You buy organic apples at the grocery store, but when you come to the tea aisle, you’re bombarded with loads of options.
What is organic tea?
Is it better for you than regular tea?
And, should you pay a premium price for it?
What is organic tea?
Organic tea is tea that has not be treated with toxic chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers while it is grown, harvested or processed.
Conventionally grown tea is sprayed 15 to 20 times with enough chemicals it can kill a tiger! When you buy a non-organic fruit or vegetable you can wash the chemicals off the surface before you eat the food.
But, when you “wash” tea, you are drinking it!
According to TheEcologist.org:
“Grown in monoculture, tea plants provide ideal conditions for a number of pests, resulting in the widespread use of toxic pesticides. Recently four elephants were found dead in Kaziranga National Park, India, after they wandered into a tea plantation and ate grass which had been sprayed with pesticides. The deaths of cows and vultures in the Assam region has also been blamed on pesticides and has led to renewed calls for its use to be banned.”
Certified organic tea farmers use alternative methods of managing pests and diseases on their tea crops.
Is organic tea worth the added cost?
Organic loose leaf tea can be slightly more expensive than conventional loose leaf tea, anywhere from 1-2 times the cost. Keep in mind a few things, though.
Tea itself is a relatively inexpensive beverage, compared to bottled juices, soft drinks, beer, wine and other alcohol.
Many people do not know that you can steep whole tea leaves up to 5 times, for some teas! This extends the cost-savings, when you can steep several cups of tea with the same scoop of tea leaves.
Organic tea is often higher quality tea that tastes better, so you are getting a better product for your hard-earned cash.
Your dollars are supporting sustainable organic farmers in tea-producing regions of the world.
And, you are potentially reducing medical costs in the future by consuming organic tea, both for tea’s natural health benefits and the absence of toxic chemicals.
Given all the factors, you may decide its worth the added cost to know that your cup of tea is pure and not tainted.
After hearing this, why would you drink a tea that was not certified organic?
Where can you buy organic tea?
The Path of Tea offers over 125 varieties of organic green tea, organic white tea, organic black tea, organic chai tea, organic rooibos tea, organic pu-erh tea and organic herbal tea online. We also carry them in our organic tea house located in Houston, Texas.
This content has been adapted from the book Your Path of Tea for Health of Body, Mind and Spirit by the late Thia McKann, Tea Master and Owner of The Path of Tea.