ChariTea and Lemonaid: changing the world one drink at a time

ChariTea and Lemonaid began life in a small kitchen in Hamburg's bohemian St Pauli quarter a few years back. Limes were juiced, sugar was crushed and tea was brewed, all with a greater purpose in mind: 'To incite and shape the process of social change.'

Today, the fair trade drinks company operates on a slightly larger scale, sourcing all of its ingredients from small farming cooperatives around the world. For every bottle sold, 5p also goes towards giving a little bit more back to local community projects. In return for the rooibos tea it gets from the Heiveld alliance in South Africa, for instance, the company has teamed up with another NGO, Indigo, to finance a solar power system that now supplies the entire region with electricity.

So far they've managed to raise a whopping £560,000 and counting. Not only is the company helping people around the world, it's also busy making sure that the product tastes great. The Lemonaid flavours are made from organic lime, passion fruit and blood orange juices, with nothing from concentrate. Try the citrus blended black ChariTea on its own, or add rum, pineapple and lemon juices, and a dash of almond syrup for an extra kick. Philanthropy never tasted so good.

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Photography: Hanna Pasanen