19 replies to this topic

[Jay Jordan Hawke]

I give up. :(

 

New Studies Reveal That Certain Teas Pose Dangerous Health Risks

 

http://news.yahoo.co...-182638218.html

 

[Mind]

 

and "avoid tea from regions that are more contaminated," like China, India and Sri Lanka, says Gerry Schwarfenberg, MD, of the University of Alberta, Edmonton in Canada, one of the researchers in the 2013 heavy metals study. "Tea from China has high levels of lead and aluminum, likely from contaminated soil due to coal fired power plants."

 

From the article. Like I have long suspected. Almost every agricultural product from China probably has elevated levels of heavy metals. Not necessarily toxic levels, but more than similar products from other parts of the globe.

[aconita]

Tea comes from countries like Sri Lanka where I personally witnessed an alarmingly indiscriminate use of chemicals sprays on tea plantations, I doubt there is a significant heavy metals contamination there unless it comes for those sprays but some concern about chemical contamination is certainly a reality.

 

Even if only the 3 newer leafs are harvested from the tea plant (and we hope it's done not immediately after spraying) the chemicals do have chances to be systemic in the plants and in the soil.

 

I don't think India's plantations are much different and probably Indonesian or Chinese too.

 

I China is quite common practice to drive tractors on top of layers of tea leafs in order to speed up the drying process by the heat coming from the engines, it doesn't seem a very effective way to me and sure enough the exhausts are not going to enhance quality. 

 

Totally off topic but not many are aware that in Sri Lanka what now are tea plantations were once coca plantations as well as in Indonesia, coca in facts grows perfectly where tea does.

 

Tea has never been attempted in South America as a coca alternative crop strangely enough... or at least not that I am aware of.

[Jay Jordan Hawke]

Please don't laugh, but would it matter if the tea were "organic?" Or is "organic" so unregulated as to be meaningless?

[aconita]

In theory in order to be labeled as organic chemicals should be non existent or under very strict low amounts, problem is all tea plantations are in the "third world" which is not very reassuring as far as strictness of control is concerned.

 

If the issue is due to lead and aluminum from air pollution I am doubtful the label "organic" would be of much help.

 

Maybe top teas from China could be reasonably safe since it is likely that those productions are in some way cared for (quality tea in China is a culture as in France or Italy is wine), definitely tea bags are the worst choice.

 

 

[Mind]

So, does anyone have a good source of cleaner tea?

[shp5]

i grow my own Jiaogulan in my sisters garden. easy since its a hardy, fast growing vine that needs practically no care.

Edited by shp5, 18 January 2016 - 06:45 PM.

[aconita]

Jaogulan is a very different plant than Camellia sinensis (tea), if the quality is good it yields a fantastic "tea" which carries its own very interesting health proprieties.

 

If growing it is a possibility don't miss it!

 

Growing tea may be a bit more complicate but still possible in the right clima (since only the newer 3 leafs are harvested many plants are needed even for personal consumption only, while jaogulan leafs are all viable and since it is a vine plants don't need much orizontal space).

 

Jaougulan is grown succesfully in north Thailand as an alternative crop to opium poppies.

 

I know someone grows tea in Switzerland quite succesfully (on a very small non commercial scale).

 

Tea is grown in South Carolina too.

 

https://en.wikipedia...Tea_Plantation 

 

 

[hypnotoad]

Tea is grown in South Carolina too.

 

https://en.wikipedia...Tea_Plantation 

 

Thx for the head's up - I just bought a few boxes from Amazon to try it out.

 

It's not cheap, but the thought of sucking down China's heavy metals year after year isn't too appealing.

 

http://www.amazon.co...M4MT4BGXPVT1PXN

[niner]

Here's a site that has a lot of good information about teas.  Tea concentrates metals from the soil.  The lower, older leaves will have the highest concentration of metals, while the new leaves at the top will be much cleaner.  There's a cost gradient of course.  As you move up the tea plant, the price goes up.   China's a big country, and it surely has both clean and dirty areas.  Japan may be a better bet if you're looking for clean tea.  Good tea isn't cheap. 

[drew_ab]

http://nutritionfact...ination-of-tea/

 

This video may have some additional useful information. 

Edited by tester_no1, 21 February 2016 - 03:55 AM.

[Gerald W. Gaston]

Tea is grown in South Carolina too.

 

https://en.wikipedia...Tea_Plantation 

 

I live in SC and visit Charleston a few times a year... have family there.

I drink the tea but have yet to visit the plantation. I was hoping to make it to the First Flush festival in May this year but it has been cancelled. :(

 

[normalizing]

"avoid tea from regions that are more contaminated," like China, India and Sri Lanka, says Gerry Schwarfenberg, MD

 

so he is saying avoid tea altogether thats where tea is grown *giggle*

Tea comes from countries like Sri Lanka where I personally witnessed an alarmingly indiscriminate use of chemicals sprays on tea plantations, I doubt there is a significant heavy metals contamination there unless it comes for those sprays but some concern about chemical contamination is certainly a reality.

 

Even if only the 3 newer leafs are harvested from the tea plant (and we hope it's done not immediately after spraying) the chemicals do have chances to be systemic in the plants and in the soil.

 

I don't think India's plantations are much different and probably Indonesian or Chinese too.

 

I China is quite common practice to drive tractors on top of layers of tea leafs in order to speed up the drying process by the heat coming from the engines, it doesn't seem a very effective way to me and sure enough the exhausts are not going to enhance quality. 

 

Totally off topic but not many are aware that in Sri Lanka what now are tea plantations were once coca plantations as well as in Indonesia, coca in facts grows perfectly where tea does.

 

Tea has never been attempted in South America as a coca alternative crop strangely enough... or at least not that I am aware of.

 

interesting information. why doesnt south america grow tea? i guess they do, in the form of yerba mate and coca tea and its just not in their culture to drink camellia sinensis
 

[Edogawa Rampo]

About Sri-lanka tea. http://www.ft.lk/art...export-industry

[Adaptogen]

all of the teas tested were in the form of tea bags (as opposed to loose leaf), so there is already a giveaway that they were testing lower quality teas. Sticking to higher quality teas, and teas made from younger leaves (white teas, early harvest green teas) seems to significantly reduce the level of contamination.  see relevant thread and post: http://www.longecity...ndpost&p=674350

I prefer japanese teas for a number of reasons. They are less likely to be contaminated with pollution and heavy metals, have lower levels of fluoride than chinese teas (due to a lower of fluoride in japanese soil), and I generally find japanese green teas to be fresher tasting and of superior quality. There is really no reason to drink chinese green tea when there is so much great green tea coming from japan. in contrast, black, oolong, white, and pu-erh teas are much less abundant in japan and will originate almost exclusively from other countries.

It's pretty easy to find good quality japanese sencha (high egcg) online for a reasonable price (~$10-15 per 100 grams), via o-cha, ebay sellers, ryu-mei, yunomi, etc

[aconita]

Since I personally witnessed tea production in Sri Lanka I give my two cents.

 

Speaking about "normal" black tea or what is the 99% production in that country.

 

Only the 3 newest leafs are hand harvested (or at least that is what is claimed to be), the leafs are spread in "channels" with mesh bottoms and fans blow air for drying, only a partial drying is obtained, than the leafs are left to ferment before being oven full dried.

 

The full dried leafs are grind in wooden mills with brass "ridges", the obtained powder is placed on a system of vibrating sieves consisting in 7 (if I recall properly) different mesh size screens one on top of the other.

 

Of course for every sieve a different size powder is obtained, stems for example are less finely reduced to powder than leafs.

 

The coarser the higher the quality, the coarser are packaged and sold as they are, the finer are for tea bags only, mixing in appropriate proportions of the different sizes powders leads to different tea quality (especially tea bags).

 

It is easy to understand that in such a process contamination from chemical sprays or contaminated soil has probably little to do with quality since the same leaf yields several different teas quality, we may debate if contaminants accumulates more in the stems or in the "soft" part of the leaf but I am not sure how it would make practical differences.

 

I suppose this is the same process in use worldwide for black tea, green, white and other "special" teas are a different story, of course.

[maxwatt]

Fujian province in China produces some uncontaminated green teas in the western mountains of the province.  There has been little industrial development there.

Lead from coal plants is not so much of a problem as mercury, which contaminates the soil downwind from the plant for several miles.  Hunan province heavy industries concentrated on producing non-ferrous metals, and this has contaminated much of the soil in that province, between 5% and 25%, estimates vary.  Yet in the mountains bordering the province to the north and west. there are still some uncontaminated area.  The problem is knowing what you are buying.  Teavanna's "Monkey Picked " and "Iron Goddess of Mercy" Oolong teas tested as heavily contaminated with pesticides (according to "The Food Babe", a blog and food review by an Indian-American woman.... East Indian, not native American).  It is extremely difficult to get organic certification from the government there, and if the designation is not bogus, you have only heavy metals to worry about.

 

 In China, they rinse their tea leaves with the hot water for a few moments pouring it off before brewing their tea.  Whether this is due to a possibly mistaken belief this removes all the pesticides, or reduces the caffeine content, if it is a recent innovation or a modern adaptation I don't know.  With Pu Er tea, I have seen a tea master throw away the first infusion before brewing four more,each more interesting than the last.  He said beyond that it was no longer good.  But a Tang dynasty poet wrote of the pleasures of Pu Er tea, describing the sensations of each of seven infusions.  Maybe they had better tea then.

 

My sister-in-law, born and raised in Taiwan, never rinses the leaves when making tea, so I suspect this practice is a modern Chinese innovation.  Taiwan teas are not polluted from heavy industry, organically certified are available, and pesticide use is less casual than in the other China.  Maybe a good source.

[normalizing]

so its india, china, indonesia and japan the biggest producers of tea right? anyone has info on indonesian and japanese tea quality compared to indian and chinese? so far chinese and indian varieties come out bad.

[Brock]

Other than strange and unusual teas that have not been observed properly, I would be more concerned with what country the tea is grown in avoiding dense industrialized areas. There was a study reported to show that black tea coming from China had lead levels higher than the CDC'c acceptable amount and that drinking more than 3 cups a day would technically lead to lead poisoning. It might be best to stick to a theanine supplement or source your tea from japan which was found to be safe even over 15 cups. 

 

Some more info here: http://nutritionfact...nation-of-tea/ 

Edited by Brock, 11 May 2016 - 12:21 AM.

[bosharpe]

Does any one here drink the White tea from Clipper, and know if it's reputable? It's grown in the Fujian Province in South East China

Edited by bosharpe, 16 May 2016 - 09:29 AM.