Organic Tea
The term ‘organic’ gets tossed around so much that’s it hard to know exactly what true organic tea is. In reality, all tea should be considered organic since it comes from a plant. However, there is more to it than just that. An organic tea will provide more health benefits and will have a more pure flavor. Finding true organic tea is easy once you know what the terms means, and what to look for.
Understanding Organic
With an organic tea, the plant that produces the leaves that are harvested won’t be treated with pesticides or other chemicals. This goes beyond just pest control though. A lot of farmers will use products and chemicals that are designed to speed up growth. This can benefit them by giving them higher yields and faster harvest time. While most of these additives are safe, some of them are still unknown. In order to be organic, any pest control or other supplements must be completely organic themselves, no chemicals. Depending on where the farm is, there are a certain number of years required for the farm to be certified as organic. Certified organic tea will display a label or seal of some type listing the association that certified them. Both bagged tea and loose organic tea will have this displayed somehow.
Understanding Fair Trade
‘Fair trade’ is a label that is being seen on organic tea products more and more. And while most people know this is a good thing, they don’t quite understand it. Fair trade organic essentially means that the communities that produce the goods actually benefit from the sales. Instead of large companies going in and strong-arming the little guys to sell the wares for low prices, fair trade ensures that the farmers and all the workers involved were paid a fare wage. The workers then decide how that money is used. It can be used to enhance their communities through improvement projects, paying in to the workers retirement plans, or educational goals. Fair trade organic tea ensures that you aren’t purchasing a tea that was farmed or harvested by people who aren’t getting a fair deal.
What to Know About Organic Tea
The more pure the tea, the better the product will be. This means a fresher flavor with more health benefits. The chemicals used on non-organic brands can change the flavor dramatically. It can also kill a lot of the nutrients and other beneficial compounds found in tea leaves. The tea will still have some of the benefits, such as antioxidants, but it won’t be as rich in this. If you are looking for organic teas for the health benefit, you should make sure it has that seal.
Organic tea won’t have the same shelf life as non-organic varieties. One of the most common reasons to use a chemical in tea leaves is to act as a preservative. Without the added preservative, the organic tea blends won’t have the same shelf life. While some brands of tea with an added preservative will last as long as 3 years, organic tea blends will typically only last about 3-6 months. You’ll need to store the tea in an airtight container. If you have loose tea this will be even more important to keep your organic tea fresh for the longest amount of time possible.
When you start to look at purchasing different organic tea brands, you should look closely at the label. Tea shopping will be much easier if you know what to look for. If you want to make sure the product is truly organic, look for a seal that lists the association that certified them. Since most tea merchants will be proud of this, it will be displayed prominently on the organic tea package.