Organic Tea

About

Organic Tea The organic production of tea is a relatively new development - dating back only ten to twelve years. Cultivation under organic rules is extremely complicated and rigidly controlled. All fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides must be absolutely free of chemicals and must rely totally on substances such as dung, compost, natural organic matter, and plants and trees that provide necessary nutrients, ground cover, etc. The aims of organic estates are to achieve long-term sustainability of soil fertility and productivity protect the environment, and create a form of organic micro-system that produces an economically viable tea that is totally free of chemicals. This does not imply that all non-organic teas contain chemicals, but rather that an organic system produces tea for a growing market of consumers who care about the environment and the long-term health of the planet, and which recognizes and appreciates the fine quality and flavor of some of the organic teas being produced today in India, Africa, and Sri Lanka. Makaibari in Darjeeling was certified by the Organic Farmers and Growers, UK, in 1990 and produces highly acclaimed teas of exceptional quality. Mullootor is another Darjeeling garden that went organic in 1986, and Lonrho, in Tanzania, has been producing organic tea, since 1989. Their product has even been drunk at Buckingham Palace. In Sri Lanka, Needwood Estate is now also producing organic teas. The cultivation of any food product under organic rules is extremely rigidly controlled by various international bodies. No chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or other chemical additives of any kind may be used anywhere on the plantation and producers must rely totally on natural methods of pest and insect control, and on sprays, mulches and fertilizers that are made from dung, natural compost and other organic matter. Companies involved in organic production are concerned with the long-term health of our planet and organic tea plantations