Pesticides: Are Chinese and Indian teas safe to drink?

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nasalfrog
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:34 pm

Baisao wrote:
Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:54 pm
nasalfrog wrote:
Tue Feb 18, 2020 10:50 pm
Something to maybe settle or ignite more fear...
It does neither because it’s irrelevant to the discussion about tea and distracts from the discussion about adulterated tea.

Sure, I am more likely to die in a car crash commuting home than drinking tea, but we’re not discussing the hazards of driving.
I was merely trying to frame the OP’s & Vanebw’s concerns so they could enjoy their hobby. Sheesh... you are putting out a lot of fear here and that’s healthy for no one. I’m outta this thread after this reply.

I am sorry to hear about your friends in the industry becoming sick. Ultimately I’m more concerned about the health of the workers and farmers, for they are the ones who are more likely to be harmed by pesticide use, legal or not. I support organics for this reason.
Last edited by nasalfrog on Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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doomslayer
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:09 pm

Just want to say huge thanks to everyone posting in this thread - it has been very informative! I'll definitely not abandon tea lol but will probably reduce my consumption - will drink herbal "tea" at work and reserve real tea for being a weekend treat. It's probably for the best anyway - our city is pretty famous for coffee which I consume daily in addition to tea and I think the way things are now, caffeine will get me before pesticides do :D (and, yes, I do know the irony of this sentence).
Vanenbw
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:26 pm

Bok wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:05 pm
Vanenbw wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:01 pm
Some scary stuff. I wonder if ignorance really is bliss.
All things considered, everyday staples are probably more concerning: Meat, dairy, vegetables, anything sweet and/or processed. I'd worry more about my daily bread and butter than tea...
You may be right. And that I do.
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Bok
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:28 pm

@doomslayer drink less, but drink better!
swordofmytriumph
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 2:21 am

Vanenbw wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:01 pm
I wonder if ignorance really is bliss.
That's my take on this. At the end of the day, you are giving your trust to someone--farmer, vendor, organic test, it doesn't matter. We can learn more about the farmers and the vendors to make an educated guess but that's all. Honestly, I don't have the emotional capacity to be indulge concerns about this kinda stuff, I tend to get overly concerned about everything hypochondriac-style. For me, it's just better to not worry about it. Besides, if I go down that rabbit hole, I could apply the same thinking to all the food I eat, and I don't have time for that. But that's just me.
Vanenbw
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 11:48 am

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 2:21 am
Vanenbw wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:01 pm
I wonder if ignorance really is bliss.
That's my take on this. At the end of the day, you are giving your trust to someone--farmer, vendor, organic test, it doesn't matter. We can learn more about the farmers and the vendors to make an educated guess but that's all. Honestly, I don't have the emotional capacity to be indulge concerns about this kinda stuff, I tend to get overly concerned about everything hypochondriac-style. For me, it's just better to not worry about it. Besides, if I go down that rabbit hole, I could apply the same thinking to all the food I eat, and I don't have time for that. But that's just me.
I hear you. I'm kind of the same way with things like this. But I don't want to completely turn the other cheek and pretend nothing is happening, and then one day I'm sick from all the contaminated foods (and teas) I've ingested. But I don't want to become so rigid in my thinking, either, that I cannot enjoy anything. I'm starting to educate myself and learn more about organic certifications and pesticides used in the production of tea leaves. But at some point, I need to be able to put my trust in someone, otherwise, I am incapacitated. I'm feeling pretty good, so far, about Yunnan Sourcing's organic certifications. I emailed Scott for some additional information.

For Japanese greens, I'm feeling comfortable with O-cha.com. There are others, but I seem to be ordering most of my tea from O-cha lately. What else can I do, save for not drinking tea, or growing my own (and I'm not going to allow either to happen)?
vuanguyen
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Location: San Jose, California

Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:22 am

To decrease my anxiety about pesticide, I mainly drink teas from the following sources:

1) Taiwanese Oolong style teas from New Zealand
https://zealong.com/

2) Green teas (pan fry) from Big Island Hawaii
https://maunakeatea.com/

3) Puer teas from Hojo
Unlike the top 2 choices listed above, there is no organic certification here though...just his claim about "natural tea" garden
https://hojotea.com/en/posts-111/

4) and sometime if I crave for organic Japanese green teas (steam), I will order from O-cha.com and Yuuki-cha.com
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doomslayer
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Thu Mar 05, 2020 3:52 pm

Wow, I had no idea these places produced teas. Doesn't tea require tropical climate? Where in New Zealand do they have that?
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pizzapotamus
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Thu Mar 05, 2020 5:31 pm

Vanenbw wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:48 pm
Slurp Thank you for the last several posts on the links. I will return later to visit the links. I'm very interested in this subject.

No doubt there is a lot of controversy over the subject, but I still feel pretty strongly about erring on the side of caution and choosing organics, unless I know for sure a vendor is not using pesticides. But I agree with what you said about it coming down to a matter of trust. Should I trust the farmer telling the vendor they do not use pesticides, and/or the vendor telling me the farmer does not use it? What's my alternative? Deciding not to drink tea anymore (conventional or organic) because I'm not sure who to trust? I don't know if I can trust the USDA organic label either, which is on most of the produce I buy.

I should spend some time educating myself in this area. I think it's pretty important.
You do know organic farming can still use pesticide? It just has to be "naturally" derived and just like there's plenty in nature that's toxic to bugs there's plenty that is hardly good for our health either.
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Bok
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Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:28 pm

vuanguyen wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:22 am
To decrease my anxiety about pesticide, I mainly drink teas from the following sources:

1) Taiwanese Oolong style teas from New Zealand
https://zealong.com/

2) Green teas (pan fry) from Big Island Hawaii
https://maunakeatea.com/

3) Puer teas from Hojo
Unlike the top 2 choices listed above, there is no organic certification here though...just his claim about "natural tea" garden
https://hojotea.com/en/posts-111/

4) and sometime if I crave for organic Japanese green teas (steam), I will order from O-cha.com and Yuuki-cha.com
Anxiety aside, that’s a good way of depriving yourself from the best tea growing areas and pay more for a lot less tasty teas, e.g. Hawaii NZ... I’ve had those New Zealand Oolongs and they are very expensive for how flat tasting they are.
vuanguyen
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Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:19 am

doomslayer wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 3:52 pm
Wow, I had no idea these places produced teas. Doesn't tea require tropical climate? Where in New Zealand do they have that?
One of the best green tea from cold weather non tropical place is grown in Korea. I love the Organic Sejak from Arbor tea. It's cheap but clean and very tasty. Give it a try. It's one of those tea where it does not have to be expensive to be good and organic.

https://www.arborteas.com/organic-korea ... n-tea.html


South of where you live, in the non tropical state of Oregon, you can find organic teas too. However, I have not tasted their teas so I cannot comment on their quality.

https://mintoislandtea.com/
Last edited by vuanguyen on Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
vuanguyen
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Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:33 am

pizzapotamus wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 5:31 pm
Vanenbw wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:48 pm
Slurp Thank you for the last several posts on the links. I will return later to visit the links. I'm very interested in this subject.

No doubt there is a lot of controversy over the subject, but I still feel pretty strongly about erring on the side of caution and choosing organics, unless I know for sure a vendor is not using pesticides. But I agree with what you said about it coming down to a matter of trust. Should I trust the farmer telling the vendor they do not use pesticides, and/or the vendor telling me the farmer does not use it? What's my alternative? Deciding not to drink tea anymore (conventional or organic) because I'm not sure who to trust? I don't know if I can trust the USDA organic label either, which is on most of the produce I buy.

I should spend some time educating myself in this area. I think it's pretty important.
You do know organic farming can still use pesticide? It just has to be "naturally" derived and just like there's plenty in nature that's toxic to bugs there's plenty that is hardly good for our health either.

You are 100% correct sir! I live in San Jose, California and I have a very tiny tea garden in my back yard (not many people know you can grow teas in California). Every Spring, I have an aphids problem eating up all my young tea buds. The best organic way to fix this problem is spraying the young leaves everyday with high pressure water. However, this is very time consuming and impractical because you have to spray under the leaves of every leaves! I sometimes have to spray them with a mixture of Neem oil and Dr. Bronner's organic soap. Can I say that it's 100% safe to consume neem oil and organic soap? I cannot.

So maybe the safest teas to drink are from teas that grow wild. By natural selection, they thrive in their environment because they are resistant to the native pests. So perhaps Hojo's "natural garden" teas are a good bet if he is truthful with his claim.
Last edited by vuanguyen on Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
vuanguyen
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Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:46 am

Bok wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:28 pm
vuanguyen wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:22 am
To decrease my anxiety about pesticide, I mainly drink teas from the following sources:

1) Taiwanese Oolong style teas from New Zealand
https://zealong.com/

2) Green teas (pan fry) from Big Island Hawaii
https://maunakeatea.com/

3) Puer teas from Hojo
Unlike the top 2 choices listed above, there is no organic certification here though...just his claim about "natural tea" garden
https://hojotea.com/en/posts-111/

4) and sometime if I crave for organic Japanese green teas (steam), I will order from O-cha.com and Yuuki-cha.com
Anxiety aside, that’s a good way of depriving yourself from the best tea growing areas and pay more for a lot less tasty teas, e.g. Hawaii NZ... I’ve had those New Zealand Oolongs and they are very expensive for how flat tasting they are.
The taste of tea is so subjective sir. I found the green tea (Lu Cha) and pure oolong teas from Zealong very good. At approximately 45 cents per gm, I do not think that it's outrageous. You can also buy small 50gm bag at $21 with free shipping on Amazon.com. If you buy at their website, it's better to buy in large quantity because of the shipping fee from New Zealand.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=zealong+tea& ... b_ss_i_1_7

As for the green tea in Big Island, it is indeed expensive at slightly above $1 per gm. However, I do find the tea quite exquisite and worth the price.

https://maunakeatea.com/product/organic ... rst-flush/


If you have any good recommendation, please share. Good teas should be shared and enjoyed by everyone.
Last edited by vuanguyen on Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:18 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Victoria
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Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:09 am

vuanguyen wrote:
Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:46 am
As for the green tea in Big Island, it is indeed expensive at slightly above $1 per gm. However, I do find the tea quite exquisite and worth the price.
https://maunakeatea.com/product/organic ... rst-flush/
I'm just a newbie on this forum, you don't have to believe me :)
......Good teas should be shared and enjoyed by everyone.
Welcome to TeaForum. I have heard many good things about Mauna Kea Tea as well, from a student of TeaForum member @KyaraZen, and read a few articles about the organic tea garden and it’s rich volcanic soil. I’d be curious to try their teas one day.
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doomslayer
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Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:04 am

vuanguyen wrote:
Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:19 am
One of the best green tea from cold weather non tropical place is grown in Korea. I love the Organic Sejak from Arbor tea. It's cheap but clean and very tasty. Give it a try. It's one of those tea where it does not have to be expensive to be good and organic.

https://www.arborteas.com/organic-korea ... n-tea.html


South of where you live, in the non tropical state of Oregon, you can find organic teas too. However, I have not tasted their teas so I cannot comment on their quality.

https://mintoislandtea.com/
Wow, tea from Oregon! I'll need to see it to believe it - when things normalize, we'll go on a road trip there! :D

As for South Korean tea - I am quite familiar with it, although in an unusual way. My wife is Korean and whenever family visits, I am getting tea presents. I had greens and reds and they were all really good, but I wouldn't be able to send you a link or anything because I have no idea what exactly I was having :D That being said, while I don't have tea-related anecdotes, my wife's parents have a small farm in the mountains. Next to them there is some organic food producer that is a known local joke because they advertise their produce as organic, while locals have a good wide view at how organic it exactly is.

All and all for me Korean teas fall in the same category as Taiwanese, Japanese, etc - I absolutely trust them a magnitude more than I trust China (and pesticides is just half of the concern, I am also worried how polluted those tea producing regions in China are). While at the same time, things could definitely be better. We also had to cancel family visit this year because both them there and us here in Seattle are in zombie apocalypse mode right now so I don't know when I am going to restock my green teas.
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