Les Jardins de Gaïa - A Unique Adventure in Pursuit of Tea

It all began over a cup of Darjeeling…
Twenty years ago Jardins de Gaïa was established with one wonderfully simple idea in mind: to allow people to discover quality teas that can be enjoyed unreservedly.

When Arlette Rohmer, one of the first organic activists, founded the company in 1994, it was impossible to buy organic tea in France. She embarked on her adventure spurred on by a love of plants, travel, different cultures and above all, by a deep respect for “Gaïa“ or Mother Earth.

One-on-one relationships remain one of the cornerstones of Jardins de Gaïa and its continuing development

“We have always believed that to be happy yourself you have to make other people happy. Working with producers and people all around us who really enjoy themselves is a source of inspiration for everyone and for our work.”
Arlette’s first challenge was to travel to where the tea is grown: India, Sri Lanka, China and South Africa, and to find and connect with local producers and convince them to follow her in what was, at that stage, a real adventure.
With passion, tenacity and courage she built up a strong network which has since brought together many loyal friends. Working alongside and directly with “small producers” and “small projects” allowed her to promote agriculture on a human scale resulting in more choice and better quality teas both in terms of the harvest and the teas produced.
Jardins de Gaïa is currently working with 30 partner projects all over the world and in France.

How is Jardins de Gaïa structured?

After 20 years in business the company now has more than 60 employees. However, Arlette likes to remember her roots and how it was at the beginning when she started putting tea in bags in her kitchen.
One thing led to another at markets and trade fairs and word of mouth and the quality of the product did the rest. Meetings and opportunities came thick and fast, but the company has always listened to its customers and the methods of distribution remain the same – and now there is the website as well.
Jardins de Gaïa, which had nearly 2,000 outlets in France in 2014, is a market leader in organic tea (in organic stores, specialist shops, gourmet grocers and tea rooms) and also sells its products in many other countries in Europe, America and Asia.

Les Jardins de Gaïa sells nearly 200 tons of organic teas and tisanes every year, and 70 percent of them are Fairtrade certified. A growing number of the teas and plants come from biodynamic farms. On each field trip Arlette educates producers and invites them to follow the practices of this progressive type of agriculture. In her eyes, biodynamic agriculture is the best way to promote quality farming which takes care of the earth and her people. Biodynamic farming achieves this by naturally strengthening plants and creating a true balance between what man takes from the earth and what he gives back. Standardisation is not a word you hear at Jardins de Gaïa: diversity, generosity and the kind of abundance you find in a biodiverse garden in full bloom are the values that guide the development of this business.

The art of bringing out the flavour

Arlette Rohmer and her team dream up the recipes that tickle the taste buds of customers who are looking for delicious teas which are a little bit different.
What is the company’s trademark?
The teas are flavoured with natural, organic flavours created at the company’s premises in France. Whether it is fruits, flowers, spice or essential oils: the choice of added ingredients is crucial. Between 60 and 70 percent of teas sold by Jardins de Gaïa are new recipes and original creations. And yet the ingredients never detract from the degree of subtlety and refinement. Flavours and spices are not hiding the unique flavour of each tea but rather accentuate and enhance it.
While flavoured teas are often a good introduction, the pure blends are the ones more often sought out by tea enthusiasts. Here too, the work done in the field in dialogue with the producers is paying off.
Five of Jardins de Gaïa’s teas have won prizes in the Great Taste Awards, the ‘Oscars of the food world’ in the UK.
Among them is the Mineral Springs FTGFOP1 FF first flush Darjeeling, the only original tea to get the maximum three stars! It has already been picked up by the Tea Drinker’s Club in France and gaining this kind of recognition is a real asset to Jardins de Gaïa and of course to the small farmers who so proudly produce such exquisite tea.

Still passionately committed after 20 years

When the company began, organic farming was a marginal enterprise with all the difficulties this entails – today it is a profitable business!

For 20 years Jardins de Gaïa had to fight, build, support and convince producers of the merits of certification, of yields and of a different way of working the land.

Today, with market forces and the latest food scandals, selling organic products can mean an ‘added bonus’ which is lucrative.
Challenges abound along the organic supply chain: supply shortages, encountering people who are in it just to make money, increasing amounts of red tape and more and more bureaucratic hoops to jump through as well as increasingly exacting standards. Although some progress has certainly been made and consciousness and awareness continue to grow, which is good for the planet, there is still some way to go before we truly have farming based on respect for the land that sustains us.

Ever since its inception, Jardins de Gaïa has been painstakingly nurtured and grown, based on strong values and a passion for tea. Be yourself, stick to your convictions, ensure producers get a fair price and fight together for a peaceful future. Continuing to develop ties both at home and abroad while developing new projects are all part of the company’s priorities.

“I’m saying don’t just get angry… do something” says Arlette Rohmer…

Jardins de Gaïa reiterated its own commitment a year ago by creating the “Militant” teas and rooibos range, eight recipes created in partnership with associations which share the company’s values: Amanins Agroecology Centre, the Kokopelli Association for the Protection of Seeds and the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO). The principle is simple. For every product purchased, a contribution is paid directly to the partner associations. In one year more than €20,000 has been donated. Encouraged by this success and keen to support more new initiatives, Jardins de Gaïa is currently coming up with more recipes for other partner associations. Watch this space!

Gaïa en fête! (Celebrate Gaïa!)

This is the name of a lovely tea created to celebrate the company’s 20th year on its tea journey. It was also a wonderful moment on June 13 and 14 last year when all the company’s customers, employees, producers, friends and tea specialists gathered at the Jardins de Gaïa headquarters for two days of celebration and discussion about their shared passions and values in relation to that special and magical product, tea!
Les Jardins de Gaïa is the work of a natural and passionate woman who is still daring us to dream…