What does “certified organic tea” mean?
There are many wonderful teas out there, and many organic teas. If you’re wondering if the best teas organic, read on to learn more.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a federal department that has developed processes and executes policy on farming, agriculture and food products. It also develops policies around food safety and certifies organic food products.
“Before a product can be labeled ‘organic,’ a government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer has followed all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards.” – USDA website
Certified organic means the company has paid for the product to be certified organic. Organic tea is grown without any chemicals or pesticides (including herbicides and fungicides). Chemicals are also not used during its processing.
We do offer a wide range of premium certified Organic Teas. However, organic isn’t the only, or always the best indicator of tea quality.
Our non-organic teas are also very pure, despite the lack of certifications. Some of our high-end teas do not carry the organic title. Organic teas can sometimes produce less than desired flavor profiles because of strict regulations. The soil can become depleted of nutrients since farmers have strict rules on what and how much they can add to the soil.
Other teas may not be certified organic because the tea farmer could not afford to pay for the certification process, or simply hasn’t gone through the documentation for the certification process.
What about pesticides? Our non-organic teas go through many levels of testing. Many of our blends are tested by the European Commission Health and Consumer Protection Agency. Our tea blending partner also tests the tea ingredients, looking closely for pesticides or harmful chemicals.
We’re confident in the quality and purity of all of our teas, we’d never sell tea we wouldn’t drink ourselves. And, we drink our teas – pretty much all day, every day. We offer more than 140 high-quality loose leaf teas and tisanes.
A few of our organic faves include brisk and invigorating Organic English Breakfast Black Tea, lofty and smooth Organic Clouds and Mist Green Tea, and Organic Golden Pear Peony White Tea with honeysuckle notes. And our Organic Hazelnut Honeybush is a caffeine free delight.See our blog to discover owners Thomas and Theann’s all-time favorite teas.
