Flavouring Information

Teas are flavoured in many different ways, often with natural herbs, berries, fruits or spices, and occasionally with essential oils or extracts. Sometimes we use what might seem like odd combinations to approximate a certain flavour –  for instance, a mixture of banana extract and green mango combines to produce a great apple flavour, and green apple notes are almost always added to mango to bring out its natural flavour.

Our “all natural” or “natural” flavourings are derived from the natural extracts and essences of fruits, berries, herbs, or nuts. These extracts are suspended in a carrier like grain alcohol or grapefruit seed oil that can be used in products bearing the organic certification or “all natural” designation.

Flavours simply referred to as “flavouring” (without “natural” or “all natural”) fall into one of two categories:

1) They are what is known in Europe as “natural identical,” meaning they have been created in a lab but have the same molecular structure as their natural counterparts. In Europe, these flavourings are referred to as “natural flavouring,” but in Canada and the US we distinguish between these and what we think of as “natural.”

2) They use a flavour carrier that does not meet North American “all natural” regulations. Usually this is propylene glycol (a diol or double alcohol with formula C3H8O2). Propylene glycol is used in many food and cosmetic products as well as medicines, and when used in teas as a flavour carrier, it is used at no more than ±3% and evaporates off the tea immediately to remain at less than 0.01% on the dry leaf. The amount in the actual cup of tea is immeasurably small.