Product History

Our good for you, healthy ingredients have been around for hundreds of years, and each have a distinct history which accounts for many of the reasons we still use them today. Learn about our products and their histroy below.

TEA
Little did Chinese Emperor Shen Nung realize that in 2737 B.C., when dried leaves blew into his cup of hot water, the beverage he discovered would cause sensations around the world. During this time, water was always boiled for hygienic reasons. The pleasant aroma and refreshing taste enchanted him and soon everyone in the realm was drinking tea.

Japan was introduced to tea by Yensei, a returning Buddhist priest residing in China at the time of the discovery. Tea was immediately embraced by Japanese society and resulted in the creation of the intricate Japanese Tea Ceremony, elevating tea to an art form.

Tea continued to travel throughout the Orient and it was during the time of the European explorers tea made its cultural broad jump. The East India Tea Company brought tea into Holland but its prohibitive cost of $100 per pound kept tea as a rich man's beverage until so much was imported that tea prices fell and was sold in small food shops.

In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant brought tea to the American colonists in New Amsterdam, later called New York. Soon the colonists were drinking more tea than all England. In England, tea gardens, ornate outdoor events with fancy food and tea, fireworks and gambling, seemed to sprout up overnight as entertainment centers of the day and many British enjoyed the festivities offered there.

Russia discovered tea when ornate chests of the dried leaves were sent to Czar Alexis by the Chinese Embassy in Moscow in 1618. It became Russian custom to sip heavily sweetened tea from a glass in a silver holder. Russians also enjoyed honey or strawberry jam stirred into tea as their ethnic contribution. Even today, vodka and tea are the national beverages of Russia.

To recover extensive expenses from the French and Indian War, England levied a huge tax on tea imported to the colonies, mistakenly believing the colonists were so hooked on it they'd pay anything to keep their supply coming in. One night the men of Boston dressed as Indians, reminiscent of the French and Indian War, stole aboard the ships docked in the Boston harbor and threw the expensive tea cargo overboard and into the harbor. England reacted by having a raging fit, closing Boston's port and sending Royal troops into occupation of Boston. Because of this, colonists met to discuss these events and declared a revolution.

At one point, England even gave The John Company the power to not only import tea but to coin its own money, make peace, declare war and other priveleges previously only held by countries. In the 1880's, America came to the forefront as the biggest importer of tea due to faster clipper ships and the ability to pay its debts in gold.

A tea plantation owner introduced iced tea to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. It was an extremely warm day and his hot tea booth was being passed up by the crowds in favor of cold drinks. As desperate measure, since he was out time and money for even coming to the Fair, he added ice to the vats of liquid hot tea and in the process made it one of the highlights of the 1904 World's Fair.

The tea bag came along as a surprise. Samples of tea at the turn of the twentieth century were given out in small silk bags and instead of opening the bags, the tea bag in its entirety was being dropped into hot water by consumers. Quickly, a tea company sprang into action and patented the tea bag. Thomas J. Lipton was responsible for designing a four-sided tea he dubbed the 'flo-thru' tea bag, which allowed tea to steep more quickly in the cup than the customary two-sided bag. Today tea is grown on tea estates and 70% of the tea we drink is grown in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Argentina and China. The best climates for growing tea are those that are tropical or semi-tropical and tea can be grown on soil that is not fit for growing much of anything else.

Today there are three basic types of tea: black, oolong and green and from these three types spring over 3,000 cultivated varieties. The leaves are picked at just the right moment designated by the tea estate manager, then crushed to start the oxidation process.

Amazingly, we drink virtually the same tea today that Emperor Shen Nung drank the day he discovered it. Americans drink 140 million cups of tea each day and 80% of that is in the form of iced tea.

GOJI / WOLFBERRY

Too often people in American culture seek to become healthy through a miracle drug, vitamin or supplement. But this is not what nature intended for human beings, a fact that is readily acknowledged in Eastern philosophies. That’s why in many Asian countries, natural substances are often used to treat ailments. This is especially the case with the goji berry, one of the most nutritious ‘superfruits’ on the planet.

So, how did the goji berry make its way into Asian culture? Historically, the answer can be found through the ancient Himalayans, who were the ones to first encounter the miracle fruit. For thousands of years, the goji berry gave Himalayans health and energy. Then, once the Chinese and Indians passed through their lands, the Himalayans decided to share their ‘secret.’ The foreigners welcomed the new knowledge as they began incorporating the goji berry into their own herbal solutions.

As the goji berry became popular in other parts of Asia, legends of its powers began to spread. One of these legends tells the story of a well that was built next to a Buddhist temple. Goji vines had grown around it, so it was common for the berries to fall into the water.

Well, over time people noticed that those who prayed at that particular temple not only looked younger, but they also were much healthier. But the secret wasn’t in the prayer… at least not in a direct sense. What made them so healthy were the goji berries they had consumed while drinking the water.

From that point forward, the goji berry never lost its popularity. Even today, the Chinese take advantage of the goji berry’s healing properties. Of course, don’t think that they also don’t enjoy them as food in general, whether it’s drinking goji tea or simply eating the berries raw. Goji juice is also consumed, but due to its expense it’s often viewed as a delicacy.

Wolfberry is known to contain powerful antioxidants as well as 18 kinds of amino acids [including the 8 essential amino acids], and more beta-carotene than carrots. It is loaded with vitamins such as A, B1, B2, B6, C and Vitamin E and beneficial polysaccharides unique to Wolfberry.

Lastly, the goji berry’s long-lasting history helps reveal one important fact: the earth has already given human beings the keys for health and longevity. To discover them, all we have to do is open up our minds and our taste buds.

VANILLA

It is the ancient Totonaco Indians of Mexico who were the first keepers of the secrets of vanilla. When they were defeated by the Aztecs, they were demanded to relinquish their exotic fruit of the Tlilxochitl vine, vanilla pods.

When the Aztecs were defeated by the conquering Spaniard, Hernando Cortez, he returned to Spain with the precious plunder - vanilla beans - which were combined with cacao to make an unusual and pleasing drink. For eighty years, this special beverage was only enjoyed by the nobility and the very rich. Then, in 1602, Hugh Morgan, apothecary to Queen Elizabeth I, suggested that vanilla could be used as a flavoring all by itself, and the versatility of the exotic bean was finally uncovered.

Today, vanilla beans are grown in four main areas of the world. Each region produces vanilla beans with distinctive characteristics and attributes. Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa, is the largest producer of vanilla beans in the world and the ensuing vanilla is known as Madagascar Bourbon vanilla. The term Bourbon applies to beans grown on the Bourbon Islands - Madagascar, Comoro, Seychelle and Reunion. There is no connection with the liquor produced in Kentucky in the United States. Madagascar Bourbon vanilla is considered to be the highest quality pure vanilla available, described as having a creamy, sweet, smooth, mellow flavor.

Indonesia is the second largest producer of vanilla, with a vanilla that is woody, astringent and phenolic. Madagascar and Indonesia produce 90 percent of the world's vanilla bean crop. Mexico, where the vanilla orchid originated, now produces only a small percentage of the harvest. Mexican vanilla is described as creamy, sweet, smooth and spicy. The last of the four major vanilla-producing regions is Tahiti. Tahitian vanilla, grown from a different genus of vanilla orchid, is flowery and fruity, anisic and smooth.

Vanilla, with its wide range of flavor profiles, can be applied to a vast array of products. It is one of the most widely used flavors in the world, particularly in ice cream. It finds its way into sauces in Mexico and cookies in Sweden. Vanilla flavors fruits in Polynesia and perfumes colognes in Paris. Anywhere there is a need for a mellow accent that compliments sweet and savory, plain and fancy, vanilla is there.