Organic certification for tea and coffee covers how the crop was grown, how it was handled after harvest, how it was processed and packed, and whether records can prove it. It does not rate flavour, strength or quality in the cup. A certified tea can taste ordinary, and an uncertified one can taste excellent. The certificate speaks to the method, not the taste.
This article follows the Thai organic standard, TAS 9000-2021 (มกษ. 9000-2564), issued by the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS). It sets rules for the production, processing, labelling and sale of organic produce and products. One comparison with the United States is marked as such.
At the plant and after harvest
Tea and coffee grow on bushes and trees that stay in the ground for years. The Thai standard gives such perennial crops a conversion period of at least 18 months before the first organic harvest. For annual crops the figure is 12 months before planting. The count starts from the day the grower begins applying the standard and applies to a certifier. The certifier can shorten or extend the period depending on the land's history and risks.
During and after conversion, the standard allows the inputs listed in its annexes. A substance that is not on the lists can be used only if it passes a separate set of approval criteria.
Picking is only the start. The standard has a section on handling after harvest, and it treats mixing as a risk. Organic produce must be kept from mixing with non-organic produce during on-farm steps such as threshing, peeling, cleaning, cooling, cutting, drying and packing. Packaging and storage must not contaminate the product. The standard gives examples: packaging that carries synthetic fungicides, preservatives or fumigants is not allowed, and reused bags are not allowed.
Stores that hold other farm products must keep organic produce apart, keep each lot identifiable, and clean the space and equipment in a way that has been checked. The operator must record the cleaning.
In processing
For organic processing, the standard says to use mechanical, physical or biological methods. It names examples such as shelling or hulling, milling, fermenting, grinding, pressing and evaporating water off. It also says:
- Organic products are not irradiated to control pests, preserve food or kill germs.
- Extraction may use only water, ethanol, vegetable or animal oils, vinegar, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
- Organic, in-conversion and non-organic products must be kept apart by time or place, and equipment must be cleaned before organic runs.
In the United States, the federal organic rule also lists mechanical and biological methods, including drying, heating and grinding, and it bars volatile synthetic solvents and any synthetic processing aid that is not on its allowed list.
On the label and in the records
A tea or coffee can be labelled "organic" in Thailand only if the finished product has at least 95% organic ingredients, counting by weight for solids or by volume for liquids and not counting added water and salt. A flavoured tea or a blend with herbs must meet the same rule across all its ingredients. A product with at least 70% organic ingredients may say it is "made with organic ingredients". A product below 70% may not make organic claims, although the word may still appear in its ingredient list. The label must also show the name or code of the certifier, and the organic claim must be easy to see and show the approximate percentage of organic ingredients.
Records matter too. The standard asks operators to keep records of purchases, handling, processing and stock, and to keep them for at least 5 years, so that a lot can be traced.
What certification does not cover
The standard does not set a taste, aroma or grade. It does not decide whether a coffee is light or dark roast, or how fresh a tea is. Those qualities are described by the producer and judged in the cup.
In short
- Organic certification covers growing, handling, processing, packing and records. It does not cover flavour or quality in the cup.
- Under the Thai standard, perennial crops such as tea and coffee need at least 18 months of organic management before the first organic harvest.
- Mixing between organic and non-organic product is controlled at every step, from drying to storage to packing.
- A Thai "organic" label needs at least 95% organic ingredients, not counting water and salt.
- Records must be kept for at least 5 years, so each lot can be traced.
