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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2016)
Organic Who Berries makeS Your Food? •PICKED DAILY• B Come see us at the farm stand GROUNDWORK ORGANICS THURSDAY - SUNDAY 9AM-6PM 91360 RIVER ROAD, JUNCTION CITY GROUNDWORKORGANICS.COM uy local: It’s a mantra repeated with such frequency in the bountiful Willamette Valley that it’s almost lost all meaning. Let’s take a step back and look at some numbers. According to the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, a 2010 analysis estimated that Lane County consumers are spending less than 5 percent of their food money on locally produced food. “OK, but locally produced food is hard to find,” you scoff. Actually, that’s wrong! Lane County has an astonishing vari- ety of locally grown foods — milk, veggies, fruit, herbs — and now that the Lane County Farmers Market is open on Thursdays as well as Tuesdays and Saturdays, locavores have even more opportunities to buy fresh produce. The Willamette Valley is also home to numerous food mak- ers that distribute their products locally as well as nationwide. We have granola makers, salsa crafters, chocolatiers, juicers, yogurt producers — you name it. That’s why EW decided to do this issue of Chow a little dif- ferently. Instead of highlighting new restaurants, we’re taking a look at local businesses, people and companies that make food. There are so many that we couldn’t possibly list them all in one issue, but we’ve tried to at least provide a snapshot of what local food production can offer. You can find many of these products in local grocery stores, farmers markets and even online. So dig in and find out what delicious things your neighbors are making. DrinkS Blue Lotus Chai, founded in Eugene by Barbara and Stephan Cameron in 2010, makes it easy to brew a cup of milky, rich chai with its packets of powdered mix. It only takes one-fourth teaspoon of the mix added to water, milk and sugar to brew spicy, sweet goodness. The powder dissolves in hot water, making the entire cup of tea smooth and uniform in flavor. Find Blue Lotus Chai at a vast number of local establishments, including Red Barn Natural Grocery, Sweet Life Patisserie, Noisette, The Kiva and more, or check out bluelotuschai.com. 992 Willamette • Eugene, OR 97401 343-9661 2 CHOW SUMMER 2016 ORGANIC LEMONS ROLL UP THE PRODUCTION LINE AT GENESIS JUICE Eugene hosts a number of tea purveyors, including Yogi Tea in Springfield (yogiproducts.com), with its iconic herbal blends — seriously, its “Throat Comfort” tea is a godsend — and Labrang Tea Traders, which offers a tantalizing black tea blend called “Daydreamer’s.” It is sweet, mellow and comforting, with vanilla beans, red-rose pedals and cardamom pods. Head over to labrangtraders. com for more blends. Meanwhile, J-Tea International, which opened its second teahouse last month on 19th Avenue, sells tea from Taiwan and China, giving Eugene a glimpse into Eastern tea culture. Founded in 2004 by Josh Chamberlain, J-Tea has an enormous selection of tea blends, including “Eugene Breakfast,” an orange pekoe black tea with smooth texture and tangy taste. Find more at jteainternational.com or head to 2778 Friendly Street. EUGENEWEEKLY.COM/CHOW
