Organic tea in China: true or myth?

[bagua7]

I was wondering if some of those vendors that promote their green tea as being grown organically is just a sales pitch due to an increasingly competitive market.

We all know that pollution is high in China and farming practices are less than desirable, but really spending that extra money on a tea that is far from being organic is not worthwhile especially when one knows that washing the leaves with water prior consumption would do the trick.

What do you think?

[Tead Off]

This is a problem that all of us face. A certain amount of faith or belief is necessary whether it is in China or not. There have been cases everywhere of cheating. But, I don't think it's the same tea if you simply wash a non-organic tea and think it is somehow on an equal level with an ecologically grown plant which is hand-picked, hand-processed, and, more expensive for this reason. Plus, in many cases, the bio-farmer might also be a tea master and not just a grower of the tea. Processing accounts for a lot in the final flavor and aroma.

[bagua7]

OK; in other words, it'd best relying on vendors who are often mentioned by regular teachatters, right?

Jing Tea Shop
Hou De
Teaspring

Anyone else who fits that category?

[Tead Off]

OK; in other words, it'd best relying on vendors who are often mentioned by regular teachatters, right?

Jing Tea Shop
Hou De
Teaspring

Anyone else who fits that category?

Not really. No offense to those sellers. As Tim and others have pointed out, there is a lot of mischief in the LJ world. Few people know this tea with certainty. Tim's posts are the most revealing and his price structure is a sign post. But, any seller can sell something for more than it's worth and not even know it. Outside of a shop in Hong Kong that I know, EastTeas and Postcard Teas in London sell a very good LJ and they have a writeup about the grower and tea master that produces it. It is good stuff. I would also ask Tim where you can buy high grade LJ. Maybe he has some for sale.

[bagua7]

Cool, I will check them out as well.

As I am still new to this forum, does Tim run one of those businesses? If he happens to chime in, I would like to know if he has some top grade LJ for sale.

[Tead Off]

Cool, I will check them out as well.

As I am still new to this forum, does Tim run one of those businesses? If he happens to chime in, I would like to know if he has some top grade LJ for sale.

themandarinstea.com

[Proinsias]

themandarinstearoom.com

you missed a bit

[gingkoseto]

When I consider buying a tea labeled as organic, there are 2 situations. If the tea is not certified by any international institution, then I will judge it solely on its quality/flavor and don't consider the organic factor at all. If the tea is certified by an international institution (usually from US, Europe or Japan), then I will consider the organic factor, depending on how much I trust the certification institution.

But still, the flavor is always the most important for me. Some so-claimed organic teas do taste very good to me and the flavor itself justifies the "organic" portion of the price. And there were times that I felt I paid premium tea prices on some mass production level certified organic teas. I guess not everyone is as flavor-oriented as I am. For people who value the health benefits of organic teas, probably looking into certification information of the product is more important.

[britt]

If it's labeled organic and is from Japan I think it's very likely to be legitimately certified. Taiwan has had issues with fraudulent certifications, as has China. When I buy an organic tea from anywhere, Japan included, it's for reasons other than the organic certification.

[gingkoseto]

As I understand, what matters the most is not where the tea is from, but which institution certifies it. It's not the consumer's duty, but the certification institution's duty to find out if an agriculture product can be called organic or not. Consumers don't have such capability either. I've seen some (well actually, few) Chinese and Taiwanese teas certified by NOP (USDA), JAS (Japan), MOA (Japan) and/or Biosuisse (Switzerland). I assume we can trust these institutions if we want organic products at all.

I've also seen a few Chinese teas certified by Chinese institutions only. I don't think it's a good business move, because with all the money spent on certification, organic tea is not much favored in Chinese market, and Chinese certification doesn't mean much, if anything, in the international market. Usually if the manufacture is serious about certification, they would have an exported organic product certified by an institution in the target country or region (if it's Europe), or USDA, which is globally acknowledged.

I also want to support products with good agricultural practice but without organic certification (which is almost impossible for small tea farmers or factories). But I don't know exactly how. So I mostly trust the flavor of the tea

[Tead Off]

Personally, I would never buy an organic tea just because it was organic. I have to like it, of course. Currently, I am tending to buy organic teas that are sourced by sellers that claim they buy directly from small farms doing hand production and growing without pesticides. This is where the best organic teas are from, not the large producers. In China, as well as Korea, there exist farms that raise and cultivate tea in the traditional ways. There are also bigger outfits that are certified and have a much larger distribution channel so they can afford the certification. The problem is knowing and believing your seller has the correct information. If you just dismiss a seller's claim that a tea they carry is organic but not certified, the choice narrows dramatically. I choose to buy teas which are organic because I don't want any alteration or poison in the leaf, the ground, and, the air.

[SustainableTeaLeaf]

I agree that the certification for small farmers in tough in a lot of cases. It would be great for those farmers who are producing in a sustainable way to get the recognition they deserve. Also, the certification in the US is the one I know best so yeah, if it has a certification from another country that is good but I agree that some country's certifications are better than others so you have to be careful.

[MadeForTeaVea]

I believe that the term "organic" has become such a catch all word. Since it's become mainstream a whole slew of new problems have arrived with it. Companies like to use it as means to increase revenue. If you spend anytime researching organic farming, in the tea realm and outside the tea realm I think you will notice a lot of grey area.

I think the bottom line is, don't get caught up in it. Organic does not always mean better for you or better tasting. I think it's important to take it at face value and look more specifically at the company that is producing the product.

That being said, I try to buy organic when possible. I def wouldn't buy something just because it's organic. And like a lot of things in China, there probably is some funny business going on with the "organic" labeling of teas.

Much like the misleading "organic" labeling of teas I often wonder the same thing about the "fair trade" labels.