#BEDM - 10th: World Fair Trade Day

Today is World Fair Trade Day, and what better way to mark this than with a cup of (fair trade) tea?

This tea is Clipper Big Bright Blend.  I like my tea weak and milky (as horrific as this may sound to many people) but always fair trade.  These strawberries are from the local supermarket but were grown in this county, it is good to have English summer fruits in stores again.

Fair trade is something I've often done with Brownies, there's a great badge called World Issues which covers things like fair trade, safe drinking water and recycling.  There's a whole host of activities you can do on these themes, but the most successful one in my experience is the chocolate taste testing.  It is a very serious activity!

You will need:

Different bars of chocolate such as: store own brand milk chocolate, dark chocolate, Cadbury's Dairy Milk, fair trade chocolate, organic chocolate, white chocolate, diabetic chocolate, vegan chocolate.  Check for any allergies!

Chart with a column per bar to taste.

Glass of water per person, this works best in groups of about 4-8 girls.

Instructions:

Show the girls the chart, explain what the different types of chocolate are, and the meaning behind fair trade.

With the girls' eyes closed, give each person a piece of chocolate number one (most chocolate is easily identifiable by sight so they mustn't peek!).  Girls eat it, quick discussion as to whether they liked it or not, could they tell what it is (most children can identify Dairy Milk and white chocolate as they're so sweet and dark chocolate as it can be quite bitter), and give it a collective mark out of 10 as well as an estimate as to how much 100g would cost.

Repeat for each type of chocolate, having a sip of water between each bar.  

When they've all tasted them all, show them the answers.  How many did they get right?  Have any answers surprised them?  What do they think about the different prices?

There are so many areas you could use as a discussion starting point, and just to see where the girls take the discussion.  What is in essence a very simple and fun activity actually really gets them thinking, and they're often the best activities!