Green Your Green Tea: Keep it Loose, Organic and Fair Trade

After water, tea is the most consumed beverage on the planet. This not-so-surprising factoid provides us with a perfect opportunity to make a global green statement...in four simple ways:

Choose Green

Literally. Unlike during the black tea process, the fresh green tea leaf is not oxidized and thus, green tea retains a high amount of catechins, an especially anticarcinogenic substance. The result is greater antioxidant protection than vitamins C and E and a dramatic rise in health benefits. Of course, green tea contains caffeine and overconsumption can result in nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, and so on. Yet, in general, green tea typically produces less of these symptoms than other caffeine-containing beverages.

Choose Loose

"The main difference between loose teas and bagged teas is the size of the leaves," writes Sean Paajanen. "That's what effects the resulting cup of tea. Tea leaves contain chemicals and essential oils, which are the basis for the delightful flavor of tea. When the tea leaves are broken up, those oils can evaporate, leaving a dull and tasteless tea." Of course, there is an important green factor here, too. Jasmin Malik Chua explains: "Loaded with their own extraneous packaging baggage, such as eco-unfriendly chlorine-bleached virgin paper, cotton string, and staples, tea bags produce a prodigious amount of waste for every smooth cuppa that you sip. The used tea leaves in your teapot or stainless-steel infuser, on the other pinkie-extending hand, only need to be tossed into the compost heap."

Choose Organic

You've heard this before but it bears repeating: organic certification means a tea is more eco-friendly. This, as Jacob Gordon reminds us, is "because they are grown and processed without toxic chemicals, are cultivated and harvested in ways that protect sensitive ecosystems, and spare workers from exposure to harmful pesticides and herbicides."

Choose Fair Trade

Fair Trade refers to actively putting the concepts of "fair price, environmental sustainability, fair labor conditions, direct trade, democratic and transparent organizations, and community development" into everyday action. News flash: Business interactions don't have to be entirely about maximizing profit through cutthroat competition. The growing Fair Trade movement gives consumers and activists the powerful choice to vote with their hearts and their wallets.