Tea & Sustainability

Tea is the world’s most widely consumed beverage. According to the Journal of Tea Science, we consume 4 million metric tonnes of tea each year. Tea farms span across 4 continents and cover 3.4 million hectares of land. And of course, these statistics don’t include herbal infusions, such as chamomile and peppermint. The impact that tea farming practices have on the local and global scale is very significant. The use of fertilizers and pesticides can lead to dire effects for not only the ecosystem, but also public health. Shen Zen Tea is always striving to support the efforts of sustainable tea production. This section of the website is dedicated to sharing current information about sustainable tea farming practices.

Old Growth Tea Trees

Ancient tea trees were once abundant in forests where they grew in wild form. Today, many of these forests have been converted into mono-crops and trimmed to a restricted height so the tea leaves can be picked more easily. Fortunately, a small number of wild tea trees have survived commercial forestation in secret preservations.

The reason old growth tea trees are important in the topic of sustainability is because they do not require fertilizers or pesticides. These ancient trees are already well adapted in these regions that they have grown in for thousands of years. The roots of these trees also reach deep into the soil to obtain naturally occurring nutrients and minerals.

One region that is renowned for its old growth tea tree plantations is on the high mountains of Jing Mai (translated as “True Beauty”) and Mang Jing in Yunnan, China. Purchasing tea from these regions not only supports sustainable agriculture, it also supports the local people of these small towns. Look for our teas with “Old Growth” written before the name to help support these plantations.