Caribbean News Now calls it a historical moment: “McDonalds in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands recognizes the cultural significance of this ‘hot beverage of choice’ among USVI residents,” and will now include healthy herbal infusions—or bush tea—on their menus. Here are excerpts:

Jacquel Dawson, the US Virgin Islands ‘Bush Tea Lady’, will be supplying free bush tea at all McDonalds on J’ouvert morning as a promotional kickoff to becoming a full-fledged menu item. Bush tea is a local agricultural product and its inclusion in McDonalds’ local menu will ultimately stimulate agricultural production and increase economic activity throughout the territory.

Tourists visiting Germany find beer in McDonalds; in France, McDonalds serves wine; in Italy, they serve pizza; and in the US Virgin Islands – “the Tea Capital of the Caribbean”, McDonalds will serve our culinary specialty, bush tea to residents and tourists alike.

Free bush tea for J’ouvert is a kickoff promotion that measures bush tea’s culinary strength in the community as McDonalds assesses its prominence among USVI residents. Residents participating in the bush tea kickoff provide a vote of confidence to this US Virgin Islands agricultural emergence since 17th century sugar.

The McDonalds success will place US Virgin Islands bush tea on the menu of the most recognized fast food chain in the world, but even more importantly, its success will make available to the US Virgin Islands community their own traditional “hot beverage of choice”, loaded with invaluable nutritional and health benefits. Simply, this is what the people enjoy, for this beverage daily sustains residents, who are bush tea driven rather than coffee driven.

For original article, see http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Bush-tea-to-become-McDonalds-menu-item-in-USVI-and-Puerto-Rico-15482.html