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| Help Guide - Choosing Green Tea Wisely |
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This is a useful guide to help you understand what to look out for when buying organic green tea (or conventional green tea) from Japan.
ORGANIC GREEN TEA:
When buying organic green tea from Japan you need to make sure that it has the JAS mark. The JAS mark is the certificate given and accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan and is the ONLY certificate based on a legal system in Japan. Please see the following example:
In the above example you can see a set of numbers below the mark, this is the OCIA International JAS Associate/ID number that is given to the certified farmer. This must be shown on all tea packets/tins, along with the JAS mark, ethier in the form of a sticker or printed on the tea packet/tin. Other things that might be included on the label are the farm's name, lot number, and a Code/Expiration Date.
JAS labeling can only be done by the farmer who is certified by the JAS certification body, or a certified importer that is compliant with JAS regulations. If you can't find the JAS mark on the tea packet/tin and the green tea is being sold as organic it is highy suspicious.
FIRST HARVEST TEA:
First harvest Japanese green tea has always been prized as the best tea. It has far higher levels of nutrients, better flavor and aroma and has always been drunk by those that are seeking the greatest amount of health benefits from their tea. For these reasons first harvest Japanese green tea always carries a higher price tag.
When you buy Japanese green tea it is important to check what harvest the tea has come from. Once you try first harvest Japanese green tea it is difficult to switch back to drinking anything lesser.
CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS:
There are many claims on the Internet about how safe conventional Japanese green tea is, but don't be fooled! Japan's mainstream farmers use chemicals and fertilizers the same as any other industrialized countries farmers. Conventional green tea farmers in Japan spray an assortment of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides frequently throughout the year, and chemical fertilizers are applied to the tea plants which stresses them and shortens their life span. Many Japanese tea farmers who have made the switch from conventional to organic farming will quite happily tell you all about the dangers of conventional green tea.
HIGH QUALITY, PREMIUM, ORGANIC GREEN TEA LABELING BY RETAILERS AND/OR ONLINE SHOPS:
WARNING! This can be very deceiving tea for the fact that any retailer and/or online shop can purchase and label Japanese green tea as high quality, premium and/or organic. Often this tea is from the lowest quality tea leaves sold in bulk, not organic, and repackaged and relabeled by retailers and/or online shops. We have seen numerous instances of this on the Internet, and on auction sites.
LOCATION:
Most consumers outside of Japan only know the Uji and Shizuoka tea growing regions because they are the most famed, but don't disregard tea from other regions! There are many other renowned tea growing regions in Japan that produce their own distinctive tea, and in some cases their tea can actually be better than tea from Uji and/or Shizuoka. Each tea growing region has its own complex geographical features. These features make their tea distinctive and characterized to that particular green tea producing region.
When considering location it is also important to consider the farmer who is making the green tea. The best green tea comes from the farmers who have a deep understanding of tea cultivation, and the farms which have been farming for hundreds of years using the traditional methods of producing Japanese green tea.
FRESHNESS:
The best green tea is always fresh from the source. Green tea which is sold outside of Japan from foreign retailers has often spent months in ocean transit before it is shelved in stores. That is why it is always advisable to purchase green tea directly from Japan.
PACKAGING:
The packet should be the original packet which left the factory, on or close to the farm, which processes the Japanese green tea. If the green tea packet has been opened and repackaged it often loses its quality, is handled in uncontrolled conditions and is often relabeled differently to what the content actually is.
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