ABSTRACT
Tea qualifies as organic only when it achieves an overall production system that promotes environmentally and socially sound, economically viable methods that are based on recycling natural resources, maintaining biodiversity without any synthetic inputs. The number of organic tea producers and volume of organic tea traded in the world market have increased substantially over the last few years. This development can be explained by a number of factors. In the first place, tea growers have become more aware of environmental problems such as erosion and contamination of soil and water sources, as well as severe health hazards connected with an intensive system of tea production. Tea is generally grown in ecologically fragile hilly tracts. Adopting organic farming would protect the environment and prevent contamination of rivers and streams originating from these hills. A further reason for the rise in organic tea can be explained by the fact that demand for organic tea has grown steadily due to increased consumer awareness of pesticide residues and presence of heavy metals in conventional teas.
