Tea and coffee merchants Taylors of Harrogate are committed to buying the best teas and coffees the world has to offer – but beyond that they’re committed to trading ethically and making a difference to tea and coffee communities around the world.

For the last 5 years Cristina Talens has been Ethical Trading Manager for the family business. With an NGO and human rights background, Cristina is responsible for ensuring the welfare of workers in the supply chain. “As a family business, without the obligation to maximise share holder profits, we have the happy freedom to think and act differently,” says Cristina. “We’re committed to establishing long-standing relationships with our suppliers, whether they be small-scale co-operatives or large, well-run plantations. And we pay premium prices for top quality teas and coffees, rewarding our growers for quality regardless of the market price.” Taylors also works alongside independent certification schemes to help producers achieve good social and environmental practices. Their Yorkshire Tea blend now carries the Rainforest Alliance seal, and for their range of fresh ground Coffees Taylors works with the Fairtrade Foundation, Rainforest Alliance and Utz.

Taylors is also committed to protecting the environment and fighting climate change. Over the last 20 years the family business has enlisted the support of its customers and charity partners to plant over 3 million trees worldwide, and has recently pledged to save an area of rainforest the size of Yorkshire. For the first stage of its campaign Taylors has joined forces with the Rainforest Foundation UK to help save 237,000 hectares of endangered rainforest in Peru’s Amazon. Cristina recently visited the Amazon to find our more about the project first hand. “For us the key to saving the rainforest is to support the people who call it home. Together with the Rainforest Foundation UK we’ll be helping the 10,000-strong Ashaninka community to continue to live in the rainforest and act as its guardians, just as they have done for centuries.”