Black Peat / White Peat (Schwarztorf / Weisstorf)

A traditional German industry distinction that grades peat by depth and degree of humification, splitting a deposit into two commercially and therapeutically distinct materials.

The Two Grades

• Weisstorf (“white peat”) — the upper, young, lightly humified layer. Low von Post grade (roughly H1–H4), plant structure still visible, pale in color. Used mainly for horticulture (growing media, soil amendment) — not therapeutic use.
• Schwarztorf (“black peat”) — the deeper, older, well-humified layer. High von Post grade (H6+), dark brown to black, paste-like, plant structure largely gone. This is the material used in German/Austrian Moorbäder and Heilmoor products — see Heilmoor.

Why This Matters

The white/black distinction is essentially the German commercial vocabulary for the same underlying property the von Post scale measures scientifically (humification degree), but it is worth keeping as its own entry because it is the terminology actually used in German sourcing, labeling, and spa-industry literature — a supplier or product description referring to “Schwarztorf” is making a specific, verifiable quality claim, not just describing peat generically. Confusing the two grades (e.g. marketing horticultural Weisstorf as therapeutic) would be a quality/labeling problem, not a naming quibble.