FAQ

All about certification

Tea of any kind very quickly absorbs foreign odors or loses its valuable scents. London Tea has always sold its tea units only in special aroma-protected packaging. The way from the original container to the packaging is as short and gentle as possible and is done daily. In this way, our customers have the guarantee that the tea will arrive at their home just as it left the tea garden.

Unfortunately, many of the most exclusive teas from China fail the residue analysis. London Tea completely renounces the so-called "wild import" from China, i.e. an import of kilo goods without any residue analysis.

Light is one of the most harmful things for any kind of tea. The tea begins to ferment, loses many health ingredients within a very short time, the loss of flavor is massive and, sweet varieties such as fruit tea are attacked by pesky food moths.

Tea is a complex product, with many factors being important for the quality already in the country of origin: The tea bush, its adaptation to the particular environment, altitude, soils, fertilizers, use of pesticides, sunny days, shading, amount and timing of rainfall, garden care, age of the bushes, harvesting method, timing of harvesting, preparation at each step, storage and transport packaging.

The wrappers of the pyramid hive are made of recycled paper covered with a protective
and aroma-proof layer.

Our cup portions are made from unbleached and chlorine-free paper and are compostable.

Our mesh material is currently still made of nylon. This is because neylon was for a long time the only tasteless and energy efficient material.

Fortunately, we will soon be able to offer you an alternative that is completely ecological and made of recyclable material.
For the variant "pyramid bag with wrapping", which is mainly used in the catering industry, we have succeeded as one of the first suppliers in using a new film that is produced from renewable raw materials and is compostable.

Thus, our pyramid bag range will soon consist of pure organic tea varieties and all-round sustainable packaging solutions.

Our sales packages consist of two layers of paper and aluminum glued to each other. The inner food grade aluminum layer is reduced to the minimum and represents an aroma barrier. Only in this way we can maintain the quality and freshness over time and give the product the respect it deserves.

Our mesh material is made of NeoSoilon®, is made from
sugar cane fiber and is 100% non-GMO and compostable.

Nowadays, two plants are important for tea production: Camellia sinensis var. sinensis O. Kuntze and Camellia sinensis var. assamica Kitamura.

Small leaves in the high mountains of China have a weight of 0.5g. Larger Assam leaves come up to 1.5g per leaf or more. The leaf size has no influence on the taste. The leaves contain over 450 organic and about 15 inorganic compounds.

The plucked leaf tips are only between about 0.5 and 3 cm.

India Darjeeling, Nepal (end of March to beginning of November)

- First Flush (FF): March - April : fine, fragrant, aromatic

- Second Flush (SF): May - June : full-bodied

- Moonsooned Flush: July - August : monsoon picking,rain teas

- Autumnal Flush: October - November : strong, dark color

- From time to time there is a so-called "winter flush" at the end of November.

India Assamn(April - October)

- First Flush: April

- Second Flush: May and June

South India (Nilgiri), Sri Lanka(all year)

Africa (All areas year round)

China & Taiwan (April - October)

- Best quality between May and June

Japan (later April - october)

- Shincha "new tea": first harvest of the year

- Ichibancha "first tea": includes the whole first harvest season, also the Shincha

- Nibancha *second tea": second harvest from June to end of July

- Sanbancha "third tea": the third harvest in August

- Yonbancha "fourth tea": the fourth harvest, which can last until late October.

Due to the natural cultivation, organic products are often inferior to conventional products in appearance and size!

In terms of aroma and taste, the organic products are usually indistinguishable from conventional. The CO2 balance of organic products is often no better than that of conventionally produced products. In terms of pollutant residues (pesticides), however, the organic products have an advantage. Nevertheless, the conventional products are also harmless in this respect, since at London Tea all tea varieties are tested under.

Conclusion:Organic products are not fundamentally better than conventional ones in terms of quality, but they are more natural and sustainable due to the production method.

Tea is very fragile and can quickly acquire an undesirable foreign taste. For this reason, we recommend that tea is always well sealed and protected from foreign odors, water vapor and especially from light.
Preferably, put the tea together with the London Tea packaging in a metal or cardboard box. In the case of special Japanese lacquer or paper tins with an inner lid, the tea can also be emptied directly into it.

Completely useless for storing tea are:
plastic containers, glass containers, wooden containers

Matcha and green tea specialties can also be stored in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator. This will prolong the freshness.

Generally, we use the unfiltered tap water of the Basel region when pouring the teas.

Whether green, black, white or oolong - all teas come from the same plant. The differences lie in the processing of the tea leaves. White tea is only plucked and dried, green tea is heated to keep it green, black tea is fermented and oolong is partially fermented (so it is between black and green tea).