The Business of Herbs

It's been a tough week thus far, and it's only Tuesday! We received calls from 2 of our stores that our new labels are not scanning. What that means, is that the computer is not reading the UPC labels on the tea packages, and the teas are pulled from the shelves. In the old days the person running the register would ring in a price off of a package. The price "in the old days" was stuck on using sticky tape and a pricing gun.
Not anymore.
The Tea business is centuries old, the business of herbalism is even older. In ancient times, one would get paid in trade, perhaps receiving fresh eggs, a woven cloth or a useful tool. The barter system was alive and a viable way of commerce. Each party placing value on what they had to offer in comparision to what it was they wanted. This seems fair to me, this type of commerce. Yet I realize that my corporate accounts will NOT be giving me a laying hen or a cow to milk, so for now we push forward, redesigning those darn UPC labels. To see more teas with UPC's visit www.herbalsage.com.

96 degrees in the shade

The Herbal Sage Tea Company was a part of the Athens Farmers Market today. The GOBA event,
http://www.goba.com/
was traveling thru Athens today. This adventure ride for cyclist's promised to bring 2,000 riders into Athens. The weather was so unbearably hot that many of the cyclist took refuge under the shade tress at Athens Community Center, without stopping by the market. I don't blame them ! We were vending in temperatures that reached to 96 degrees Although I sold quite a bit of our Iced Zesty Green Organic Tea, we did not have the crowds thru, as we had hoped. Athens Farmers Market runs Wednesday and Saturdays April thru October, from 10 am til 1pm. Stop on by and see us ! For Market information visit
www.athensfarmersmarket.org

No electricity today

I awoke this morning with Yogi, the puppy, telling me it was time to get up.After letting him out I walked to the kitchen, I flipped the light switch.Thinking a light bulb was out I reached for another wall switch, alas, no lights.
Realizing the darkness was not due to lack of effective light bulbs,I decided we had no electric. Had I been at the cabin I would have been unaffected, but my stove in town is electric, so no hot water for tea this morning. It wasn't long before the dogs convinced me to head down to the cabin. It had begun to rain a bit and with a quick stop at The Village Bakery for breakfast we were on our way!
I love when the days take a deliberate turn. My best laid plans had been cast aside due to my dependence on electric. A detour to the country was the best remedy.
We hiked around the land, checking on the berries. The rain was helpful today as we still hand water our crop.What really surprised me, was the vast areas that had been flattened by the deer. Large swaths of grasses had been laid flat, proof of our furry neighbors nocturnal visit.They had slept or at least laid along the slight ridged area, above the berry fields. Perhaps, I thought, they are planning on harvesting a few berries as well?