Organics

Certified organic

Organic tea, fruit, herbal, vegetable or coffee beverage ingredients must be grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.

The tea plant must rely completely on natural organic matter, such as soil, compost, manure, natural tree and plant materials and mulch to provide the necessary ground nutrients.

A registered international authority must then certify the beverage. To import organics into Australia, the certifying authority must be approved by the Australian Customs Authority.

Not certified organic

Within the tea industry, some tea estates have been growing teas organically for centuries.

Organic production methods are not a new concept but the Certification requirement is relatively new. These tea estates may have followed traditional tea growing agricultural principles, but without Certification the growers cannot validate their products.

Since 1997, Tea Leaves has developed an international network of agents who buy at tea auctions or negotiate supply arrangements with single estate producers, in countries of origin. We only deal with reputable people and companies who supply high quality specialty teas from well managed tea estates.

The fact that we have never had pesticide Surveillance by Australian Customs is testament to the care taken to source producers and suppliers.

For customers with concerns about pesticides contents and Maximum Residual Levels (MRLs) in beverages not certified organic, refer to our Blog.

TEAhealth Your TEA is safe - Pesticides