In September 2002, the Tazo Tea Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks) formed a partnership to support tea communities with Mercy Corps, a relief agency that operates health and economic development programs in more than 30 countries.

This partnership is working on the Community Health and Advancement Initiatives project (CHAI) in the tea-growing region of Darjeeling, India, where Tazo purchases some of the world’s finest teas. The project is focused on three key areas:

• improving the quality of and access to water
• supporting regional social, environmental and economic programs
• developing young people’s leadership skills and opportunities for the future.

Since 2003,more than $1.9 million has been contributed to the CHAI Project,including donations in fiscal 2007 of $274.000 from Tazo and its suppliers and $520.000 from Starbucks.Over the next two years,Tazo and Mercy Corps plan to expand the CHAI project to Assam,India and nine Guatemalan villages