The Rike’s Selection Process for Exceptional Organic Teas

Any tea devotee knows that not all teas are created equal. Realizing this, we at The Rike perform extensive comparative tasting whenever we consider adding a tea to our catalog. First and foremost, we search for USDA-certified organic teas representing the classic manufacturing styles from around the world. Then we select the best organic variety within each style. We offer classic teas like Organic Earl Grey Black Tea, Organic Sencha Green Tea, and Organic Lapsang Souchong Black Tea, and rare teas like our Organic Japan Pu Erh and Organic Raw Pu-erh. You'll also find unique herbal blends like our Organic Ginger Chili, Organic Yaupon Lemongrass, and Organic Chaga Chicory.

FLAVORED ORGANIC TEA

Our delicious, flavored teas use the same top-quality organic tea that we offer in our unflavored varieties. When blending our teas, our goal is to create a cup that balances the flavors of the tea with the flavors of the additional ingredients so that neither overpowers the other. We take great care to ensure that every herb, fruit, spice and leaf serves a purpose in our flavored blends.

At The Rike, we're proud to bring you a carefully curated assortment of the world's finest organic loose-leaf teas, from one corner of the globe to the other. While a large portion of our catalog hails from the world's classic tea growing countries (China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, etc.), we love tracking down exquisite organic teas from novel origins - places like Japan, Vietnam, and even the USA! Browse the categories below to find the perfect tea from the country you're looking for.

ORGANIC VIETNAMESE TEA

• While not traditionally a tea-producing nation, products from Vietnam have recently increased in quality and have become increasingly popular. The Rike offers one single origin organic tea from Vietnam that represents its tea manufacture.

OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

At The Rike, our daily mission is to find the world's most fantastic organic teas and deliver them to you as sustainably as possible. This is a process that we are always working to improve, envisioning a tea leaf that happily moves through its entire life cycle creating a healthier world and healthier you.

Sustainability at the Source

• Organic Farming & Biodynamic Farming
• Low Water Intensive Crop
• Tea & Climate Change
• Domestic Sourcing Program

Perhaps our most important decision is to only source tea and herbs that are certified organic. This choice has the greatest impact on lowering the carbon footprint of your tea leaf and promoting sustainability.

Organic tea production makes a far smaller impact on the environment than conventional agriculture by eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Tea is considered a rainwater plant. Meaning that it is grown with the use of rainfall only and does not require irrigation water or processing water.

Tea is not indigenous to the USA (it is native to Southeast Asia), but many of the herbs we sell are! When possible, we source our herbs from farmers in the USA and are working to encourage the development of new blends that use herbs grown and processed in our home state of Illinois.

Sustainable Transportation

• Sea Freight for Overseas Teas & Herbs
• Ground Transportation for Domestic Herbs
• Offset Carbon Emissions with Carbon Fund

We've teamed up with Carbon Fund to offset the carbon emissions created in the transportation of your tea from its source to the The Rike facility.

The majority of our teas from overseas are transported by sea freight, which is the most energy-efficient method of transportation.

Domestic herbs are transported by truck (not plane). Air-transit generates far greater greenhouse gas emissions than ground transportation.

Finally, we’ve teamed up with CarbonFund.org to offset the remaining carbon emissions through green energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects.

Sustainable Packaging

• Cellulose Material from Managed Forests
• Over 90% Renewable Raw Material
• Light Material Requires Less Energy Input
• No Tea Bags

We keep our tea loose - which means we do not confine our tea inside single serve tea bags or K-cups, but loosely hand pack it inside one bulk package. This eliminates the need for extra material and keeps it out of the waste stream. Plus, it gives you a chance to lay eyes on the beautiful tea leaves that make each cup worth it!

Sustainable Shipping

• USPS & UPS Ground Transportation
• Avoid Air Transit
• Emissions Offset with Carbon Fund
• Post-Consumer Waste Shipping Materials
• Recycle Shipping Materials

We've teamed up with Carbon Fund to offset the carbon emissions created in the transportation of your tea from its source to The Rike facility.

Sustainable Home

• Choose No-Waste Tea Alternatives
• Use Less Water & Energy to Prepare Tea
• Compost Used Tea Leaves & Packaging
• Drink Tea, an Energy-Efficient Beverage
• Never Stop Improving

When you choose The Rike, you support a sustainable, no-waste alternative that allows you to compost your used tea leaves and packaging with no waste.

Never Stop Improving!

At The Rike we never stop improving our commitment to sustainability.