[? Doubts? ] We often receive questions in our product reviews, such as ``What products are pesticide-free but don't have the organic JAS mark?'', so I would like to give a simple explanation. First of all, organic does not mean pesticide-free. Organic tea is a qualification given to foods that meet Organic JAS standards, and Organic JAS does not have any pesticide-free regulations. In fact, there are many organic JAS certified pesticides on the market. Many farmers grow tea according to strict organic standards, but almost 100% of farmers will reduce their income if they cultivate tea completely without pesticides, so they are forced to use certified organic pesticides. In addition, many of our customers have a sense of smell and taste that overreacts to chemicals, and many of them cannot even drink organic tea. Therefore, we do not use certified organic pesticides or anything that can be labeled as pesticides, and we believe in the plant's inherent vitality, such as its tolerance, and practice natural cultivation. We try to deal with damage caused by pests and diseases using natural methods (for example, spraying diluted seawater, etc.) as much as possible, but damage caused by insects cannot be avoided! This leads to a decrease in revenue, production volume is unstable, and in terms of quality, we sometimes produce the same tea every year, sometimes not, which causes inconvenience to our customers. but,
Good things too! ...Tea leaves that have been subjected to moderate feeding damage improve their flavor through fermentation (an example is the Oriental Beauty of Chinese tea), and our ``completely pesticide-free natural cultivation'' is made up of both green tea and fermented tea. In addition, as a precaution, we conduct a pesticide residue test every year, and this year too, all 200 items were found to have no pesticide residue detected, so you can enjoy our products with peace of mind. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who uses the vitality of plants in Yakushima and our company.
Drinking powdered green tea is a very logical way of ingesting 100% tea leaves into the body, but residual pesticides that are ingested 100% with tea accumulate in the body over many years and are said to be a cause of unknown health damage. The raw material tea leaves must be natural tea, so at the Organic JAS certified Yakushima Osaki Farm, we do not use any pesticides or chemical fertilizers that are approved by Organic JAS, and we grow our tea using natural methods in the great outdoors with no scattered pesticides. Even spider webs and praying mantises play a part in tea production.
[Reference] Pesticide residue standards set by the country are standard values that are based on tea consumed in a teapot, but powdered green tea, in which 100% of the tea leaves are taken into the body, requires a completely different standard value, zero residual pesticides. If you are interested, please search for ``Japanese tea's residual pesticide standards are hundreds of times higher than that of other agricultural products'' or ``drinkable pesticides.''
Tea leaves grown naturally. Clothing with cheesecloth (black shading net) suppresses the astringency and improves the color of the tea leaves, but we do not intentionally use it because it blocks sunlight and prevents the production of catechins, which are the components of the astringency. We do not use any nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers, which improve the color and taste of the tea leaves, so the light blue color is not bright green, and the taste is a little bitter, rich in natural catechins. In order to avoid the clumps that are the fate of powdered green tea, it is ground slightly coarsely, so it does not dissolve like matcha.
Yakushima has been registered as a World Natural Heritage Site as an island with a rare ecosystem in the world, where humans have coexisted with a natural history that has continued since ancient times. Tea production in Yakushima is also a symbiosis between humans, plants, and insects. Depending on the year, the tea leaves may suffer severe damage due to insect damage, but a moderate amount of damage actually increases the catechin content of the tea leaves, creating an ideal environment for fermented teas such as black tea. (Reference: "Yakushima Benifuki Black Tea") We are encouraged by the fact that our tea is nurtured by the mysterious providence of nature and the harsh but blessed nature, and that even people who are sensitive to chemicals can drink it. Get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a while and enjoy the great nature of Yakushima.
No pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, no residual pesticides and no scattered pesticides
