Naturally Grown, Sustainably Packaged: Our Vision for a Green Future from Cultivation to Your Home
Today, our world is shaped by globalization, industrial agriculture, and monocultures. The continuous pursuit of increasing efficiency and economic growth accompanies us, and it seems that traditional farming methods and the connection to natural creation are gradually being forgotten. For even if it is certainly in our nature to develop further and make progress, this constant demand for optimization comes at the expense of the environment, diversity, and sustainability.
Content
1. Cultivation - from seed to plant in harmony with nature 2. Harvesting - manual labor for unadulterated purity 3. Drying and Processing - gentle and careful 4. Packaging - quality products in environmentally conscious wrapping 5. Shipping - pure nature directly to your home Our Artemisia annua: Special features and benefits What should I look for when buying Artemisia annua products?
In the wake of this craze for "higher, faster, further," the wages of smaller, traditional farmers in Germany are steadily decreasing.
On average, for every euro, domestic farmers receive just 22 cents. In the 70s, it was different: a whopping 50% of sales revenue went to the producer.
Our Artemisia is exclusively harvested and bottled in Germany by certified producers and according to the highest quality standards.
We place great importance on above-average compensation. Although annual mugwort thrives excellently in Germany, many companies source their goods from low-wage countries like China or India to increase profit margins.
Tesana, however, focuses on short supply chains and regionality: through our cultivation of Artemisia annua, many German farmers have been able to establish a new, promising foothold.
Therefore: Help us preserve ethical and sustainable agriculture - away from mass production, towards a sustainable, ecological, and responsible way of doing business. This is a big task, and we can only achieve it together.
For this reason, we want to give you an insight into our values and guidelines that we adhere to in our production cycle - from cultivation to the finished product on your shelf. Join us on the journey of Artemisia annua and learn how tradition and sustainability accompany every step we take - for a product that not only fully meets your expectations but also does good for the planet.
1. Cultivation - from seed to plant in harmony with nature
In the conventional cultivation of many plants, synthetic substances such as artificial fertilizers and pesticides are usually used. These are intended to protect plants from pests and guarantee a high yield, but they leave numerous traces on plants and soil.
Our highest principle, however, is to practice gentle agriculture, in which people, animals, and plants are all treated with respect. In this way, we contribute a little to the healing of our earth. Therefore, our process begins with the traditional cultivation of our plants, in which we follow numerous guidelines. This means we...
- ... use exclusively natural pesticides
- ... use no readily soluble mineral fertilizers and ensure careful use of all fertilizers
- ... use no genetically modified microorganisms
- ... ensure optimal light and water conditions during the cultivation of our plants. Only then can we guarantee the vibrant green color and the high chlorophyll content.
- ... always cultivate our plants away from any roads and industrial landscapes, on completely fertile, nutrient-rich soil
2. Harvesting - manual labor for unadulterated purity
In Europe, mechanical harvesting usually involves tractors, which can result in up to 80% of the final product consisting of stem material with no active ingredients.
We want to avoid this, which is why we still rely on a traditional harvesting process. This means that we do not use any harvesting machines; instead, our plants are harvested by hand. The careful stripping of the leaves – the part of the plant with the most valuable active ingredients – is also still done by hand.
Artemisia annua harvest on our field in Germany
Manual processing and stripping of Artemisia annua leaves in Germany
3. Drying and Processing - Gentle and Careful
After harvesting, the leaves undergo a pre-drying process in a drying cabinet for 24 hours. Subsequently, they are completely dried very gently in an oven at under 40°C, which preserves all active ingredients, which is particularly important for their use as a cosmetic raw material.
Thereafter, the carefully dried leaves are further processed into cut leaves or leaf powder under laboratory conditions.
Drying in the drying cabinet
Naturally, we do not use any processes that expose our plants to ionizing radiation for preservation.
Furthermore, all our products are regularly tested by independent institutes in laboratory tests to certify their quality.
4. Packaging - Quality Products in an Environmentally Conscious Wrapper
Once the Artemisia annua has been sufficiently dried and processed into cut leaves or leaf powder, it's time for packaging. The dried plants are carefully filled into small bags in our manufactory. These bags are stored in large barrels in a dark, dry place until shipment.
For our packaging, we always follow the ZERO-WASTE principle. This means that our packaging is either completely recyclable or can be incinerated without residue. Thus, they are free of any aluminum and PVC, and incineration occurs without releasing toxic fumes and gases.
Furthermore, you can reuse the PE bags we use up to 20 times for other purposes and then return them to the recycling cycle with a clear conscience.
5. Shipping - Pure Nature Directly to Your Home
As soon as you click the “Order” button in our online shop, we will take the desired bag directly from the light-protected barrel and place it in a brown, also light-protected shipping box. We usually ship this on the next day, so that the shipment reaches your home within 2 to 3 business days. Of course, we will provide you with all necessary tracking updates during shipping, so you can sit back and relax, eagerly anticipating your Artemisia annua package.
We are convinced: You will not find a comparable level of naturalness and high quality standards anywhere else. This is because it is our genuine concern to ensure we can fully control all work steps – from sowing to harvesting to processing and packaging. Only in this way can we offer you a reliable, all-round worry-free package from a single source.
Our Artemisia annua: Special Features and Advantages
Our variety of Sweet Wormwood can have a up to 20 times higher content of selected plant-specific ingredients, which makes it particularly popular as an ingredient in high-quality natural cosmetics.
Moreover, at the time of harvest in late autumn, the plants generally do not yet have flowers – a characteristic that makes this cultivar particularly suitable for allergy sufferers.
It is a pure, natural plant species, based exclusively on traditional plant breeding – completely without genetic modifications.
What should I look for when buying Artemisia annua products?
Now we want to reiterate the characteristics you should pay attention to when buying Artemisia annua products:
- Bright green color: An intense, vibrant green in Artemisia annua products indicates that the plant was cultivated under optimal conditions and has a high content of valuable ingredients, which is particularly important for its use as a cosmetic raw material.
- Pure cut leaves: Since Artemisia annua leaves are the plant part with the highest content of active ingredients, it should be a pure cut leaf product without stems or other plant parts.
- Regional cultivation: Cultivation and quality standards, as well as soil quality, vary by country. To avoid high levels of contaminants, Artemisia annua products should ideally be cultivated regionally in Germany and under natural conditions.
- Realistic price: Cultivating Artemisia annua under the conditions mentioned often requires significant effort, as many processes must be done manually – which, of course, costs a lot of energy and time. Therefore, it's hardly surprising that a high level of quality comes with a corresponding price increase. For comparison: a field worker in Germany earns about 100 times more than a picker in Northeast India. For the price we pay our German farmers for 1 kilo of production, we would get 150 kilos of (brown) wild-type goods from Asia.
Conclusion
We hope this article provides you with a comprehensive understanding of our guidelines and principles. It is our genuine concern to inform you, our valued customers, about our high quality standards and principles. By shopping with Tesana, you are not only supporting a small business but also making a valuable contribution to the preservation of our environment.
