How easy is it for tea producers to deliver a high quality organic product to the consumer? As the fourth generation representative of Darjeeling’s tea dynasty, Rajah Banerjee is the prince of organic tea. Cradled in the lap of the Himalayas, Makaibari is the oldest single owner tea estate and one of the few devoted to organic and biodynamic agricultural methods. Rajah explains that the annual volume of organically grown tea is only six percent that of conventional. While demand for organically grown tea continues to increase, there are significant constraints upon growers who might like to enter this market.

Large producers in particular face significant challenges in adapting to a new set of agricultural parameters. The switch to holistic management requires considerable planning and time. By avoiding chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, organic growers must directly confront the challenge of developing approved alternatives. These include natural soil conditioners like manure, botanical insect repellents, alternate host species, and manual weeding. Understandably, many large producers are discouraged by the loss of income which is likely to occur during their transition to holistic agriculture.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, small scale organic tea producers seem to have an increasingly difficult time. This is largely on account of the manner in which tea is commercially distributed. In Rajah’s words, volume is the mantra. Specialty teas are often ignored by major distributors who demand standardised products which facilitate swift turnover and high volume sales.

About tea

The tea bush (Camellia sinesis) has been cultivated for thousands of years, originally in China where it became a staple beverage. Due to its popularity as a trading commodity, the cultural influence of tea spread outwards to encompass those regions presently known as Japan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Russia. At the arrival of the eighteenth century, tea became an important beverage in England where it was consumed across all levels of society.

Chinese herbalists have long appreciated the health benefits of drinking tea, although much of this knowledge was inaccessible in the west. Today, there is a decent amount of mainstream research seeking to evaluate the beneficial properties of tea. Two of the questions most frequently raised in these studies include: Which variety of tea is most beneficial to human health? and Is organically grown tea superior to conventionally grown tea?

Black tea

Several varieties of tea are obtained from the Camellia sinesis bush. The most popular tea around the world is currently black tea. The flavoursome qualities of black tea are captured by a fermentation process which involves an initial steaming to release enzymes followed by high temperature drying. While fermentation enriches the taste, it also decreases some valuable polyphenols while increasing the caffeine and tannin content of the leaves.

A good quality black tea (preferably single leaf) is still considered a useful source of flavonoids and other antioxidant compounds. A regular dietary intake of these nutrients is required for building resistance against infection and many of the diseases which occur in later life.

There is considerable interest and support for research investigating the influence of tea consumption upon degenerative illnesses like arthritis, cancer, and coronary vascular disease. Black tea appears to provide some protection against coronary vascular disease. In a sample of elderly males in Holland, moderate tea consumption was associated with a lower incidence of mortality attributed to heart disease (Hertog, et al, 1993). Some of the lower priced black teas; particularly those used in teabags will be blended with Camellia assam leaves. To date, most of the scientific studies have focused on Camellia sinesis.

Green Tea

Green tea is traditionally preferred in several regions of Asia, notably Japan, where its complex health benefits have been extensively researched. Instead of being fermented, green tea is dried quickly to reduce oxidation. This results in a slightly astringent beverage. When brewed from high quality leaves, a serving of green tea ensures a bountiful harvest of highly desirable nutrients. These include antioxidant vitamins, beta carotene, zinc, and selenium, in addition to complex polyphenols and flavonoids.

From a holistic health perspective, green teas are classified along with other foods which regulate metabolism and alkalinise the body. Promoting an alkaline environment assists the efficiency of cellular metabolism and may decrease the likelihood of certain types of cancer. Scientists have now identified several polyphenol compounds which appear to have inhibitory effects upon the development and progression of cancerous cells.

For laboratory mice, a diet supplemented with green tea polyphenols resulted in a significantly lower incidence of skin cancer (Dreosti et al, 1997). The consumption of green tea was associated with decreased recurrences of breast cancer in Japanese women (Nakachi et al, 1998). Other potential health benefits of green tea include protection against cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and elevated blood pressure (Sueoka, et al, 2001).

Tea plantations

With approximately twenty thousand plants supported on each hectare of land, commercial tea production places high demands upon natural and human resources. The average annual yield is approximately two thousand kilograms of dried tea per hectare.

Like other intensively farmed crops, tea is routinely treated with a broad range of agricultural chemicals. Because their new growth is continually harvested, tea plants must obtain sufficient nitrogen from the soil. Most commercial growers depend on synthetic fertiliser to replace soil nitrogen. Organic farmers replace soil nitrogen with natural materials like green manure crops, seaweed, compost, and animal manures.

Not surprisingly, commercially cultivated tea is susceptible to damage caused by fungal infection, and several species of insect. Once again, the majority of tea plantations depend on chemical treatments which must be frequently applied, often in higher concentrations than those recommended. This impacts negatively upon the quality of life enjoyed by plantation workers and results in a product that is potentially dangerous to consumers.

Conventional tea producers operate within narrow margins and cannot routinely accommodate the shift to an organic approach since, in most cases, their yields would be significantly decreased. It has also been reported that workers employed to maintain and harvest tea bushes prefer conventional spraying, since this eliminates the natural prey of scorpions, spiders, and snakes. The chance of being bitten or killed by one of these creatures is apparently much greater on organic plantations. Conventional growers frequently promote these statistics to gain approval for their practices. Since many of these workers are children, it seems cynical to address short term safety without considering the longer term implications of repeated chemical exposure.

Health and wellbeing

For ensuring the health and wellbeing of those who consume dried tea, there is little doubt that organically certified products contain less chemical residue than conventionally grown alternatives. One of the difficulties with assessing pesticide levels in tea is the fact that each season will precipitate different approaches to crop management, depending on variable factors like climate, insect breeding cycles, and the market price for individual tea varieties. The majority of tea is sold in blended form, meaning that elevated pesticide levels can rarely be traced to a single source. As a consequence, many scientists and consumers are somewhat sceptical of the publicised laboratory analyses.

In addition to accumulating within the cells of each plant, agricultural chemicals have the potential to inhibit or weaken natural processes which create highly potent nutrients. The complex polyphonous and flavonoids within tea leaves are involved in complex functions like protection against predatory insect attack. When plants are artificially protected by synthetic chemicals, they gradually lose their natural ability to discourage insects. This is less of a problem with most species of culinary herb, which can be dried and blended to create healthy or medicinal beverages. When grown in appropriate locations, herbs are naturally resilient. Many of them grow in marginal soils and produce volatile compounds which discourage insect pests. This enables them to be grown organically, without chemicals.

Health conscious consumers have every reason to choose an organically certified product. Oakland based Numi Tea have developed a unique range of teas which meet strict organic standards. Company spokesperson Anna Hartman explains that most tea leaves are unwashed when they’re dried and processed. So the first time you steep your tea, you’re also infusing chemical residue from any pesticides previously used on the plants. Dedicated to quality, Numi Tea avoids the use of fragrant oils which can disrupt the subtle flavours of a genuine tea. Since their introductory launch of Dry Desert Lime, the company has proceeded to introduce many distinctive and exotic teas. These include Rooibos (red tea), Lemon Myrtle, Honeybush, and Berry Black.

Sourcing organic teas

Many informed consumers are attracted to the health giving properties of organically certified tea. Lisa Hilbert’s a Melbourne based naturopath specialising in Herbal Medicine. She’s also the founder and CEO of Tea Tonic, a company dedicated to developing teas with therapeutic properties. From her experience, Lisa knows that an appropriately selected tea will enhance and strengthen specific aspects of bodily function. For example, Tea Tonic’s Warm Spicey blend includes therapeutic herbs such as Clove, Anise, and Cinnamon. When taken regularly, this can assist general circulation and digestion.

In situations where it is difficult to obtain organically certified varieties of black or green tea, consumers may prefer to concentrate on herbal teas like peppermint, rosebud, or chrysanthemum. There are numerous varieties to choose from and regular consumption can provide nutritional benefits of similar magnitude to black or green tea.

One of the factors affecting local supplies of organically certified tea is its recent incorporation within a range of natural health products. Widespread awareness of beneficial compounds in green tea has encouraged enterprising manufacturers to develop its functional properties as the key ingredient within sports drinks, toothpaste, and premium cosmetic products. Health food manufacturers are increasingly interested in the antioxidant properties which preserve nutrients and discourage rancidity of natural oils. There is little doubt; the future of organic tea appears very promising.