Is Organic Tea safer than Conventional Tea?

Is Tea free from Pesticides?
Is Organic Tea safer then Conventional Tea?
My submission is that all agricultural produce need to be protected with pesticides, at various stages of cultivation / harvest / post harvest.

Tea too is an agricultural product, and is not an exception.

Tea Plantations are nurtured by highly skilled workers, and vigilant managers, and all the activities are done in the most scientific manner, supported by scientific bodies, supported by respective Governments.

An organic farm will not use anything synthetic or chemical, but will surely need to use biological pesticides / formulations. Organic Teas are relatively safe, but can you be sure about the water or the sugar or the milk in your cup of tea?

Its all subjective, and a matter of debate, but the bottom line is:-

Tea is safer than water.

Brew it fresh, and sip in leisure.

Jayesh.

Twist in the Tale : Modern incarnation of the ancient Brew

Twist in the Tale : Modern incarnation of the ancient Brew

It has been a long journey for our favorite beverage “Tea” since its accidental discovery by a Chinese King many centuries ago. Or, was it the great herbalist who left this world and took along with him the knowledge of nearly 21000 medicinal herbs, that was known only to him? On his grave, it is believed, grew a strange new plant – camellia sinensis. Our very own tea Plant.

In the early times, The plant was considered to be so sacred, that its commercial cultivation could not even be thought about. In Japan, Tea consumption is considered a ceremony. A ceremony of bonhomie and contentment.

However, the British and the Dutch saw tremendous potential in this “elixir of the east” which gave “glowing health and longevity” to the people and started its organized commercial cultivation in China. Later it expanded to India, Sri Lanka and Kenya, among several other smaller countries.

Since then, there has been no looking back. Our brew has made the journey through green to oolong to white to black. From Orthodox to Legg-Cut to CTC to Instant Tea to Premix... From “natural” to “commercial” and now back to “organic”.

Along the path have been innumerable changes, value additions and improvements in the fields of cultivation, manufacture, blending as well as packaging. The art of making tea is now largely standardized.

Vegetatively propagated clones, bi clonal and poly clonal seeds, and region specific planting material is now available to choose from. Agrochemicals used in the fields are approved by scientists. Equipments used are such so as to minimize wastage and conserve the environment. Wood and Coal is now being phased out by Natural Gas and Oil. Machinery and processes are computer controlled. Stalk and Fiber in tea is a thing of the past, with the advent of high tech machines. The traditional wooden Tea Chests have been replaced with multi walled paper sacks. State of art, Ergonomically designed, StainlessSteel Blenders are used to blend delicate teas without bruising them. Silk cloth wrappings have been replaced with staple free tea bags made out of filter paper of natural origin, bleached with liquid oxygen.

While we may think that our brew has completed its journey, the latest scientific research has opened a new door to exciting possibilities and opportunities.

The magic of tea comes from the tiny amount of caffeine, which is a mild stimulant and from the antioxidants in the form of polyphenols, mainly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin. Tea is the richest source of such antioxidants and works towards its extraction for fortification of other food products has been a field of research by the scientists since many years.

A breakthrough has been reported by the Israel Institute of Technology, who have presented a paper reporting “nano-encapsulation of EGCG intended for food application. It is apparently the first EGCG nanoencapsulation method based on natural ingredients only. Moreover, the extremely small nanoparticles developed (<50nm>, opens up unlimited possibility of addition of EGCG to mineral water, ready-to-drink tea beverages, soft drinks, fruit juices, and dairy beverages. In addition, sport drinks would be a great application for this technology, as many of them are also enriched with protein, particularly whey proteins.

All things come a full circle, but our beverage, it seems has quite a large circle to complete. Yet, Tea remains the drink of choice for the majority of humankind. The most unpretentious and safe beverage in the world. Its method of preparation purifies the water too!

Tata, Unilever Launch Tea 2030 Project

Please read on ... following is indeed a positive development for the industry:-
Tata Global Beverages, Unilever, Yorkshire Tea and Finlays have joined a coalition of businesses and organizations to address sustainability issues within the tea industry.
The Tea 2030 project will be facilitated and managed by global sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future. Other participants include the Ethical Tea Partnership, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade International.
The project aims to understand and develop solutions to the key challenges facing the sector to 2030. For instance, the market for tea is rapidly changing. Currently it is not traded in the same way as other commodities, but some experts think it could be by 2030. This would increase market transparency, but also possibly lead to speculation and thus the volatility seen in other markets in the past few years.
Competition for land and climate change is a another major concern that could result in tea plantations being converted to other uses. Between 2005 and 2010, 13,000 hectares of land in Indonesia have been converted from tea to other purposes such as growing rubber, palm oil and fruit.
Tea 2030 said it also wants to respond to growing opportunities for responsible products in developing markets such as Brazil, China and India. According to the recent Regeneration Roadmap study, consumer in these markets are more than twice as likely as those in developed markets to buy products because of social and environment benefits (51% to 22% respectively), and pay more for sustainable products (60% to 26%).
“It is critical that the industry responds innovatively to these trends and challenges — yet many require collaborative action as they are too big for one organisation to tackle alone,” the group said in a release. “Tea 2030 has been designed to bring the power of the entire tea sector together to do this.”
Tea 2030 intends to share its insight and vision widely — including the key trends affecting the industry and agreed ‘innovation platforms’ that will be launched in September 2013.
Dr. Sally Uren, Deputy Chief Executive of Forum for the Future, said: “Through our past projects in sectors as diverse as tourism and shipping, we have seen how exploration of different possible futures can be a powerful way of generating a shared understanding of sustainability issues throughout entire value chains. In turn, this shared understanding can generate new solutions to systemic problems that are just too big for one organization to tackle alone. We have high hopes that Tea 2030 will deliver practical action that will secure a sustainable and successful future for the global tea industry.”
Courtsey - Bart King, freelance writer.