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 Once upon a time, some ten years ago, Steve and Rachel Boss began to explore Italy, foraging organic foods and the amazing people who made them. They developed friendships and those relationships fostered a new company whose product line was, at the time, unique to grocers and small producers in the U.S. And it was mostly specialty natural food grocers and wholesalers who were piqued by their Italian goods.
However much Steve and Rachel enjoyed their relationships with the Italian growers, the retail side of the business left them restless. They'd criss-cross the country hosting taste-tests at the stores, all to the effect of never really communicating a rich understanding of the foods. Tables propped within aisles of grocery stores weren't the kind of environment that was conducive to this kind of education. But what did impress Steve and Rachel were their experiences watching people react to their products. People would ask them, with a slight murmur of awe in their voices, "Is this what olive oil is supposed to taste like?" Yes, and yes, Steve and Rachel would answer. But if they weren't there to help people understand what real olive oil tastes like, they wondered how shoppers could distinguish the real artisan-produced extra virgin olive oil from the other stuff on the shelf.
Motivated by a desire to create with their customers the kinds of relationships they had with their growers, Steve and Rachel let their vision of education and community unwind. They continued to develop their vision while they wondered what sorts of retail systems would cultivate it. Traveling to Italy every year to see their friends, a natural retail outgrowth occurred: an email and web-based model, both striving to create a dynamic flow of information between all the parties involved. By building a network of Taste the Earth society members Steve and Rachel plan to help create positive change through a culinary and cultural exchange in newsletters, on the web, and in the home. TTE's goal is embodied in its mission statement. The specifics are constantly evolving so come back often to see what's new not only in product, but ideas.
Please join us as Taste the Earth is about creating wonder and fun on a daily basis in the kitchen. It is our hope that as our vision of community unfolds, we'll help make this earth a more connected, healthier, sustaining place...with no end of really good food.
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