FAQ : Frequently asked questions

1. Tea is stimulating. The beverage helps you concentrate and improves your mental and physical capacities by providing the body with energy in a gentle, diffuse way over time.

2. Tea has antioxidant properties. In other words, it contributes to the proper functioning of numerous organs and helps slow down cellular degradation.

3. Tea helps control weight gain through its contribution to renal elimination functions

Drinking organic tea allows you to enjoy its benefits without pesticides or chemicals, preserving your health and that of the environment. What's more, organic tea is grown with respect for local ecosystems and farming communities, guaranteeing better quality and sustainable practices.

It depends on your sensitivity to theine (=caffeine). Tea is an exciting drink.

Yes, that's right. Some teas lend themselves more to re-infusion than others. This is the case, for example, with plain teas.

To prepare the perfect tea, follow these steps:

1. Heat the water: Heat water to the ideal temperature for the type of tea you're brewing (70-80°C for green tea, 85-90°C for white tea, 95-100°C for black tea).
2. Use the right amount of tea: usually 2 g (equivalent to one teaspoon) of loose tea per cup (250 ml).
3. Infuse: Place the tea in a teapot or cup with an infuser, pour hot water over it and leave to infuse for the recommended time (2-3 minutes for green tea, 3-5 minutes for black tea).
4. Remove the leaves: Once the time has elapsed, remove the tea leaves to avoid a bitter infusion.

Find out more about the history and preparation of tea

Matcha offers numerous health benefits thanks to its high antioxidant content, helping to protect against oxidative stress. It boosts metabolism, improves concentration and strengthens the immune system.

Discover matcha and how to prepare it

There are several types of tea, each with its own distinct characteristics:

• White tea: Unoxidized, mild and subtle, often considered the most delicate.
• Yellow tea: Rare and delicate, similar to green tea but with a "sealing" stage that gives it a particular sweetness.
• Green tea: Slightly oxidized, fresh and herbaceous, rich in antioxidants.
• Wulong tea: Partially oxidized, with a variety of flavors ranging from floral to woody, somewhere between green and black tea.
• Black tea: Fully oxidized, robust and malty, often with fruity or spicy notes.
• Dark tea: post-fermented, with undergrowth aromas Pu'er is one of the best-known types of dark tea

Tea originates from China, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. It is produced from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, a plant that grows mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. The leaves are harvested by hand or mechanically, then processed according to the type of tea desired: white, green, oolong or black. The production process includes stages such as withering, oxidation (or not, depending on the type of tea), fixing, rolling and drying, which give each variety of tea its distinctive characteristics in terms of color, flavor and aroma.

Find out more about the history and preparation of tea

The best-before date (BBD) indicates the period of optimal use of a product, but does not mean that it has expired. It is the date beyond which the organoleptic (color, texture, flavor) and nutritional qualities of the products are no longer guaranteed by the brand.

If your sachet has been stored under the right conditions (away from heat and humidity, away from odoriferous substances (tobacco, coffee, etc.) and in a properly sealed container), the product whose expiry date has passed poses no danger to human health. The product may no longer be as fresh as before, but it can still be enjoyed with the same pleasure!

Determining the expiry date

Regulations do not set a best-before date for dry products such as teas. It's up to the manufacturer to determine the best-before date for the product. At Jardins de Gaïa, we determine this date according to a number of different factors:

• product family: black tea, green tea, fruit herbal tea, etc.
• product sub-family: plain, scented or flavored
• product type: original or home-made
• packaging: bag, tube, etc.

Our original plain products (teas, rooibos and honeybush, herbal teas, rosehip bark and exotic blends), as well as scented products (unflavored), can be kept for up to 36 months. Pu'er teas are the only teas that improve with age, like wines, so there is no use-by date.

Matcha for cooking and fruit herbal teas can be kept for 18 months, and our teas, rooibos and other flavored blends for up to 24 months.

We strongly advise you to store your teas and herbal teas in optimum conditions, so that you can enjoy them with the same pleasure:

• Store away from heat, light and humidity.
• Keep them away from odorous substances (tobacco, coffee, etc.).
• Keep them in their original, properly sealed container, or in a specially designed box.

For flavored and/or blended products, we do not communicate the origin of the teas. This lack of information does not indicate a lack of traceability, quite the contrary. In the majority of cases, we use blends of high-quality teas from various small gardens. In this way, we are able to support several small producer projects, while guaranteeing a certain stability in the quality of our products and compensating for fluctuations in the yields of these small projects.

The tea producers we work with live mainly in South-East Asia (China, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, etc.) but also in Africa (Tanzania, Rwanda). Rooibos and honeybush come from South Africa, and mate and lapacho from South America.

We are not authorized to give medical advice concerning our products. In France, only doctors, pharmacists and herbalists are qualified to give advice on the use of plants for medical purposes. We therefore advise you to seek advice from one of these specialists, who will be able to give you all the information you need, and inform you of any contraindications during fasting, pregnancy or breast-feeding, or while taking medication.

Flavoring at Jardins de Gaïa

Once the raw materials have been received, some of our teas and herbal teas are flavored with natural aromas and then packaged. All these stages are carried out by hand on our premises in Alsace. This manual work ensures that the plants picked with respect by our partners are treated with the utmost care and humanity. For Les Jardins de Gaïa, the addition of natural flavours is not intended to cover up the flavours of the tea or plants, but rather to give them new subtleties, to bring out their organoleptic richness.

The tea or herbs are, of course, the main aromatic ingredients. So each recipe is meticulously prepared, respecting the finesse of the plants used.

The choice of ingredients is paramount in the development of our recipes, which is why we take care to use only the best: natural flavors, fruits, spices and flowers selected for their origin and quality. Our recipes are the fruit of daily inspiration, guided by our curiosity, our passion for our profession and our desire to help you discover new flavors.

A few words about flavours

In the consumer's mind, the term flavoring is generally associated with an artificial product. However, there are both "synthetic" and "natural" flavors, the names of which are governed by Regulation (EU) No. 1334/2008 on flavors.

What is a food flavoring?

A food flavoring is a product not intended for consumption as is, which is added to a foodstuff to give it an odor and/or taste.

How are food flavorings created?

Food flavors are the result of a creative process in which the flavorist plays the role of a chef, with a palette of ingredients and flavoring agents at his or her disposal:

• flavoring preparations, such as essential oils, extracts, juices, infusions, distillates, etc., which are always natural products.
• flavoring substances, which are simple chemical substances that can be extracted from natural products under specific conditions, or produced synthetically.

What are the different categories of food flavorings?

There are various types of food flavorings, the names of which are listed and regulated by Regulation (EC) no. 1334/2008.

• Flavor
• Natural flavor
• Natural "X" flavor
• Natural flavor of "X" with other natural flavors

What's the difference between "Flavor" and "Natural flavor"?

A flavor can be made from one or more natural and/or synthetic flavoring agents. The use of the qualifier "natural" is considered a claim. A flavoring is considered natural only if the flavoring agents used in its formulation are 100% natural.

Will the three categories of natural flavorings be authorized under organic regulations?

According to current regulation (EC) no. 2018/848, only "natural" flavors may be used in the composition of an organic product.

The implementation of this regulation has modified in 2021 the use and definition of flavors used in processed foodstuffs: Only natural flavors of "X" are allowed in processed foodstuffs.

What is natural "X" flavor?

A natural flavor of "X" is always formulated with flavoring agents that provide the overall taste of the source cited X and are of natural status. Natural "X" flavors are most often used in blends:

• Natural flavoring substances: limonene (lemon, orange notes), thymol (thyme notes), etc.
• Flavoring preparations: mint essential oil, vanilla extract, fish extract, etc.

Unlike other natural flavors, at least 95% of X's natural flavors come from the source cited, and no more than 5% from other natural sources.

What's the difference between a natural flavor of "X" and an extract of "X"?

The role of extraction is to recover the essential compounds responsible for the sensory impact of the original raw material.

The term "extract" can refer to essential oils, distillates and alcoholates.

The extract is therefore a special case of a natural flavor of X, in which no incorporation has taken place of :

• flavoring agents from sources other than X
• or natural flavouring substances from the same source as the extract

Since it is 100% derived from "X", isn't the extract of "X" more noble than the natural flavor of X?

Natural flavors of "X" and extracts of "X" are both noble products:

• The natural flavor of "X" is at least 95% derived from X, and the extract is 100%. Both are overwhelmingly derived from the X source. The natural flavour of "X" may well be 100% derived from X.
• Their flavouring agents are 100% natural

What type of flavoring is used in "Les Jardins de Gaïa" brand formulations?

The flavors used in "Les Jardins de Gaïa" brand products are natural "X" flavors in compliance with (EU) regulation no. 2018/848 on organic farming and (EU) regulation no. 1334/2008 on flavors.

In addition to being natural, the flavors we use in our flavored recipes are certified according to the terms of Organic Agriculture*, GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) free and without any ionizing treatment.

* With the exception of :

• Natural rhubarb flavor
• Natural lychee flavor
• Natural fig flavor
• Natural pomegranate flavor
• Natural dragon fruit flavor
• Mirabelle plum natural flavor

Flavoring preparations of these flavors are not currently available in Organic Agriculture.

According to Annex II of Regulation (EU) n°1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers and Article R. 112-16-1 of the French Consumer Code, gluten-containing cereals and cereal-based products (Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye, Spelt, Kamut) are subject to labeling and declaration. Only the TH577 La nature s'éveille recipe is concerned.

Flavors:

The natural flavors incorporated in our teas and flavored blends are made up, in part, of ethyl alcohol derived from cereals. The process used to produce the ethyl alcohol in our flavors is alcoholic fermentation.

This technique transforms sugars into ethyl alcohol, but gluten is not a sugar but a protein. It is therefore not involved in the fermentation reaction.

In accordance with the above-mentioned regulations, cereals used in the manufacture of distillates or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin are exempt from allergen labelling.

What's more, our flavour suppliers' equipment and manufacturing processes guarantee the absence of any trace of protein in the ethyl alcohol produced.

In the tea leaf there is :

• Water: ¾ water to ¼ dry matter
• Tannins or polyphenols: they give the infusion structure, astringency, bitterness and even smoothness. The main tannins are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), catechin and quercetin, all powerful antioxidants.
• Alkaloids such as theine add bitterness, stimulate the central nervous system and help break down fat.
• Note: caffeine and theine are the same molecule
• Amino acids (proteins), including relaxing and energizing theanine
• Vitamins: C, A, B1, B2, B6, B9, E and K
• Minerals: fluoride, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese,
• Flavors
• Chlorophylls for color
• Low levels of carbohydrates and lipids

Source: Les thés bio: Plaisir, réconfort et bien être, Béatrice THIBAULT - Natacha DUHAUT, Anagramme Editions, 2007

Theine, tannin and theanine are all molecules present in tea. However, they all have their own specific characteristics.

Factors influencing caffeine levels in tea

For the same type of tea, it is difficult to establish a hierarchy of theine and tannin content. Several factors will influence their presence in tea:

• time and year of harvest
• the position of the leaf on the tree
• altitude of origin
• the manufacturing method

The consumables we use to package our products (sachets, tubes, etc.) comply with European regulation 1935/2004 of October 27, 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs.

In addition, French law 2012-1442 suspends the manufacture, import, export and marketing of any packaging, container or utensil containing bisphenol A and intended to come into direct contact with foodstuffs.

The packaging we use complies with both these regulations:

• The bags we use are all made in Europe. They are made of either 100% recycled, unbleached paper, or chlorine-free white kraft paper. The inner film, which provides optimum protection for our products, is made mostly of FSC™-certified wood cellulose and is compostable if virgin (unprinted). Metal tea tins are made from food-grade tinplate guaranteed to be free from bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. We use several types of tea tins: with a tinplate top and a metal or plastic (polyethylene) lid, or with an incoming tinplate "plugin" lid.
• Labels are printed on FSC™ or PEFC™-certified paper with water-based glues.

Find out more about our packaging here

FSC (Forest Stewarship Council) or PEFC (Pan European Forest Certification) certifications.