The 9 Best Organic & Sustainable Tea Brands
Tea has been enjoyed for centuries. Made from tea leaves, as well as herbs, fruits, seeds, and roots, tea is the most popular beverage after water and offers many health benefits.
Let's explore some of the benefits of tea, learn about sustainable practices within the industry, and meet some organic tea brands creating healthy tea with high standards.
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Health Benefits of Tea
As varied as its flavors and fusions are its health benefits. Tea is known to be good for the heart and may reduce the risk of cancer, as well as diabetes. It may lower bad cholesterol, boost the immune system, and fight inflammation.
Some teas contain caffeine and theanine, which can heighten mental alertness. What’s the main reason behind all this goodness?
Tea contains polyphenols, or flavonoids, that act as antioxidants. Antioxidants can protect your cells against free radicals, which may play a role in heart disease and cancer.
There is a whole world of tea to explore. From Japan’s matcha and China’s oolong to India’s masala chai and South Africa’s rooibos, you’re sure to find a tea you enjoy.
Here is a look at a few of the most common varieties and some of their many benefits.
Black tea may boost heart health, lower bad cholesterol, and improve gut health. It contains more caffeine than other teas (but less than coffee) so if you’re controlling your caffeine, regulate your intake or choose another tea.
Green tea may improve brain function, increase fat burning, and lower the risk of cancer. Matcha is a form of green tea that has gained popularity and, since whole leaves are used and ingested, is even higher in antioxidants.
Herbal and floral teas such as rooibos, chamomile, peppermint, ginger, and hibiscus don’t contain caffeine, making them a good choice if you’re limiting your intake or looking for the perfect, soothing cup of relaxing tea before bedtime.
Oolong tea contains l-theanine, an amino acid that reduces anxiety and increases alertness and attention. This amino acid also has the potential to help ward off diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Chamomile tea helps reduce menstrual pain and muscle spasms, improve sleep and relaxation, and reduce stress.
White tea may reduce the risk of heart diseases, protect your teeth from bacteria, and lower the risk of insulin resistance. It’s also the least processed variety and may be most effective at fighting cancer.
Peppermint tea is good for an upset stomach and ginger tea for soothing sore throats and preventing colds.
Rooibos tea may improve blood pressure and control cholesterol levels, while hibiscus tea may fight inflammation and promote weight loss.
Health Benefits of Organic Tea
Organic tea refers to the way the tea is grown and processed, whether it’s made from leaves, herbs, fruits, seeds, or roots. Being organic means the ingredients are grown without the use of insecticides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or fungicides.
These toxic chemicals can leach into the soil, as well as the air and water potentially affecting the end product with trace residues but also impacting the health of the workers who grow and process the tea.
This makes organic teas a safer and healthier choice for everyone involved in the supply chain.
There are a variety of organic tea flavors to choose from and these are available as loose leaf or in tea bags.
While experts may tell you to use loose leaf, our current day and age demand convenience, and it takes less time to make tea with a bag than with loose leaf. However, while you may be choosing an organic tea as a more healthful option, you need to be aware of what’s in the bag too.
Harmful Materials in Tea Bags
Tea bags are made from plastics such as nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), viscose rayon, PVC, polypropylene, or thermoplastic.
It’s been found that chemicals leach out of plastic bottles into our beverages, so there’s reason to be concerned with the same happening to our tea when we used bagged varieties using plastic components, potentially exacerbated by the fact that the plastic is heated.
Paper tea bags are also available, which may seem like a better option, but these are usually coated or sealed with glue, polypropylene plastic, or epichlorohydrin, the latter of which is considered a potential carcinogen.
Since conventional tea bags contain plastic, there can be environmental impacts too, because the tea bags could leach microplastics. And that’s without taking into account tea bags that come individually wrapped in plastic and packaged in non-recyclable boxes.
Next time you make yourself a cup of tea consider the impact of bag could be having on your health and the environment. It might be a good idea to consider loose leaf tea or look for responsibly made biodegradable tea bags.
Is Organic Tea More Sustainable?
It’s not just tea bags and boxes that could have a negative environmental impact as they pile up in landfills.
The way tea is grown has an impact too. Toxic chemicals from pesticides and the like affect not only workers and consumers, but the environment too as they pollute air, water, and soil, impacting habitats and wildlife.
There are the negative impacts from land being cleared to make room for tea plantations and estates, exacerbated by practicing monocropping which depletes the soil of nutrients and can cause erosion. And when trees are chopped down and vegetation cleared, habitats are destroyed, impacting and potentially eradicating animal and plant species.
It also contributes to quickening the pace of human-induced climate change due to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Not only are trees an important carbon sink, but when they’re cut down or even left to rot, they release carbon dioxide increasing the emissions of greenhouse gases.
Organic tea farmers aim to implement more biodynamic farming methods such as intercropping and planting cover crops. By using dynamic and sustainable growing measures that work with the land instead of obliterating it, the need for pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are decreased, habitats are protected, biodiversity is supported, and trees can continue to play a function in regulating rising greenhouse gas emissions.
USDA-Certified vs. Organically Grown
How do you know your tea is organic? The easiest would be to look for the USDA-certified label. To be certified organic by the USDA, certain prerequisites must be met. This includes developing an organic system plan which is inspected, reviewed, and certified by the USDA. This includes assessing:
soil quality
pest and weed control
the use of additives
and much more
This is not to say that non-certification equates to non-organic. Many brands may still be practicing organic methods, but are either too small an operation to require certification or cannot afford the expense. It might also be the case that some ingredients are grown and processed organically, but others not.
You may just need to do a little more homework on those brands; but even USDA-certified products should not be picked without further scrutiny.
While USDA certified and organically grown are optimized over conventional brands, you should still check the ingredients label, enquire from the brand or business themselves about their farming and processing methods, and find out what else they are doing to support communities and the environment. It's also important to consider the supply chain...were the farmers treated with respect and paid fair wages? You can consider looking for direct and fair trade tea too.
9 of the Best Organic Tea Brands to Try
Whether you're looking for organic loose leaf tea or socially responsible tea bags, these are some of the best tea brands using some of the highest quality ingredients.
Tielka’s Award Winning Organic Teas
Tielka is an Australian based organic tea company and a family-owned and run business that is committed to sustainable business practices and ethical sourcing. Tielka's entire tea collection is organic certified and when possible, ingredients are sourced from Fairtrade producers.
Tielka offers a wide range of organic teas including black, chai, green, herbal infusions, white, oolong, and more. Their tea bags are made with eco-friendly fabric which is made from GMO-free natural fiber derived from sugar cane. Tielka is Australia's most awarded organic tea brand, winning 32 awards since 2018, 18 of which are gold awards. Their tea ranges from $7-$25 and offers a subscription for tea lovers!
Tea Drops Bag Free Organic Tea
Tea Drops is a WOC-owned, USDA-certified, vegan brand that makes tea drops. These drops are made by taking organic, ground leaf teas and pressing them into fun shapes.
To make the tea, you simply drop it into hot water, stir, and sip. While it’s certainly quick, it’s not instant tea. Tea Drops are not freeze-dried or extracted from processed leaves like instant tea is. Instead, they use genuine tea leaves that are delicately ground.
Tea Drops has sweetened teas, non-sweetened teas, and boba kits. Discover organic black tea, green tea, matcha, white tea, and herbal tea.
These tea drops can be purchased for $17-$36 depending on the tea and quantity of drops. My personal favorite tea from Tea Drops is the Matcha. It makes a great iced tea or also great hot! I've also enjoyed the Thai tea as well and love that these ditch the tea bag steeping in my tea.
Pique Tea: Organic Tea Crystals
Pique Tea creates unique teas that are rooted in research and results. This tea brand sources exquisite high quality ingredients – which have been exhaustively tested and Triple Toxin Screened for purity and bioavailability.
Pique Tea comes in the form of tea crystals. They source organic loose leaf grade tea leaves and then Cold Brew Crystallize them for up to 8 hours to extract all the beneficial compounds.
So no tea bag when brewing this tea! Their unique teas include Electric Turmeric, Reishi Calm Mushroom Elixir, Spearmint Herbal Tea, & more. Their teas range in price from $16-$58.
Art of Tea USDA Certified Loose Leaf & Tea Bags
Based in Los Angeles, Art of Tea is USDA certified, using organic ingredients to provide a host of flavors and fusions.
They sell loose leaf tea, as well as tea bags and filters. Their filter bags are made from abaca pulp, cellulose, and sealing fiber and are unbleached, biodegradable, and chlorine-free.
The tea bags are microplastic-free and biodegradable and packaged in boxes made from 100% recycled paper. Discover Pu-erh tea, Oolong tea, white tea, wellness teas, green teas, and more. Their teas range in price from $18-$50.
MUD\WTR: Mushroom Coffee Alternative
MUD\WTR is a coffee alternative made with organic ingredients including masala chai, cacao, American-grown whole mushroom powders with mycelium and fruiting bodies, turmeric, cinnamon, and more nutritious ingredients.
MUD\WTR offers Rise a tea blend for waking up and Relax a tea blend for chilling out at the end of the day and winding down for bed. Their unique organic teas range from $40-$60 depending on the amount of servings and package you choose.
Choice Organics Organic & Ethically Made Tea
Using organic and non-GMO ingredients, Choice Organics is based in Oregon blending tea in their LEED-certified facility.
Made from natural fibers, their tea bags are plastic-free and compostable, while their cartons are made from 100% recycled paperboard and are, in turn, recyclable.
A Certified B Corporation, Choice Organics is also USDA certified and a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP). Their decaffeinating process is natural and free of toxic chemicals. Discover organic early grey, green tea, peppermint, rooibos, and more. This organic tea can be purchased for around $12 a box.
Equal Exchange Fair Trade Tea
By working with co-operatives and family farms, Equal Exchange aims to empower farmers, encourage entrepreneurship, and strengthen communities. Offering fair trade coffee, chocolate, and tea, Equal Exchange focuses on supporting small-scale farmers in India, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
From green tea and rooibos to hibiscus and peppermint, they have a range of teas available, made from organic ingredients and certified by the USDA. Equal Exchange’s organic tea can be purchased online for around $18 per box or keep your eyes open at your local grocery store.
Public Goods Affordable Organic Teas
Public Goods promises sustainable materials and healthy ingredients at a fair price. Using certified organic ingredients, their bagged tea is free of pesticides, preservatives, dyes, and colors.
Public Goods offers organic black tea and green tea for the affordable price of $3.50 per box.
Traditional Medicinals Organic Wellness Tea
Specializing in wellness tea, Traditional Medicinals is a Certified B Corporation and California Certified Green Business. Most of their products are certified organic and all are 100% Non-GMO Project Verified.
Their compostable, non-GMO tea bags are made from sustainably harvested manila hemp and FSC-certified wood pulp, contain no plastics, and are treated with an eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning process that is free of bleach. Traditional Medicinals tea can be purchased for the affordable price of around $3-$6 per box.
Yogi Tea Herbal Blends with Meaning
Yogi believes it's about more than just creating deliciously purposeful herbal tea blends.
This USDA certified organic tea brand believes that with every ingredient they source, and every cup of tea they make, it's important to support quality, sustainability, and social responsibility on a local, national, and global level. Yogi has different varieties of green teas, wellness teas, more.
Yogi tea can be purchased for around $8 a box. This popular brand can be found online as well as in select stores.
Republic of Tea
As a socially and environmentally responsible business, Republic of Tea is dedicated to sharing their prosperity by developing products to support worthy organizations, including the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Whole Planet Foundation.
This tea brand is also part of The Ethical Tea Partnership. They have a wonderful page explaining more about their sourcing which includes tea from China, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and more. The Republic of Tea has different types of teas including loose tea leaves and tea bags. Their teas can be purchased around $13 a jar.
Tips for Brewing a Healthy Cup of Tea
Here are a few more tea tips to keep in mind for an even healthier cup:
Adding milk, cream, or sugar can alter the polyphenol content of your tea, thus reducing its antioxidant capacity.
Avoid bottled and canned tea due to the sugar content.
Avoid decaffeinated teas. These may use a chemical process to remove the caffeine and may still leave behind traces of caffeine.
Do not drink diet teas. These usually contain senna, aloe, buckthorn, and other plant-derived laxatives which are used for weight loss and may be associated with miss periods, unplanned pregnancies, and permanent gut damage.
Choose organic.
Try loose leaf tea.
When drinking bagged tea, look for toxic-free options.
Hopefully this guide has given you some tips for picking out the healthiest tea for your body as well as encouraged you to try out some of these wonderful tea companies that value wellness and sustainability.
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