Should I Only be Buying Organic Tea, and if so, Which are the Best Organic Teas?...
The Thought of Organic Teas Sure Sounds Better than Non-Organic Tea...but I’m Not Sure if All the Teas I Like are Organic...
When we think about organic versus non-organic teas, it is helpful to see how the wine industry has dealt with the organic consideration.
Both organic and non-organic teas can vary in quality, complicating the decision-making process for the tea drinker. Looking at organic considerations, there are actually three categories of organic products: certified organic, organic compliant, and non-organic.
Organic certification?...What's that?...
Organic certification means that certain standards have been met to gain the approval of a certifying body. For example, in the USA, this could be the USDA. Other countries have organic certification standards as well.
An issue that tea lovers face when it comes to organic tea is that there is not a universal global certifying body that controls all other certifying organizations, so we lack a uniform, world-wide standard.
When looking at organic teas, then, it is helpful to know which certifying body has given the producer their organic certification.
Another issue develops when you consider cost, because with all certification compliance comes the cost of establishing certification and the cost of continuing audits to ensure organic standards continue to be met. Organic certification must be renewed annually.
How does all this affect the tea industry?...
There is a barrier for smaller tea farmers and producers that may lack the funding and/or technical skills to achieve organic certification compliance. Some are able to group together with others to obtain certification.
In some instances, tea farmers or co-ops may implement and maintain organic practices, and can be considered by those who know them as organic compliant, but they have no certification to verify their product.
We also find regionally famous growing regions that may apply organic techniques, but at some point in their history have had chemical fertilizers or pesticides used. Trace amounts of these chemicals may remain in their soil, preventing organic tea certification.
This becomes a great dilemma for the world of tea, because it is from some of those very regions that many of the most renowned teas of excellence come. These teas have to be considered non-organic, although they can be hand-crafted teas that produce sensational cups of tea. If we want authentic teas from famous growing regions, they may just not be available in an organic version.
Many times, in order to become organic certified, growers use the same technique as those in famous tea regions, but produce it in a different location where a tea garden was more recently built in virgin, uncontaminated soil. This means the tea would come from somewhat different terroir, which has the potential to change the character of the tea.
What is the difference between non-organic and organic tea?...
My personal experience has been that some of the organic teas I’ve had have been outstanding, and others not so much. Sometimes they deliver that anticipated cup character one comes to expect from a certain growing region, and other times when comparing organic vs non-organic grades (even from the same grower with an identical processing technique), sometimes the character of the organic tea is not as vibrant and full in the cup as the non-organic version.
In these instances, it is difficult to replace the non-organic with an organic tea version, because tea drinkers will definitely notice.
So, there is a lot to consider when choosing teas based on organic certification. We can evaluate the certifying body, if there is one, the growing region, the characteristics of the leaves, and the steeped beverage.
How do I choose between organic and non-organic tea?
As purveyors who are committed to bringing high quality teas at affordable prices, we choose organic teas based on whether they meet the cup characteristics we feel we need to deliver to our customers, and if they fall below, we either do not select them or offer them in addition to the conventional tea, allowing the customer to decide for themselves.
In the end, we can reference the approach we take to other organic products that we consume, such as vegetables, dry goods, wines, meats poultry and dairy.
The final decision with tea will come down to your level of commitment to certified organic products compared to other products you consume, your belief in the accrediting body, the importance of original and unique terroir, and your assessment of the quality in your cup.
In the world of tea today, so many options exist. The organic decision should be one more consideration, not the only one.
Can I buy organic tea on the Drink Great Tea website?...
At the moment, we are taking a hiatus on offering organic teas, due to many of the reasons above. We hope to be able to re-introduce organic teas to our inventory when our resources meet organic certification requirements. Until then, we are proud of the collection of delicious teas we have amassed, and we continue to thrive on sharing the benefits of tea with our community...