Carefully selected: What you should look out for when buying Artemisia annua

The first point you should consider when buying Artemisia annua is the cultivation conditions and the country of origin. This is because the quality standards of Artemisia annua cultivation vary greatly from country to country. In many countries, the soil is heavily contaminated with pollutants and harmful fertilizers and pesticides are used to grow the plants. In dictatorial countries in particular, farmers are often even prohibited from testing the soil for pollutants before cultivation. Contaminated soil leads to a contaminated end product and can significantly impair its quality and safety.

For this reason, we recommend that you opt forregional, natural cultivation from Germany. This also has the advantage that the plants have to travel a shorter distance, which in turn benefits the environment.

You can be sure with us: Our Artemisia annua products are free from any pesticides, heavy metals and other harmful substances. We have this fact checked regularly by an independent laboratory so that we can always guarantee you pure, uncontaminated quality. You can find out more about the cultivation conditions and processing of our Artemisia annua plants here.

Also make sure that the Artemisia annua consists of pure leaf cuttings (or leaf powder). The reason for this is that only the leaves of the Artemisia annua plant contain a high level of ingredients, including the valuable artemisinin. Other parts of the plant, on the other hand, have few to no ingredients and are therefore worthless. Unfortunately, many commercially available Artemisia annua products contain up to 80% ineffective stems and branches in order to "stretch" the end product and thus ensure a higher profit for the traders.

Whether leaf powder or leaf cuttings - we always make sure that only pure leaves are processed into our end products. This is the only way we can guarantee a high content of ingredients and the bright green color, which we will discuss in more detail in the next section. 

Another important indication of flawless Artemisia annua quality is an intense, bright green color. This is because the leaves only achieve their rich color and full content of ingredients under optimal light and water conditions. The greener and more intense the color, the more valuable ingredients the leaves contain. Brownish or yellowish discolored leaves are usually a sign that the plant has received too few nutrients and therefore the content of nutrients is also lower.

Dirt, such as soil or parts of other plants, can also distort the bright green color - but this is almost unavoidable with mechanical harvesting. That is why we at teemana still rely on traditional manual harvesting. We also continue to sort out unwanted stems and leaves by hand. This is the only way we can ensure that only pure, bright green leaves end up in the final product. 

Quality has its price - and the plant world is no exception. This is because ensuring Artemisia annua products meet the quality standards mentioned involves a great deal of work. Processes such as sowing, care, harvesting and drying, as well as sorting out unwanted stems and leaves, are still carried out by hand. Of course, this costs a lot of time and money, because we always pay our employees fairly.

For comparison: a field worker in Germany earns around 100 times as much as a picker in north-east India. For the price we pay our German farmers for 1 kilo of A-3 production, we would get 150 kilos of (brown) A-2 (i.e. wild) produce from Asia.

Conversely, this means that goods that are too cheap cannot possibly meet the same requirements that we place on our products.

In order to preserve the valuable ingredients of Artemisia annua, it is crucial to ship it in packaging that is protected from air and light. This is because as soon as the dried leaves come into contact with air, oxygen molecules can react with the sensitive compounds and break them down. The same applies to light - UV radiation in particular can cause valuable ingredients to be lost. In addition, airtight packaging prevents contact with moisture and thus the growth of mold and other harmful bacteria.

This not only applies to shipping, but also to storage. As soon as the leaves are completely dry, they should be stored in dark, dry places that are protected from light. For this reason, our plants are filled into small, airtight bags immediately after drying, which in turn are stored in large, dark barrels. As soon as you have clicked the "Order" button in our online store, we take the desired bag directly from the light-protected barrel and place it in a brown, light-protected shipping box.

Full transparency on the part of the company is essential so that you can make a safe, well-founded purchase decision.

Where and how is Artemisia annua grown?

What quality controls are in place?

What are the company's values?

Under what conditions do the employees, harvest workers and small farmers work?

Get a clear, comprehensive picture of your potential supplier before you purchase the Artemisia annua from them. Only if you have this information can you realistically assess the quality and safety of the Artemisia annua. 

Customer feedback offers you a direct insight into the experience of other buyers. They help you to better assess the quality of the Artemisia annua product and gain a realistic impression.

When buying Artemisia annua, pay attention to the reviews of other buyers: What experiences have they had with the product? How trustworthy and reputable is the manufacturer? This information will help you to find a trustworthy supplier.