Once the tea farmers pick the tea (scattered throughout the surrounding mountains), everyone walks back to the village so the processing of the tea can start within 2 hours. This halts the oxidation of the leaf and prevents any bitterness from developing.
All Qi Teas are guaranteed to be free of chemicals, pesticides, formaldehyde and genetic modification (Green Tea Plus is currently under organic conversion). The bags are not bleached and are free from glue and aluminium staples. Qi teas are independently certified organic by international accreditation body Ecocert, as well as the Soil Association in the UK.
At Qi Tea we focus on the lifecycle of our products. The wrapping outside your box of tea is compostable cello (plant-based). The tea bag paper has a high percentage of plant fibre, and you will notice our tea bags are natural in colour, whereas mainstream brands have white bags. This is because our tea bag paper is completely unbleached.
If you are an energetic jiggler (or you use a little too much vigour when opening the tea bag envelope!) occasionally the string will come loose from the tea bag. This is because no glues or staples are used to attach the string. We apologise if occasionally your string comes loose. We are working on a solution that won’t pollute your delicious cup of tea.
Qi tea is sourced from tea bushes (camellia sinensis) that grow in small clusters on the mountainsides around the village of Xitou (pronounced Sheetoh).
Unlike mainstream teas, Qi does not come from a plantation, rather the tea bushes grow amongst the other native flora of the Yellow Mountains. In that sense, Qi tea really is one of the most environmentally and ecosystem-friendly teas you can buy.
Compostable products break down roughly between 30-120 days, whereas biodegradable products take much longer and will usually emit methane (landfill environments lack the micro-organisms and oxygen required for it to degrade naturally).
We hope that you will consider composting Qi’s outer wrapping, as well as the packing “bubbles” sent with online orders. The tea box and tea bag envelopes are both recyclable as well.
