Genuine Tea - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Hello Friends - we have compiled a list for your convenience of Genuine Tea's TOP Frequently asked questions to save you time. If you don't find the answer here, please send us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Why are you called "Genuine" Tea?

Great question! When we first had the idea to start a farm to cup (third wave) tea company in 2012 - we were living in Taiwan, doing our MBAs and of course drinking copious amounts of tea! We focussed our research on the North American Tea Industry and saw that loose leaf tea was becoming very popular, but a lot of it contained artificial colours and flavours. Because we aren't super awesome 'brand' people we thought - "hey, what's the opposite of 'artificial' ? And so the name "Genuine Tea" was born. To us now, Genuine Tea is a whole lot more than just not being tea with sprinkles - it means being Genuine in everything we do - i.e. in being true to oneself and living with intention.

What is your packaging made of?

Another great question and this will likely vary depending on when you're reading this. For us, the struggle to find sustainable packaging is REAL - or should we say Genuine? When we started in 2015 we used composite #7 materials and were under the assumption that all packaging in Canada was recycled. That notion was incorrect. So, in 2017 we changed to biodegradable material made by a local company, but soon found those claims to be false. Then in 2020 we innovated a 100% recyclable material with a different local company made of LDPE - it is #4 in the recycling stream - this is an important distinction from #7 which cannot be recycled.

Is Genuine Tea packaging recyclable?

Technically, yes - LDPE is a single layered polymer and is fully recyclable - this practice is common place in much of Asia and Europe. Unfortunately, government doesn't always require that all municipalities recycle all materials, so it really varies from region to region as to what gets recycled - this can be due to technology but more importantly political will and cost-effectiveness. 

What are Genuine Tea Plant-based Pyramid Tea Bags Made from?

Genuine Tea Plant-based Pyramid Tea Bags are just that - plant based! What does that mean? It means that they aren't petroleum based. Petroleum based tea bags do not fully breakdown in the environment because they are, well, petroleum based. Plant-based tea bags are made of corn, sugar cane and potato into a material called poly lactic acid - this plant-based material is not only biodegradable and compostable, it also means we don't have to worry about petroleum leeching! Win win!