Organic tea is sometimes seen as expensive. But a packet's price reflects more than the leaves themselves: sourcing, quality control, packaging, intermediaries and commercial expenses all contribute. Understanding these factors is a useful way to compare different offers.
Understanding the price of organic tea in greater detail
It is tempting to judge two packets by their price alone. Yet two teas with seemingly similar labels may come from different growing regions, different harvests and different processing methods. Just as with coffee, chocolate and wine, the climate, the season, the cultivar, the skill of the producer, the fineness and regularity of the leaves, their fragrance and the quantity available can all affect the cost of raw tea. A limited harvest requiring skilled hand-picking or particularly careful manufacture may quite reasonably cost more than an everyday blend. The same is true of specific grades: the appearance of a leaf, its integrity after processing and the precision of the sorting can matter as much as a well-known origin.
Organic certification adds its own production framework, inspections and supply-chain requirements. It is valuable information about how a product is produced, but is not, by itself, a tasting score or a guarantee that an expensive tea will be more enjoyable than a less costly one. Compare like with like wherever possible: a plain green tea, a plain black tea and an aromatised blend have different sourcing and manufacturing costs. Look at the origin, the tea type and the price per unit of weight, not just the price printed on the front of the packet.
What happens between a plantation and your cup?
A tea may pass from a grower to an exporter, importer, wholesaler, brand and finally a shop. These participants are not automatically unnecessary: they can finance inventory, organise shipping, manage customs formalities, carry out quality checks, store and finish products, prepare orders, pack tea and advise customers. Each activity costs money, and every business must cover staff, premises and operating expenses. As the chain becomes longer, the final retail price may incorporate several successive operating costs and margins.
A shorter supply chain does not eliminate transport or quality control, nor does it automatically guarantee a lower price. The important issue is whether each step adds useful value. If one business can coordinate sourcing, blending, packing and direct sales, it may be able to avoid certain duplicated distribution costs while remaining responsible for all the operations it undertakes itself. This is the reasoning behind Chabiothé's preference for direct sales and shorter channels wherever they are practical.
Why the weight of the packet matters
A 25 g, 50 g or 100 g pack still needs a bag, label, filling, sealing, checks and handling. Those operations are repeated every time another small pack is prepared. Consider a hypothetical packing and handling cost of €0.60 per packet. At 50 g, that cost equates to €1.20 per 100 g of tea; at 200 g it represents only €0.30 per 100 g. This simplified calculation illustrates why a more generous format can reduce the packaging contribution to the price of each gram, although the actual cost will depend on materials, quantities and equipment.
Small packs nevertheless have genuine advantages: they are convenient when exploring a new flavour, make a thoughtful gift and reduce the risk of buying too much of a tea you do not yet know. Larger formats are best suited to tea drinkers who already know what they like and can keep the leaves in appropriate conditions. Neither size is universally better: make the comparison using the price per 100 g or per kilogram and the quantity you are likely to use.
Advertising, distribution and the price of a brand
The retail price of tea also pays for much more than leaves and a packet. Advertising campaigns, photographs, promotional partnerships, premises, distribution networks, online retail infrastructure, delivery, customer service and payment fees all require resources. A company investing heavily in visibility or operating numerous shops has a different cost structure from a business that places the emphasis on direct online sales and returning customers.
There is no single correct distribution model. Attractive boutiques, specialist staff and informative campaigns may deliver real value. The question is what customers want to pay for, and what share of the price goes towards the tea itself, its preparation and the service surrounding it. Chabiothé aims to keep its marketing straightforward, favour recommendations and repeat purchases, and spend a meaningful share of its resources on ingredients and the work carried out in the Lyon workshop.
The Chabiothé direct-sales model in practice
Since 2013, our approach has involved selecting ingredients, preparing blends and packing products in our Lyon workshop, then offering them directly to customers. We purchase raw ingredients in substantial quantities where this is appropriate, work with producers and shorter supply channels when possible and retain control over the recipes. Purchasing larger volumes requires organisation, cash flow and storage space, but can also make it easier to spread certain fixed expenses and negotiate supply terms.
Making our own blends means that the same team can monitor the composition, weighing, packing and final result rather than paying another firm to carry out every stage. It allows us to adjust production to demand and helps maintain the identity of our recipes. The team still has to fund food-safety controls, premises, equipment and labour: these costs do not disappear simply because the work happens in-house.
By selling primarily through our own online shop, we avoid adding an extra reseller between us and our customers. We must still cover website hosting and maintenance, order preparation, postage packaging, payment processing and after-sales assistance. A direct-selling model therefore offers better control over certain costs, not a magical ability to remove every expense. Our objective is consistency: clear prices, sound sourcing and an honest relationship with the people who enjoy our teas.
Calculating and comparing the price of tea
Price per 100 g = packet price ÷ packet weight in grams × 100. For example, a 200 g pack sold for €9.90 works out at €4.95 per 100 g. A smaller-looking packet is not necessarily cheaper: calculate the same unit price for every product before deciding. For a useful comparison, also check whether the two teas have similar origins, harvesting standards, ingredients, organic certification and processing methods.
The French source article includes a dated comparison of organic Earl Grey sold by Chabiothé, Kusmi Tea and Palais des Thés. Those prices were recorded on 2 October 2026, before delivery charges and any promotions. The brands' recipes and sourcing characteristics are not identical, so that comparison illustrates different price levels rather than a controlled assessment of quality. Prices change, so verify the current offers before treating an older comparison as a buying guide.
To see why packaging makes a difference, imagine comparing a smaller luxury pack with a larger everyday pack. Convert both to a common weight, check what each contains and consider the number of cups you can realistically make. An apparent bargain can be less attractive if you will not finish the leaves before they lose their freshness. Equally, a slightly higher price may reflect a harvest or tasting experience that matters to you.
Illustrative Earl Grey price comparison — 2 October 2026
| Brand | Product | Pack | Price | Price per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chabiothé | Organic Earl Grey | 200 g | €9.90 | €4.95 |
| Palais des Thés | Organic Earl Grey Queen Blend | 100 g | €11.50 | €11.50 |
| Kusmi Tea | Organic Earl Grey | 100 g | €15.50 | €15.50 |
Historic prices recorded by Chabiothé on 2 October 2026. Products differ in recipe and characteristics. Delivery fees and promotions excluded; these are not live prices.
Five practical principles behind our pricing
- Purchase thoughtfully: buy meaningful quantities of ingredients and favour shorter channels where they suit the product and the producer.
- Work in our Lyon workshop: develop recipes, mix ingredients and fill packs ourselves, with responsibility for quality and traceability.
- Sell directly: maintain a relationship with the people placing orders and avoid adding an extra retail layer when it is unnecessary.
- Keep marketing proportionate: rely substantially on repeat customers and word of mouth rather than treating extensive advertising as an end in itself.
- Offer generous formats: include 200 g packs so regular drinkers can spread the packaging and preparation cost over more cups.
These choices contribute to our pricing, but do not mean that every Chabiothé product will always undercut every competitor. We are seeking a sustainable balance between good ingredients, careful work and a price that customers can understand.
Does a less expensive organic tea mean lower quality?
Not necessarily. The price reflects sourcing, preparation, packing, transport and marketing as well as the tea. A premium price may be justified by a rare harvest or unusually demanding manufacture, but it can also result from retail presentation and distribution costs. Conversely, a modest price does not prove that leaves are poor: careful purchasing, direct sales and a larger pack can change the calculation. Organic certification is a separate matter from flavour and should be checked on the product information.
Before ordering, consider the price per kilogram, the type of tea, its origin and ingredients, the certification, the format that meets your needs and how the brand explains its approach. Do not overlook preparation: even a very good loose-leaf tea can disappoint when brewed with unsuitable water, temperature or steeping time. Storing it correctly and buying an amount you can use are also part of getting good value.
In short: buying organic tea directly can be a sensible way of controlling some costs, but it is not a universal guarantee of the lowest price. Chabiothé's approach is based on substantial sourcing volumes, in-house blending, direct sales and straightforward communication so that the price reflects, as much as possible, the tea and the work behind it.