakshmibai.

They had one son, who died before his fifth month. They adopted the Maharaja’s nephew and named him heir.

A short time later, the Maharaja died, and the East India Company tried to usurp control of the kingdom.

Rani Lakshmibai held her city during a siege and then escaped to fight again and again.

Finally, strapping her young son on her back, she rode out with a sword in each hand, reins in her teeth, and fought to a martyrs death trying to free her people from British rule.

Our Rani Chai is inspired by the Rani of Jhansi.

We wanted a chai that could stand up to heavy fats in a breakfast beverage like she stood up to British Colonizers in 1857.

🍵 Indian Masala Chai – this fabulous tea – a real mélange a spice.

This blend is based on good strong Indian and Kenyan teas blended with an ancient spice recipe from India. The taste is heavenly – ginger and cardamom intermingle with cinnamon, cloves and hints of black pepper. 

▶︎ The full-bodied cup is rounded out with floral notes that tempt the taste buds and will have you crying out for more. Whether you drink your chai with cream and sugar, or you have a favorite concoction with butter, cacao, or collagen … this chai tea will hold its position with grace and fire. Brew a pot today and raise a cup to the land of spices, India!

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in Irish Folklore she is Gráinne Mhaol,  but she was a real person. Granuille, Gráinne O’Maly, Graney O’Mally, Granny ni Maille, Grany O’Mally, Grayn Ny Mayle, Grane ne Male, Grainy O’Maly, and Granee O’Maillie.

All are versions of her actual name, Gráinne Ní Mháille.

Grace O’Malley was the well known Pirate Queen of Ireland, who knew the coastal waters so well she could disappear at will, into the mists. Grace was captured twice, negotiated her own release twice, married twice and divorced once. She had at least two sons, having given birth to the youngest on board her ship. 

She famously stormed the castle of another son when he aligned with her enemies.

The youngest,  captured by the British, caused her to travel to London to meet with Queen Elizabeth I. She refused to bow to the virgin queen, as Grace did not see her as the Queen of Ireland.  Grace still managed to negotiate her son’s release, payment from the Queen for lands stolen from her, and the return of the lands. She got the money and her son, and was able to leave London with her head still firmly attached to her neck.

🍵 Irish Breakfast Tea is stronger than English Breakfast tea, and is known to brew up red and slightly malty in flavor.

Ireland has a robust dairy industry, which is reflected in how the locals like to consume their hot tea.

▶︎ This is a CTC blend (cut,tear,curl) and thus brews quickly. While the strong tea is marvelous when served hot with milk, it makes a remarkable iced tea as well.

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Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, commonly known as Ada Lovelace, was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron.

🎨🔬She was literally the daughter of art and science.

👾 Although her father, the poet Lord Byron, may be the more well-known of the pair, it was Ada Lovelace’s mother, Annabella Milbanke, who acted as the role model for her daughter’s iconoclastic and pioneering contributions to the field of computer science.

When Ada was twelve, she began studying what she called flyology – the mechanics of flight.

🔭 Lady Byron encouraged Ada’s interest and aptitude in science and mathematics and shared her own love of astronomy and geometry, raising a young woman who came to be called “the Enchantress of Numbers” by her colleague and friend, British inventor Charles Babbage.

Babbage created the Analytical Engine, the first mechanical computer and Ada saw the machine’s potential: that it could eventually go beyond number crunching to process text, images and music.

⭐️🔢 Ada, already a mathematician wrote the earliest known algorithm made to be carried out by The Analytical Engine.

Ada Lovelace became then widely recognized as the first computer programmer - the "Mother of Computer Programming".

🍵The iconic tea flavor “Earl Grey” was invented during the Countess of Lovelace’s lifetime, and its heady aroma reminds us of her highly cerebral character.

▶︎ When we decided to create a tea based upon her personality, the strong yet poetic blend of bergamot oil with black tea was ideally suited.

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