The roots of our teas
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From leaf to your cup

The roots of our teas

Our responsibility begins at the source of our teas.


We know that we can only offer the best quality teas if we already treat our valuable resources with care and protect our natural environment today. The basic requirements for this are healthy soils, unspoilt climate conditions and living and working conditions that secure people’s livelihoods in the tea-growing area. Come with us to the roots of our teas and find out what the many challenges to be overcome for sustainable economic activity.

The many branches of our supply chain.

The sustainability of our products is important for us. This also means that every stage our teas go through must be thoroughly checked. From their origins right through to you in your teacup.

The Tea Plant

The basis of our teas are the more than 200 types of plant that we source from over 90 different countries. We source our black teas and green teas directly from the countries where they grow, whereas we buy herbal and fruit infusions from suppliers in Germany. Maintaining this variety is a key objective in our sustainability efforts.

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The Tea Plant

The Tea Plant

The basis of our teas are the more than 200 types of plant that we source from over 90 different countries. We source our black teas and green teas directly from the countries where they grow, whereas we buy herbal and fruit infusions from suppliers in Germany. Maintaining this variety is a key objective in our sustainability efforts.

The Cultivation

Our raw ingredients come from various different crop types: from tea plantations, from fields and from wild harvesting. To protect the natural environment, we take special care to maintain and improve the ecological conditions and the biodiversity both in the fields and where the harvesting is done from the wild.

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The Cultivation

The Cultivation

Our raw ingredients come from various different crop types: from tea plantations, from fields and from wild harvesting. To protect the natural environment, we take special care to maintain and improve the ecological conditions and the biodiversity both in the fields and where the harvesting is done from the wild.

The Processing

It is important for us that our social standards are met and that the preparation of raw materials is sustainable in our tea factories and processing sites. For us this includes improving the workers’ living conditions, but also regular further training and development in the factories and their workers for quality assurance purposes.

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The Processing

The Processing

It is important for us that our social standards are met and that the preparation of raw materials is sustainable in our tea factories and processing sites. For us this includes improving the workers’ living conditions, but also regular further training and development in the factories and their workers for quality assurance purposes.

Our Partners

Together with our Ethical Tea Partnership and UTZ (Part of the Rainforest Alliance) partners, we are committed to ensuring that our strict demands are kept for sustainable products, protecting the environment and appropriate working conditions in the tea-growing region. Together we initiate projects and campaigns that improve the living conditions directly in the area. As it is our objective to ensure good living conditions and working conditions for the people involved in the production of our teas.
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Our Partners

Our Partners

Together with our Ethical Tea Partnership and UTZ (Part of the Rainforest Alliance) partners, we are committed to ensuring that our strict demands are kept for sustainable products, protecting the environment and appropriate working conditions in the tea-growing region. Together we initiate projects and campaigns that improve the living conditions directly in the area. As it is our objective to ensure good living conditions and working conditions for the people involved in the production of our teas.

Suppliers and Transport

Our suppliers are important partners in the realisation of our endeavour to use 100% sustainable raw ingredients. They help us realise our standards on site in the regions where the tea comes from. Transport routes are also an important factor, which is why we import a large proportion of our tea by ship – where we also take care to avoid any unnecessary packaging material.

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Suppliers and Transport

Suppliers and Transport

Our suppliers are important partners in the realisation of our endeavour to use 100% sustainable raw ingredients. They help us realise our standards on site in the regions where the tea comes from. Transport routes are also an important factor, which is why we import a large proportion of our tea by ship – where we also take care to avoid any unnecessary packaging material.

Responsible Production

Our commitment to a sustainable product does not end when the tea reaches Europe. We also like to blend and pack our teas in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way. So we have deployed 100% green energy in all our production sites and in our administration in Germany since 2015. In 2014, we also implemented a DIN 50001 energy management system to reduce our energy consumption. In that process we changed the lighting in the production and logistics areas to LEDs operated through movement sensors and we use energy-efficient drives for our compressors. We offset all the CO2 emissions that we cannot yet avoid in cooperation with ClimatePartner, with compensation payments to international climate protection projects in India and Rwanda.
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Responsible Production

Responsible Production

Our commitment to a sustainable product does not end when the tea reaches Europe. We also like to blend and pack our teas in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way. So we have deployed 100% green energy in all our production sites and in our administration in Germany since 2015. In 2014, we also implemented a DIN 50001 energy management system to reduce our energy consumption. In that process we changed the lighting in the production and logistics areas to LEDs operated through movement sensors and we use energy-efficient drives for our compressors. We offset all the CO2 emissions that we cannot yet avoid in cooperation with ClimatePartner, with compensation payments to international climate protection projects in India and Rwanda.

Distribution

We also keep an eye on our sustainability objectives in the delivery of our products to retailers. We reduce our environmental footprint by combining our routes and optimising them. Our external delivery partners are also required to continuously reduce their CO2 emissions.

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Distribution

Distribution

We also keep an eye on our sustainability objectives in the delivery of our products to retailers. We reduce our environmental footprint by combining our routes and optimising them. Our external delivery partners are also required to continuously reduce their CO2 emissions.

The Retail Trade

We work in close partnership with the retail trade – supermarkets, drug store chains and other shops – so we can implement a broad range of sustainability strategies across all sales channels.

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The Retail Trade

The Retail Trade

We work in close partnership with the retail trade – supermarkets, drug store chains and other shops – so we can implement a broad range of sustainability strategies across all sales channels.

Our Customers

We use all our expertise and a great deal of passion to develop really special tea varieties. And it’s only when our customers are sustainably satisfied that are we satisfied too. That is why we are even happier that we can offer our customers a full range of sustainably cultivated products. Enjoyment with Meßmer means enjoying greater sustainability with each cup.

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Our Customers

Our Customers

We use all our expertise and a great deal of passion to develop really special tea varieties. And it’s only when our customers are sustainably satisfied that are we satisfied too. That is why we are even happier that we can offer our customers a full range of sustainably cultivated products. Enjoyment with Meßmer means enjoying greater sustainability with each cup.

Recycling

We are also aware of our responsibility towards the natural environment in our packaging. That is why we exclusively use recycled material in our paper folding boxes and no-longer use metal staples on our teabags. This means that our packaging can be recycled when disposed of in the waste paper and our teabags can be composted.

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Recycling

Recycling

We are also aware of our responsibility towards the natural environment in our packaging. That is why we exclusively use recycled material in our paper folding boxes and no-longer use metal staples on our teabags. This means that our packaging can be recycled when disposed of in the waste paper and our teabags can be composted.



Did you know that ...?

Exciting facts about sustainable tea





So you love tea ...


… and are interested in where it comes from, how it is cultivated, what matters during the harvest and how to tell good quality? If you want to know about tea, we are the experts at Meßmer. Here you can find interesting facts about our tea and our commitment to sustainability.


Tea facts


Tea fact 1: We source over 200 different plant varieties for our teas, from more than 90 countries around the world.

Tea fact 2: We use at least 60% recycled material for our folding boxes, with no metal staples on our teabags or cellophane for our packaging.

Tea fact 3: The most CO2 per cup is generated when we boil the water at home, by the way. So each of us can make a contribution if we only heat the water we need.

Tea fact 4: Tea is the most popular drink after water. Tea production worldwide is ten times higher now than it was 100 years ago.

Tea fact 5: The sourcing of sustainably cultivated herbs and fruit is only possible through tried-and-tested partners and suppliers. The raw ingredients available on the market often come from unregulated cultivation and auctions that lack transparency.

Tea fact 6: 19,200 tonnes of tea are drunk each year in Germany. For breakfast, at work, when out and about with friends or relaxing at home – and there are plenty more good reasons for having a cup of tea!

Tea fact 7: Most of the tea cultures in the world come from the camellia sinensis and camellia assamica tea bushes. The smaller leaves from the camellia sinensis bush are more suitable for the production of green tea, as they make a milder, less bitter tea. To ensure that the tea plants grow well, they are regularly pruned to waist height.

Tea fact 8: The Rainforest Alliance seal – that features a tree frog – is regarded as the international symbol for sustainability. Why? Frogs are bellwethers for good environments and the ecosystem is healthy wherever frogs live.

Tea fact 9: The ten largest tea nations own around 90% of the world’s tea cultivation areas. These include China, India and Sri Lanka.

Tea fact 10: Herbal and fruit infusions are mostly drunk in Germany. We use more than 800 formulations and over 200 different plant parts for their production. The changeover to sustainable raw ingredients is particularly complex here due to the enormous variety of ingredients. We do our best to achieve this objective every day, however.

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