Organic certification for tea concerns more than the cultivation of tea plants. Purchasing, storage, packing, labelling and documentation must also meet defined requirements. TeaSense is currently not organically certified and therefore does not label its products as organic.
This does not mean that origin, processing and quality are unimportant to us. We carefully select every tea and do not decide whether it belongs in our range based on a label alone.
What organic certification for tea means
TeaSense packs a large proportion of its teas, herbs and blends itself. At the same time, we work with different suppliers and producers. Organic certification would therefore affect many of our internal processes rather than just a few individual products.
Certified and conventional products would need to be clearly separated and documented during storage, packing and labelling. For a small specialist tea business, this involves additional organisational and administrative work.
Organic and conventional tea in one range
Offering certified organic tea alongside conventional tea can make internal processes considerably more complex. It may also limit the selection because not every tea that impresses us with its taste, origin or traditional processing has organic certification.
We currently prefer to retain the freedom to offer a varied selection of teas, herbs and distinctive regional specialities.
Why we also select tea without organic certification
One example is our tea from Chá Gorreana in the Azores. We visited the tea plantation ourselves and were able to see the cultivation and traditional processing directly.
These teas are supplied to us in their original packaging and are therefore not directly comparable with the products we pack ourselves. Nevertheless, they demonstrate why we do not wish to assess tea solely on the basis of a certification label.
For us, taste, origin, processing and the overall quality of the product are decisive.
How we select our teas
Before a tea becomes available from TeaSense, we taste and assess it. We pay particular attention to:
- taste and aroma
- origin and ingredients
- careful processing
- clear product information
- good value for money
Organic certification for tea can be a useful selection criterion, but it is not the only indication of quality. Not every high-quality tea carries an organic label, and not every certified tea automatically suits our range.
Transparent labelling
As TeaSense is not organically certified, we do not describe our products as organic. Instead, we provide clear information about ingredients, taste, origin and preparation wherever possible.
Our conclusion on organic certification
Organic certification is an important and understandable labelling system. However, it is not the only way to assess the quality of tea.
TeaSense therefore focuses on careful selection, transparent information and teas that convince us through their taste, origin and processing.