Common questions about tea co-packing and full production.

Balkan Tea is a family-owned B2B tea co-packing and full production company in Kosovo. Founded as an extension of Luan Fazliu’s family herb business, which has cultivated and exported native Balkan herbs to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since 1990, we now offer end-to-end tea packaging on the HST PT-2.33 double-chamber line. See: Read the heritage story (/about/heritage/)

Our packaging facility is in Pristina, Kosovo. It is our only physical facility. We serve all 15 EU markets in our footprint - including Albania and North Macedonia next door - from Kosovo. Albania and North Macedonia get country-level service but do not have separate facilities. See: Kosovo facility details (/locations/kosovo/)

HACCP food-safety plan is held and audited annually. ISO 22000 Food Safety Management certification is in progress for 2026. EU food safety regulation compliance (178/2002, allergen rules 1169/2011) is documented in-house. We do not currently hold organic certification for the tea packaging operation - the herb business operates under EU food safety standards but no organic seal. See: All certifications (/certifications/)

We are working toward organic certification for 2027. The supply chain (herbs from our own land) supports the standard - the documentation and audit process are the gate. Until the certificate is in hand, we describe our product honestly as traceable, EU-compliant, and not organic-labeled.

Our family herb business has been operating continuously since 1990 - 36 years. We have cultivated, hand-harvested, dried, processed, and exported native Balkan herbs to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland that entire time. The tea packaging division launched in 2026 as an extension of that supply chain. See: The herb business (/about/herbs/)

Co-packing means you bring the tea + artwork; we put your tea in our bag (2-4 week lead time). Full Production means you bring an idea or brief; we source the tea, develop the recipe, design the packaging, print, fill, and ship (8-14 week lead time). Both produce the same physical PT-2.33 double-chamber bag. See: Compare us (/compare/)

For co-packing, our MOQ is 5,000 bags per SKU - low for the industry, reflecting our position that B2B partnerships start with manageable test runs. Full Production MOQs are higher because we are buying raw material on your behalf. Talk to us with project specifics and we will quote you exactly. See: MOQ + pricing detail (/services/co-packing/moq-and-pricing/)

Co-packing lead time is 2-4 weeks once your artwork is approved and the tea has arrived at our facility. Most variability sits in artwork approval, not production. Once art is locked, a typical 100,000-bag SKU runs in 2-3 days on the PT-2.33 and palletizes the same week.

Yes - that is the co-packing model. We need a certificate of analysis (residue, microbial, moisture) for the incoming tea plus a sample for blend validation before we run production. We hold incoming lots for QC release before they enter the production schedule.

Full Production runs 8-14 weeks end-to-end: recipe development + approval (2-4 weeks), packaging design and print proofs (2-3 weeks), raw material sourcing (1-2 weeks), production (1-2 weeks), pallet build + EU export documentation (1 week). Timeline varies with recipe complexity and certification requirements. See: Full production timeline (/services/full-production/timeline/)

Yes. Recipe Development is a core service inside Full Production. We work from a brief (target market, target shelf price, intended use, flavor cues), build candidate blends, iterate with you, and lock the recipe. We taste-test every batch against the locked profile before release. See: Recipe development (/services/full-production/recipe-development/)

Yes - and this is our supply-chain advantage no other Balkan co-packer can match. Mountain tea, sage, linden, thyme, lemon balm, peppermint, calendula, hibiscus, rosehip - all from our own family-cultivated land since 1990. Full traceability per batch. See: Native Balkan herb sourcing (/services/full-production/sourcing/)

No. We run a single bag format: the HST PT-2.33 double-chamber paper tea bag. We chose single-format discipline over multi-format mediocrity. Pyramids require a different machine, a different filter material, and a different supply chain. We do not pretend to do something we do not do. See: The bag we run (/our-bag/)

Filter paper + paper tag are fully compostable. The bag itself goes in the compost. Envelope material is your choice - select PLA or paper compounds for a fully-compostable end product, or OPP for the standard B2B retail finish. We help you pick based on shelf-life target and sustainability claim.

Two sizes, both on the same PT-2.33 line: Size A is 64 x 44 mm (recommended for herbal infusions, fruit infusions, wellness blends, native Balkan herbs - more chamber room for whole-leaf and large pieces). Size B is 60 x 40 mm (recommended for black and green tea - tighter weave for fine-cut leaf). Switch between sizes within the same shift.

We actively ship to 15 markets: Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia (Tier 1), Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia (Tier 2), Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom (Tier 3). For other EU markets, we can quote on request - the customs and logistics infrastructure is in place. See: All locations (/locations/)

Yes. EU Regulation 1169/2011 (Food Information to Consumers) governs allergen disclosure, ingredient lists, country of origin, nutrition declaration, and language requirements. We review your label artwork against the regulation before print and flag any issues. See: EU Compliance Hub (Phase 2) (/compliance/)

Every shipment ships with: Certificate of Analysis (CoA) per batch, certificate of origin, EU sales invoice, packing list, batch records (on request), phytosanitary documentation (when applicable), and transport documentation. We retain batch samples for two years post-shipment.