PROCESSING OF HERBAL RAW MATERIALS

Roots, leaves, fruits, seeds ...

Processing capabilities enable us to produce a huge range of herbal material in a carefully controlled environment.

DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS

The ability of every tea maker lies in the art of finding flavors, selecting one or more herbs and forming harmonious flavors, while preserving the uniqueness of each. The rigorous flavor evaluation ensures good consumer opinion about our products.

QUALITY CONTROL

The quality of all unprocessed raw materials, packaging materials, as well as finished products, is ensured by our well-equipped laboratory. Our most important goal is to provide high quality products.

Tracking of all products is ensured, starting from their development, through the reception of all unprocessed raw materials and other materials, up to the placement of finished products on the consumer markets.

BLENDING AND PACKING

Using the most contemporary tea packing technology with C24– machines, we provide high-quality products. The teas are available in filter bags with double compartments and no aluminium wire.

OUR CERTIFICATES:

• ISO 9001:2015
• ISO 14001:2015
• ISO 45001:2018
• FSSC 22000 (ver 5.1)/ISO 22000:2018
• HACCP ∙ Kosher (where applicable)
• HALAL ∙ ORGANIC EU 834/2007;
• ORGANIC USDA-NOP;
• ORGANIC JAS
• Organic MK (according to the Law for organic production of Republic of North Macedonia)
• GFCO (where applicable)

GINGKO

Gingko is the only living representative of its family Ginkgoaceae. This family of prehistoric trees included several species and abounded with the highest biodiversity in the period of 140 to 98 million years ago.

The plant disappeared from a fossil record from the western part of North America 24 to 7 million years ago. Nowadays it grows naturally in China. For a long time it was thought that gingko was only cultivated, but a few specimens were discovered in the wilderness.

Skeptics say that these wild growing specimens are remains of the trees planted by Buddhist monks, who favoured it as an ornamental culture around the temples.

The generic name of the plant Gingko is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese name for the plant ‘yin-kuo’, meaning silver apricot. The Latin name of the species biloba comes from the shape of the leaves divided into two lobes.

• Upton, Roy. American Herbal Pharmacopeia and therapeutic compendium: Ginkgo leaf, 2003.

MOROCCAN MINT TEA

This beautiful country is world famous for its exquisite mint tea. Not many people know that besides mint, this tea is made from a special kind of green tea (green gunpowder tea). In this kind, each leaf of the green tea is individually folded in a roll or a ball.

The ratio between green tea and mint (Mentha spicata) varies, depending on the person who prepares it. The special preparation method also contributes to the uniqueness of the taste of the Moroccan mint tea. The green tea balls are first steeped in a little water and rinsed, and the water is thrown away.

Then boiling water is poured over them and mint is added. Sugar is added in this stage. Pouring the tea in the cups is very important: It should be done from high above to aerate the tea. The herbs are always left in the teapot, changing the flavour from one glass to the next.

TEA PLANT (Camellia sinensis Kuntze)

In most of the world tea refers to the beverage made from Cameillia sinesis. The beverages made from all other herbs are termed herbal infusions or tisanes. According to the UN Organization for Food and Agriculture, the most consumed beverage in the world is the tea from Cameillia sinesis, aside from water being first. Depending on the fermentation period of the tea leaves, there are different herbal beverages.

White tea is made from the young, unopened buds, while green tea is made from young tea leaves and buds. Immediately after harvesting they are thermally processed in order to stop the enzyme activity and oxidizing process.

Black tea is a fully ferment product, while oolong is a semi-fermented form of tea.

Green tea contains most polyphenols, which act as antioxidants. Fast thermal processing stops the decomposition process and takes place immediately after harvesting.

• C.I. Heck, E. Gonzalez de Mejia. Beauty food: nutrition to support the skin, Functional and Speciality Beverage Technology, 2009.

• Arnadi Ramachandrayya Shivashankara. Chapter 55 - Hepatoprotective Effects of Green Tea and its Polyphenols: Preclinical Observations. Polyphenols in Human Health and Disease, 2014.

The ALKALOID tea assortment cary the logo GOOD NATURE. It tells us where the plants used for preparing the tea mixtures originate from. And where could it be other than the wonderful, virgin nature? The tea manufacturing of Alkaloid AD meets the quality standards ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and the HACCP standard for safe food production.

ALKALOID AD is the only producer of certified organic tea in Macedonia. The symbol for organic products and quality is obtained by certification of the three segments: products, processing and regions where the plant raw material is picked up. The plants used as raw material are organic, grown up without any fertilizers, pesticides, additives or conservation agents used and are not radiated. The Certificate is issued by Control Union Certifications for the methods of environmental processing compliant to the EU regulations EEC No. 2092/91, USDA-NOP (United States Department of Agriculture - National Organic Program) and JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standards).

The teas and the adjuvant medicinal agents of Alkaloid AD are strictly controlled products, registered in the Ministry of Health of Republic of North Macedonia i.e. they have Certificates for health compliance issued by the State Institute for Health Protection.