Swop clothes for chocs

During Fairtrade Fortnight, at participating Oxfam shops, you can swap a bag of quality donations for a delicious box of Cafédirect tea: http://tinyurl.com/yz9npwp

A partner for your coffee

Like to partner an authentic Italian snack with your coffee? The first Cafédirect recipe this year is for a delicious Coffee & Almond Biscotti. They are easy and quick to make so try them out, share with friends over a morning coffee or after dinner espresso and tell Cafédirect what you think! Get the recipe!

Host a Cafédirect Tea Party this Fairtrade Fortnight

This Fairtrade Fortnight (22 Feb - 7 March), Cafédirect are asking tea drinkers to 'turn over a new leaf' and make The Big Swap to Cafédirect and our fantastic range of teas. Tea Parties are a great way to get people together, have some fun and try some truly exceptional tea. That's why they've created some fabulous kits packed full of everything you need to host your own Cafédirect tea party! Each kit is full of ideas to liven up your party, posters to promote the party, recipes to try as well as three packs of tea (English Breakfast, Earl Grey & Everyday Tea) - definitely enough tea to go around! Party guests will also receive money off coupon to use when they next go shopping! Join the Tea Party on Facebook, follow Cafédirect on Twitter and read the blog so you don't miss out on these fantastic kits!

Still shopping ethically during the recession

A recent poll of Friends of Cafédirect asked them if they were still shopping ethically in the recession. By an overwhelming majority, 77% are still shopping ethically, 21% do sometimes and only 2% have stopped shopping ethically in the downturn.

Tea pickers lose jobs to machines

Cafédirect has tweeted that tea pickers in Kenya are losing jobs to machines. More than 800 tea pickers have been sent home after a multinational company in Kenya introduced tea picking machines. The workers of the Eastern Produce Tea Company in Nandi were ordered to vacate company houses immediately and those defying the directive were warned that they would be arrested and charged with trespass. The company’s decision protests from the Kenya Plantation and Agriculture Workers Union (KPAWU).

A top manager at the tea company told a government official that the firm had cut spending by half since it started using machines in some tea estates. He praised the machines, saying they could be manned by a few people and dismissed union leaders’ concerns that the quality of tea could be compromised.

Competitions from Cafédirect

Last week Cafédirect gave blog readers a chance to win some coffee by identifying a pack: see the 'Friday Fun' blog post. There is a similar competition today and every Friday during August so check out the Blog. During September there will be a prize for the favourite comment on the blog, so check in regularly and leave your comments. Make sure you don't miss out on future competitions by following us on Twitter or becoming a Cafédirect fan on Facebook.

Toolkit and quiz for World Fair Trade Day (May 9th)

To celebrate World Fair Trade Day on May 9th, Cafédirect have created a short quiz that you can hold over a cup of delicious Cafédirect coffee, tea or hot chocolate at home with friends or in your work canteen. You can download the quiz, and get in touch to receive a Toolkit packed full of resources and delicious samples to make more of a bang!

• Download the quiz
• Order a Toolkit

Cafédirect competition

This month Cafédirect celebrate a new look (and a new milestone in their history) and are giving away ten fantastic prizes! Each prize contains a Cafédirect tea caddy and some delicious Gold Tea. Three lucky winners will also receive a new look pack of Everyday Teadirect and a classic Cafédirect tea towel.

To enter all you have to do is answer a simple question.

Last-minute Christmas cake

If you haven't got round to making a Christmas cake yet, it is not too late! Cafédirect have a simple recipe using Teadirect Gold which makes a moist, delicious cake with a wonderful mixture of rich and fragrant tea-soaked fruits.

GOOSHING: the ethical shopping tool

I entered a recent Cafédirect competition and was delighted to win a copy of The Good Shopping Guide!

This tipped me off about GOOSHING - the free ethical shopping tool. Using GOOSHING makes it easy to buybrands from the most responsible companies at the cheapest price… and boycott those corporates that don’t care about animal welfare, human rights or the environment. The price search tool seeks out the lowest prices available - on 250,000 products from over 350 shops. GOOSH away.....

Make mine Fairtrade

A lovely cup of tea just got even better. Cafédirect are offering tea lovers 50p off any pack of 80 tea bags from the Teadirect range. Just pick up a pack of Teadirect, Teadirect Decaffeinated, or new Teadirect Gold before 30 June 2008, then hurry back home to put the kettle on. So, if you keep meaning to switch to Fairtrade tea, now is the time to do so!

Drinking Fairtrade more important than ever

Cafédirect, the UK's largest and longest running Fairtrade hot drinks company, is in Uganda this week meeting with its 17 African tea and coffee growing partners, who represent 162,000 farmers. The farmers are shareholders in the company, and are meeting to discuss the company's strategic direction and actions to be taken following the consequences of Kenyan unrest. Cafédirect has issued a press release asking Fairtrade drinkers not to turn your back on Africa's smallholder growers.

Cafédirect also announce their newest product, Teadirect Gold (see above), the first premium Fairtrade tea available in major retailers. This high grade tea demonstrates Cafédirect 's commitment to product innovation and improving quality: the luxurious, rich flavour of this delicious, aromatic blend of teas comes from expert grower partners in Kenya, Rwanda, and India.

National cinema release of 'Black Gold'

Just received the latest Cafédirect e-newsletter, which has alerted me to a forthcoming documentary about the injustices of the international coffee trade industry: Black Gold.

The film follows the journey of Tadesse Meskela, General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co. in Ethiopia, as he travels around the world to find buyers willing to pay a fair price for his coffee. The film opens your eyes to the international coffee trade and demonstrates how every person who makes the conscious choice to ask for Fairtrade coffee can genuinely make a difference.

Black Gold is released in cinemas nationwide from 8th June and Cafédirect is one of the official sponsors of the film release. Cafédirect state they are "delighted to be supporting Black Gold, to raise awareness of the film and the issues of trade justice". Try the Coffee Calculator to see how much of what you pay for coffee goes to the producers!

Locally, the film is due to be screened at Nottingham Broadway from 6th - 12th July.