# My Chinese Tea Experiment



## Xue Sheng (Feb 15, 2014)

A few months back I read the "Pesticides: Hidden Ingredients in Chinese Tea" report from Green Peace. 

I have lots of Chinese tea purchased in China because I drink lots of tea, But after the report I decided to switch to organic tea for a while and see what happened, if anything. 

Well, I noticed that before if I drank too much tea, or at least what I perceived as too much tea and the as the only link I could find, I would get a sore in my mouth. 

I switched to organic tea and that does not happen at all...interesting... now I have to get rid of all my Chinese tea..... and I'm not happy about it :disgust:


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## seasoned (Feb 15, 2014)

You would be surprised that not only tea but everything we eat is the same way. The government is allowing by proxy, that we all get poisoned slowly, while our health care costs keep going up....


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 15, 2014)

I've been migrating to organic teas.  Numi, Rishi and a few others.  A little more $$ but worth it I think.


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## K-man (Feb 15, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> A few months back I read the "Pesticides: Hidden Ingredients in Chinese Tea" report from Green Peace.
> 
> I have lots of Chinese tea purchased in China because I drink lots of tea, But after the report I decided to switch to organic tea for a while and see what happened, if anything.
> 
> ...


Not sure that Greenpeace got it right.



> Here is what Nigel Melican, one of the leading tea experts in the international tea industry, had to say on Linkedin in case you missed it.
> 
> 
> &#8220;(i) Pesticides traces are universal in food &#8211; no tea in the world can have absolutely totally zero pesticides &#8211; nor can or does an organic apple or carrot. Consequently Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) are set by importing countries. Presence of a chemical below the maximum safe level is accepted &#8211; but Greenpeace (through ignorance or ingenuousness) ignores this and rants against &#8220;drinking toxic pesticides in their tea&#8221; while naming and shaming some tea companies with well below MRL levels &#8211; no libel laws in China?
> ...


:asian:


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## granfire (Feb 15, 2014)

you need to do some more research...Green Peace has gone off the deep end a few decades back...


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 15, 2014)

http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/10/26/whats-in-your-mug-the-toxic-truth-about-tea/

take with grain of salt.  Some research was "done" by a company that makes money on stock trading.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Feb 15, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> I would get a sore in my mouth.


I never have such problem. The only tea that I'm drinking today are:

http://www.tenren.com/supo.html

or

http://www.tenren.com/pouc1stgrad.html


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## Brian R. VanCise (Feb 16, 2014)

On a different take a while back I was in San Francisco and Chinatown in particular.  We went to a Tea Store and tasted a variety and then bought some.  Came back home and had that tea for a month or so about once a day or every other day.  It was fantastic!!!  Absolutely some of the best tea I have ever had.  I will say that with the price we paid I believe it probably was organic.  Simply amazing tea.  There website is here: www.aromateashop.com 

Personally I like the Supreme Goldan Monkey black tea!


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 16, 2014)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> On a different take a while back I was in San Francisco and Chinatown in particular.  We went to a Tea Store and tasted a variety and then bought some.  Came back home and had that tea for a month or so about once a day or every other day.  It was fantastic!!!  Absolutely some of the best tea I have ever had.  I will say that with the price we paid I believe it probably was organic.  Simply amazing tea.  There website is here: www.aromateashop.com
> 
> Personally I like the Supreme Goldan Monkey black tea!



That is what I find most annoying. I have some GREAT tea from Beijing (Ti Kuan Yin, Jasmine Tea, pu erh) and at least 2 of those come from the companies listed.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Feb 16, 2014)

I don't know but I am not giving up my great tea.  Not happening!


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## Transk53 (Feb 17, 2014)

Reading all the above, do I, or should I, give up coffee and drink tea instead?


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 17, 2014)

Drink both.  Both have health properties.


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## granfire (Feb 17, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> That is what I find most annoying. I have some GREAT tea from Beijing (Ti Kuan Yin, Jasmine Tea, pu erh) and at least 2 of those come from the companies listed.



If you are really that concerned, could you have some tested for your own piece of mind?


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 17, 2014)

between the report and knowing what I know about food stuff in Beijing based on what family there are saying, it is best to just toss it and buy organic... and hope that it actually is organic.


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## oaktree (Feb 17, 2014)

I perfer japanese green tea.
 Chinese green tea just doesn't have the same quality.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Feb 17, 2014)

oaktree said:


> I perfer japanese green tea. Chinese green tea just doesn't have the same quality.


I have to disagree with you on this. This "Superfine Pouchong" which cost $196 a lb is an excellent tea that no Japanese tea that I know will be able to match it. The nice thing about this tea is you can eat it after you drink it.

http://www.tenren.com/supo.html


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## oaktree (Feb 17, 2014)

that comes to be about $12 an oz plenty
Of teas at that price.
$12 an oz about mid grade. To each their own tea and wine are all about the person's palete


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## crushing (Feb 17, 2014)

My Chinese tea experiment consisted of combining lapshang souchong tea with some rooibos tea and adding the infusion to a homebrewed Ahtanum hoppedIndia Pale ale at bottling.  No mouth sores from this.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Feb 17, 2014)

oaktree said:


> that comes to be about $12 an oz plenty
> Of teas at that price.
> $12 an oz about mid grade. To each their own tea and wine are all about the person's palete


I can't taste any difference between Johnnie Walker black vs. Johnnie Walker red. I can't even taste any difference between Johnnie Walker blue vs. Johnnie Walker red. But I can taste the difference between a good tea from a not so good tea.


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## oaktree (Feb 17, 2014)

Black label more oak and smoke less
Smoke and intese then double black,
Red a less harsh version used mostly for
Mixes about 5 year scotch.
Gold label 18 years mellow. Blue supposedly 20 and up blend smooth however some 
Perfer gold. Platinum label the gold version for
Uk market most prefer the gold.
Walker wants to get rid of the gold and green
But keep platinum and gold reserve.
Again in scotch depends on the person and palete.
And the single malt guys
Are in a league of their own!


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 19, 2014)

Do You Know What&#8217;s Really In Your Tea?



> The ancient Chinese tradition of drinking tea dates back thousand of years to the early Chinese dynasties and aristocrats who drank the beverage for its medicinal properties. In ancient times, leaves from the Camellia Sinensis (the tea plant) were either ground into a powder or placed as loose leaves directly into water to infuse it with herbal essence. Unfortunately, modern day tea is nothing like the unadulterated version of old tea. Many of today&#8217;s tea brands are operating under the guise of providing health benefits and promoting clean living, but are actually laden with pesticides, toxins, artificial ingredients, added flavors and GMOs.


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## granfire (Feb 19, 2014)

every time I glance at statements that include 'GMO' I am automatically weary....I think I left my Birkenstocks behind too long ago....


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 19, 2014)

granfire said:


> every time I glance at statements that include 'GMO' I am automatically weary....I think I left my Birkenstocks behind too long ago....



What about pesticides....those are in there too


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## granfire (Feb 19, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> What about pesticides....those are in there too



In this context I would prefer to see lab results from a reputable source.
There is a lot of half truth and misinformation out that is slow to die. (Rodale still proclaims that pressure treated wood seeps arsenic into the soil when its been removed from the treatment process over 15 years ago.)

I'm a skeptic. 
I understand China is where the West was in the 60s...but the modern stuff is expensive and - at least in the West - hardly overused....

Again...China has a different learning curve....


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 19, 2014)

> https://glaucusresearch.com/wp-cont...nc-NasdaqHAIN-Strong_Sell_Febuary_21_2013.pdf
> 
> 
> It is not real clear to me, It seems that different amounts of residues  are allowed on different foods and I can not find one for herbal teas.  The report doesn't even say what they are comparing them to.
> ...


https://www.metabunk.org/threads/celestial-seasoning-teas-have-a-high-amount-of-pesticide.1933/



> Unilever&#8217;s Lipton Tea in China has unsafe levels of pesticide residue, according to a report by Greenpeace. The environmental advocacy group randomly bought boxes of Lipton from  different Beijing stores and had them tested in an independent  laboratory. The tests found all the samples &#8220;contained pesticides that  exceeded the EU's maximum levels of residue&#8221;, while most of them  contained &#8220;pesticides unapproved by the EU," the group said, including  Bifenthrin, which could negatively affect male hormone production, Reuters reports.
> 
> Read more:  http://www.businessinsider.com/lipton-china-tea-pesticides-2012-4#ixzz2top3FNzn
> ​




Actually, just go here: http://ratetea.com/


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## granfire (Feb 20, 2014)

Just got another of the OMG THAT IS IN YOUR FOOD kind of feeds on MSN...I glanced up to the top corner and, yup, Rodale...that publishing company takes 'organic' and granola to new lows of heights....totally off the rocker (and I am afraid Green Peace has jumped the shark a couple of decades ago as well)


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## hunyuan24 (Feb 20, 2014)

oaktree said:


> I perfer japanese green tea.
> Chinese green tea just doesn't have the same quality.



I liked Japanese green tea too.

But after the Fukushima radiation leak, I ran out to the Costco store and bought all the Japanese green tea I can find.  Now I no longer buy tea grown in Japan :-([h=3][/h]


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 20, 2014)

granfire said:


> In this context I would prefer to see lab results from a reputable source.
> There is a lot of half truth and misinformation out that is slow to die. (Rodale still proclaims that pressure treated wood seeps arsenic into the soil when its been removed from the treatment process over 15 years ago.)
> 
> I'm a skeptic.
> ...



did you read the Do You Know Whats Really In Your Tea?

It is also discussed the tea bags the tea is in and the science behind the problem with some materials, that was not a green peace article

And I do not understand the "China has a different learning curve" bit.

The tea growers in the countryside are not directly regulated and they use whatever is available or cheapest and some of what they are using is illegal to use in China for food production. But contrary to popular beleicf the Chinese government does not watch everything its people do. It tends to work on a "if you don't make us see it we will not do anything" basis


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## granfire (Feb 20, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> did you read the Do You Know What&#8217;s Really In Your Tea?
> 
> It is also discussed the tea bags the tea is in and the science behind the problem with some materials, that was not a green peace article
> 
> ...



by in large China is doing the same things the West did in the 60s and 70s - and has yet to pay the tab for, smog, pollution, pesticides. if the chemicals would not be available, they would not be used. If things would be regulated and people educated, things like lead in baby toys would not happen (although, there are people who just don't give a damn, regardless of nationality)

And please, I think the US is about 20-30 years behind in ecological thinking...
(and I always believed teabags to be crap, but I use them because there is nothing else, except Lipton's loose tea...nope, not getting that)


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 20, 2014)

You drink your tea and I'll drink mine and lets leave it at that



granfire said:


> by in large China is doing the same things the West did in the 60s and 70s - and has yet to pay the tab for, smog, pollution, pesticides. if the chemicals would not be available, they would not be used. If things would be regulated and people educated, things like lead in baby toys would not happen (although, there are people who just don't give a damn, regardless of nationality)



It is a bit more complicated than that, first China is not the west and for that matter does not want to be and it can't understand why the west cares what it does inside its borders. As to China being like us in the 60s and 79s, I would place it more towards the  20 to 40s as far as industrial pollution goes and the presence of robber barons.

The chemicals are available, like chemicals are here, for various uses, they just choose to use what is immediately available and cheapest and that means it may be a chemical that should not be used on food or for that matter around breathing humans. Regulations exist but they tend to be enforce only when Beijing is forced to act, and at times depending on how much of a bribe you can give the local officials, Beijing may never hear about it at all. 

 In some cases, particularly the at the industrial level, they are educated and they do know but you then run smack into "they don't care as long as they can make money". This is where the Chinese government needs to focus and regulate and they do regulate, when it becomes an issue so big they cannot ignore it, that or someone is crazy enough to say "Hey Beijing, look what I'm doing" (and it has happened). It is at that point they act and generally not before and it tends to be extreme in response. 

But with that said Beijing does claim that it is looking at environmental cleanup of China but the place is so bloody huge and parts are rather isolated by our standards I do not think they have any idea where to begin. 

But this is way off the topic of tea and the stuff of another post I have no plan to make


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## granfire (Feb 20, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> You drink your tea and I'll drink mine and lets leave it at that
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Exactly.
But I am sure if thy cared (understood) enough, I don't think they could be stopped....
after all, rumor are abound that they are big in selling kidneys from prisoners....:EG:
(I know, cynical)
But as much as they stole from the west via espionage....the damages done eluded them....hmm


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 20, 2014)

granfire said:


> Exactly.
> But I am sure if thy cared (understood) enough, I don't think they could be stopped....
> after all, rumor are abound that they are big in selling kidneys from prisoners....:EG:
> (I know, cynical)
> But as much as they stole from the west via espionage....the damages done eluded them....hmm



Thing about China that most do not think about when they read the news from China in the main stream media (selling kidneys from prisoners) the Chinese government has a pretty good grip on the mainstream media so they have to let these stories out. It is then one should ask "why did they let this out?" and at times these are let out (some real some fake) as distractions so we fail to notice what it going on elsewhere in China.


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## granfire (Feb 20, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> Thing about China that most do not think about when they read the news from China in the main stream media (selling kidneys from prisoners) the Chinese government has a pretty good grip on the mainstream media so they have to let these stories out. It is then one should ask "why did they let this out?" and at times these are let out (some real some fake) as distractions so we fail to notice what it going on elsewhere in China.



It's not like the US news actually cared....

regardless....
I suppose tea from China, you have probably a different chance of contamination that imported and tested to importer specs....


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 20, 2014)

Shame we can't grow our own.


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## granfire (Feb 20, 2014)

Bob Hubbard said:


> Shame we can't grow our own.



A while back I read an article in my local paper about a small tea plantation in my Bama hometown. It makes sense: The Carmelia, the state flower is of the same genus as tea....
Not sure how I could obtain some bushes though....maybe Xue can bring me some next time he visits family?


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 20, 2014)

http://coffeetea.about.com/od/preparation/a/growingtea.htm


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## granfire (Feb 20, 2014)

Bob Hubbard said:


> http://coffeetea.about.com/od/preparation/a/growingtea.htm





There I go!


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 21, 2014)

Bob Hubbard said:


> http://coffeetea.about.com/od/preparation/a/growingtea.htm



If I dood it I gets a whippen'....I dood it 

That is the first time I have ever seen a reason to endure the heat to live in Texas or Florida


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 21, 2014)

I may try this when I head South in a few years.  Though trying the greenhouse method or grow house in my basement might work too.  If you hear of a Buffalo house raided by a swat team with a grow operation in the basement, and see my name, it's just tea.  Really.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 21, 2014)

You do realize that Tea is slang for the...ummm...other thing :uhyeah:


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## Bob Hubbard (Feb 21, 2014)




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