Are there chemicals used when growing Eco-Cha tea?

With the exception of  Organic High Mountain Oolong and High Mountain Concubine Oolong, our selections have had water-soluble pesticide spray administered during the growing season. However, it is almost certain that the leaves are not sprayed for at least three weeks prior to harvest. 

Chemical pesticides are government approved through the Taiwan Tea Research Station and virtually all our tea sources have been tested and are well within the allowed levels of trace chemicals.

The pesticides are not administered endemically (in the irrigation water) so there is almost no build up in the plant or leaves.

In the descriptions of our teas they will say if a small amount of pesticide is used. It is only in the case of organic teas that no pesticide is used. However, the farms that we source from periodically have their tea leaves scientifically tested for trace amounts of chemicals, and the reports show that the chemical levels are a small fraction of the acceptable standard amount. Some of the conventional (non-organic) farms show absolutely zero trace amounts of chemical in the leaves that are harvested. This also can be argued as being more sustainable in that the amount of yield from each harvest is typically much more than organic yields per area, and the quality is more consistent.

Also, some farms such as our source of Red Jade black tea is an organic farm that simply does not feel the need for organic certification. This is perhaps the most sustainable form of agriculture in that it minimizes cost and added production of an outside service to provide certification. Having said that though, our current source of certified organic tea has successfully created an ecological farm that produces full yields, unless there is an exceptional season of being affected by a particular pest that inhibits the leaf growth.