Ethan Frisch on Spice Quality

Ever wondered what difference freshness and quality of spices make ? Watch this video Epicurious produced with Ethan Frisch as he tastes different quality common spices from cinnamon to tumeric:

"Burlap & Barrel is building new international spice supply chains that are equitable, transparent and traceable. We connect­ smallholder spice farmers to high-value markets, we educate consumers about the impact of product traceability on human rights, and we emphasize unique products with terroir that are grown biodynamically using traditional techniques. We work to end inequality and exploitation in food systems that disenfranchise skilled, serious artisans along the entire chain." –Burlap & Barrel

With transparency at the core of our values, Perennial invests much time and energy forming direct relationships with farmers to procure the freshest, highest quality ingredients for our teas. We take pride in the relationships developed and continue to work with the same farmers and herbalists year after year.

However, there are a handful of items in our shop where the logistics are too far afield for us to direct source at this point, as with the spices in our Chaga Chai. After learning about the work Burlap & Barrel is undertaking to make the spice trade more equitable while making game-changing quality spices accessible, we have been inspired to keep our chai blend on as an evergreen offering in our store. 

We are grateful that there are companies like Burlap & Barrel that help make it possible for us to offer a wider variety of teas than we would be able to working alone.