Blend · Fill · Bag · Pack
Wellness tea sourcing
Blending, filling and packing for functional and herbal teas — with the four checks this category needs before anything ships: pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbiology and, for the botanicals that need it, novel-food or medicine classification.
What we source and pack
| Format | Typical use | What decides cost and quality |
|---|---|---|
| Pyramid bags | Woven mesh or PLA bags with room for larger leaf pieces. | Mesh material and whether it is plastic-free; seal method; whether the claim on the carton matches the bag you receive. |
| Flat filter bags with tag and string | The volume format for retail herbal tea. | Paper grade and whether it is unbleached, staple-versus-knot closure, tag board GSM, and microplastic-free filter paper if you claim it. |
| Loose leaf in tins, pouches or refill packs | Highest product quality perception and the lowest packaging cost per gram. | Aroma barrier of the pouch, one-way degassing valve for fresh tea, tin lining and lacquer compliance for food contact. |
| Stick packs and sachets | Single-serve powder or granule blends, often with added actives. | Moisture and oxygen barrier, fill accuracy, and whether the powder dissolves cleanly in hot and cold water. |
| Ready-to-drink cans and bottles | Cold-brew or brewed tea with functional additions. | Thermal process validation, pH control, preservative strategy or hot fill, and shelf-life testing in the exact pack. |
| Instant and cold-brew granules | Soluble tea for food service or grab-and-go formats. | Spray-drying carrier, hygroscopicity, caking control and flavour loss over shelf life. |
The four checks this category needs
- Pesticide residues. Tea is a crop that legal limits are set against precisely because the leaf is steeped. A certificate showing a pass on one market's MRLs does not transfer to another — the EU, UK, US and Japan have different lists and different maximums.
- Heavy metals. The tea plant accumulates metals from soil, and some raw materials (turmeric, rice-based ingredients, cocoa-containing blends) are higher-risk than others. Ask for lead and cadmium at minimum, per batch.
- Microbiology and moisture. Herbal raw materials carry a natural microbial load, and moisture decides how that evolves on the shelf. Both belong in the release specification for the finished blend.
- Species and status. Laboratory species verification for materials prone to substitution, and a regulatory check on whether the botanical may be sold as a food at all in your market. Our tea reference flags the ones that commonly fail this test.
Certifications that matter for tea
- Organic — the most commercially relevant claim in this category, and the one that requires a certificate of organic operation covering the exact ingredient and supplier.
- Fairtrade or equivalent sourcing schemes — meaningful for retail listings and for estates; check which supply-chain model applies before repeating the claim.
- Halal and Kosher — usually straightforward for plant material, but the cleaning regime between runs and any added flavour carriers are where certification fails.
- Vegan — rare problems, but check flavour and colour carriers if the claim is on the pack.
- Rainforest Alliance / RSPO-equivalent programmes — where the pack carries a sustainability mark, confirm the certificate covers your specific blend and supplier.
Our certification decoder sets out what each of these proves and, more usefully, what it does not.
How a tea project runs
| Stage | What happens | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brief | Occasion, taste profile, caffeine target, claim position, market and format | Days |
| 2. Regulatory check | Botanical status and claim wording for the destination market | Days to weeks |
| 3. Blending | Two or three sample rounds until the taste and cost land where you want them | 2–6 weeks |
| 4. Packaging | Bag selection, carton artwork, barrier specification, plastic-free claims verified | 2–6 weeks |
| 5. Testing | Pesticides, heavy metals, microbiology, moisture, species as required | 1–3 weeks |
| 6. Production | Blending, filling, sealing, coding and release | 2–4 weeks |
| 7. Shipment | Freight, clearance, duty and tax, delivery | 1–6 weeks by mode |
Tea sourcing questions
What drives the MOQ on a tea product?
Blending is cheap and packing is expensive. The minimum is usually set by the packing line rather than the blend: bag and carton runs, printing plates for the carton, and the minimum order on printed film or tins. Loose-leaf tins have the lowest minimum because the pack is standard; a bespoke pyramid bag with printed film has the highest.
What must be tested on an herbal tea?
Pesticide residues against the destination market's MRLs, heavy metals (tea plants accumulate them, and some raw materials are worse than others), microbiology for the finished blend, and moisture as a shelf-life control. Where relevant add species verification — the star anise substitution cases are the reason — and hydroxyanthracene content for any laxative botanical.
Is plastic-free packaging realistic?
It can be, but the claims have to match the reality. Mesh bags may be PLA, nylon or PET; filter paper may be heat-sealed with a plastic coating; cartons may be laminated. If you claim plastic-free or compostable, insist on the material declarations and, where a certification exists, the certificate itself.
Can we use a wellness claim on a tea?
Sometimes, and the wording matters more than the intention. Most markets allow limited claims with specific approved wording, and prohibit disease or treatment claims on a food. Anything describing a physiological effect on a health condition usually turns the product into a medicine. That is a decision to take before the artwork is printed, not after.
Start a tea project
Send the occasion, the taste direction, the caffeine target and the market. You will get back a viability answer, an indicative price and the regulatory points that matter for your market — including the ones that mean changing the blend.