
- HOME >
- Safety of Tea
Organic tea is safe, but not sufficient
- [2013.03.24] Posted By Akira Hojo
It’s often claimed that the organic tea is good for health and it should be delicious. It’s generally said that organic tea is safer as it’s produced using methods of organic farming that do not uses chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Nonetheless, “safe” is not equalled to “good for health” and “delicious”.
Tea contains more functional substances only if it grows slowly
Do not you agree that the wild edible herbs or fruit has thicker taste and also good for health? They are indeed rich in taste and flavour. This is because they have to compete with other plants, need to defences pests since no chemical pesticide is used, and no fertilizer cosseting their growth. In order to survive in the harsh environment, wild plant grows very slowly and produces more functional substances. As a result, the taste and flavour becomes very thick and very rich in antioxidants.
Plant does not care whether it is organic or inorganic origin, as long as the fertilizer contains nitrogen
Whether organic or chemical, the fertilizer is a source of nitrogen. Plant has a unique feature. They grow very fast whenever nitrogen is supplied, regardless of the nitrogen comes from organic fertilizer, inorganic or chemical fertilizer. As long as nitrogen is supplied, it will effectively carries out photosynthesis, produces more energy and bio-synthetize cellulose to grow bigger. Apparently, the leaf becomes bigger and more green. These plants has less number of cells and each cell is very big. It also contains very less functional constituents. If you eat fruit or vegetable that is grown with fertilizer, the taste is very light and you feel you need extra dressing or honey to increase the taste.
Tea grown with fertilizer is fragile
Growing tea with fertilizer will caused the tea leaf produces big cell and it is very fragile. The cell wall cracks during rolling process. You may notice that during brewing, some teas do not unroll back to its intact shape of leaf. This is because its cell wall has been destroyed.
Amino acid does not contribute in our health
Usually, animal manure is very common fertilizer in the organic tea garden. It is very rich in nitrogen. Tea grows very fast and the entire system in tea tree supports only for growing. Excessive nitrogen is accumulated to form amino acid, e.g., theanine. There is no spare time to produce tea polyphenols. Ironically, insects also love the taste of nitrogen. As a result, the garden owner needs to use “organic pesticide” to chase away insect. On the other hand, naturally-grown tea takes a very long time to grow and accumulate a lot of polyphenol. Polyphenol is the substance also called antioxidant. It is the natural antibodies in plant.
The apple grown with fertilizer becomes very big size
My father runs apple orchard. He always told me that whenever he applied fertilizer, apple became bigger and output increased. However, the taste of apple becomes very thin and flat. If we looking for high quality apple, we have to keep the apple tree as healthy as other natural plants.
In the photo, tea tree was grown right next to the organic fertilizer. The leaf becomes so huge and green because of the excessive intake of nitrogen
Keep tea tree as natural
I believe it is important to keep tea as natural as wild plant. The point is not about whether we should use organic or inorganic fertilizer. No doubt that organic tea is a good practice to keep the safety of tea. However, with respect to taste and functional substances, it is insufficient. The tea gives more body and functional substances when it takes longer time to grow. The effort the tea made to survive under the harsh environment reflects in its quality.
Related Articles
How to get the latest update on HOJO Tea?
1. Follow Twitter, 2. Click "Like" on Facebook, and 3. Subscribe in newsletter. You can have the latest tea news from HOJO Tea.
Subscribe the Newsletter to enjoy the privileges
- You may receive a free sample upon purchase, or you may have the priority to purchase special products. So please remember to subscribe our newsletter as well as the social network.
- Discover the long-lasting flavor profile of 2023 Shi Feng Long Jing
- We have launched the 2023 harvest of Shi Feng Long Jing tea. Shi Feng Long Jing tea, also known as Shi Feng Dragon Well tea. It is one of the most famous and highly regarded teas in China.Shi Feng Long Jing tea is characterized by its flat, spear-shaped leaves that have a vibrant green colour. …
- Rare Jasmine Tea Uniquely Crafted from Ripe Pu-erh
- Instead of sourcing finished jasmine tea, we specialize in producing custom-made jasmine tea by bringing our carefully selected raw materials to jasmine factories. Over the years, we have created numerous unique jasmine tea varieties that are not available elsewhere, such as Pu-erh jasmine tea made from raw Pu-erh tea leaves, Jasmine Silver Needle made from …
NEW ARTICLES
Discover the long-lasting flavor profile of 2023 Shi Feng Long Jing
- We have launched the 2023 harvest of Shi Feng Long Jing tea. Shi Feng Long Jing tea, also known as Shi Feng Dragon Well tea. It is one of the most famous and highly regarded teas in China.Shi Feng Long Jing tea is characterized by its flat, spear-shaped leaves that have a vibrant green colour. …
Rare Jasmine Tea Uniquely Crafted from Ripe Pu-erh
- Instead of sourcing finished jasmine tea, we specialize in producing custom-made jasmine tea by bringing our carefully selected raw materials to jasmine factories. Over the years, we have created numerous unique jasmine tea varieties that are not available elsewhere, such as Pu-erh jasmine tea made from raw Pu-erh tea leaves, Jasmine Silver Needle made from …
Introducing 3 Varieties of Phoenix Dancong Oolong Tea
- We have released new types of Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong Tea that are finished with more rounds of roasting with traditional charcoal fire by skilled tea master. In Phoenix, the locals called it Nong Xiang style, meaning that tea is giving more intense matured flavor. Nong Xiang tea refers to tea that has been roasted …
Exploring the Taste Diversity Within a Tea Tree: Apical Buds vs. Lateral Buds
- Do you believe that all tea leaves have the same taste as long as they come from the same tree? I would like to explain that the taste of tea can vary significantly depending on the plucking position, even when harvested from the same tree. The Difference in Flavor Due to Different Harvesting Parts of …
Hidden Costs of High Valuations of Old Tea Trees
- Over the past decade, tea enthusiasts in China have been captivated by teas harvested from Ancient Tea trees, particularly those from Yunnan province, Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong Tea and Wuyi Rock Tea. However, as Ancient Tea trees are rare, the prices of teas harvested from them have skyrocketed. As a result, some farmers who possess …
Discover the Unique Taste of Wu Jia Ping Zhang Ancient Tree Raw Pu-Erh Tea
- We have released Wu Jia Ping Zhang ancient tree raw pu-erh tea for 2020 and 2021. This tea is grown in tea gardens located around 2100 meters above sea level in the southwestern part of Lincang City, Yunnan Province of China, just a few dozen kilometres from the Myanmar border. Single-origin tea Wu Jia Ping …
Introducing 3 High Grown Darjeeling First Flush Teas Produced Using Sustainable Methods
- We have released three types of Darjeeling First Flush, all of which are grown sustainably. The tea gardens are maintained using natural farming methods, and the use of fertilizers is limited when growing the tea trees. As a result, the tea gardens closely resemble their natural state. Unlike common Darjeeling tea, these teas grow slowly, …
New Release of Tsuge Zairai Sencha from Sustainable Tea Garden
- Tsuge Zairai Sencha 都祁在来煎茶 is made from “zairai” tea plucked in spring, from the naturally farmed tea garden located in Tsuge, Nara City, Nara Prefecture. The tea garden of Tsuge Zairai Sencha is maintained in sustainable manner applying neither pesticide nor fertilizer. Tsuge Zairai Sencha has a subtle and refreshing floral scent with a hint …
New Release of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Cake 2021
- Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2021 is available now. This tea is always very popular in our shop. In Japan, we brought in loose tea this year, and for Malaysia we produced 200g cake. Mao cha before compressing into cake Very limited resources This tea is made from the wild tea, called Camelia taliensis. …
New Release of 2 Types of Darjeeling 1st Flush
- We have released two types of Darjeeling 1st Flush Tea. The reason why the Darjeeling 1st Flush is greenish In Darjeeling tea, the 1st flush refers to the first-plucked spring tea. Usually, the Darjeeling 1st Flush tea is greenish. From the outlook, it looks like a green tea. Many people misunderstand that it is green …
Shop Info

Address:Lot No. T-215, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2287-4537
Business Hour: 10am to 10pm
Category
- New Arrival at HOJO Online Shop
- Featured Articles
- Newsletter
- Types of Tea
- Origin of Tea
- Teapot and Tea Equipment
- Tea Column
- How to enjoy tea
- Tea Processing
- How to choose quality tea
- Tea constituents and functional effect
- Safety of Tea
- Foods
- Tea Business Operation
- Hobby and Outdoor Activity
- Ranking of Tea
- Video
- FAQ
- Media Release
Profile

- AKIRA HOJO
- I invite you to experience my tea selections.I was born in Nagano, Japan. In university, I studied agricultural chemistry, and I have the master degree in food science. I worked in Japanese food industry for 10 years. I involved in R&D, QC and QA. As a factory manager, I implemented ISO9000 series and managed the factory.
- The Art of Tea Magazine
- We posted the article on “The Art of Tea Magazine No.9, the magazine is published in Taiwan. We featured some scientific view about the tetsubin
- New Straits Times
- The Malaysian National Newspaper, New Straits Times featured HOJO Tea on 17-Oct-2007.