Another consideration that comes to mind is the sustainability of the practice - presumably, if a farmer plants too many bushes, and harvests them too often to achieve an unrealistic yield, then chemicals are required, and that doesn't lead to long-term sustainability for that region, albeit that it might lead to short-term profits for that farmer.
I recall, I think, Kyarazen or someone posting on their blog something about cliffs in Wuyi being torn-down to sustain the new bushes being grown below them...
Of course, there has to be a balance that's reached, and price is a significant factor. But then, that creates an incentive for people to try to mimic / fake such tea to be able to command such a price in the market...
Andrew
Tasting for Agrochemicals
@Aet Great photos! It's nice to have some insight into agricultural practices. There are so many variables at play, I still wonder how obvious it is to your average palate to reliably detect agrochemicals. But as someone tasting tea directly from farmers, I don't doubt you can.
@Baisao I'm afraid I have zero experience with these types of fertilizers, so it's interesting to read about your experience. I'm by no means anti-agrochemical, but on a small scale, it does seem like organic is more sustainable.
@Ethan Kurland Interesting to read about the pineapples if not slightly funny. Poor farmers, that didn't quite work out to their advantage!
I prefer organic tea because it's very easy for people to get a false sense of security. I would enjoy my tea better if I knew the farmers and workers were not repeatedly exposing themselves to potentially harmful chemicals. Still, it's not a perfect world and I'm not a perfect consumer, so it's just a preference, but I am excited to see more organic options avaliable.
@Baisao I'm afraid I have zero experience with these types of fertilizers, so it's interesting to read about your experience. I'm by no means anti-agrochemical, but on a small scale, it does seem like organic is more sustainable.
@Ethan Kurland Interesting to read about the pineapples if not slightly funny. Poor farmers, that didn't quite work out to their advantage!
I prefer organic tea because it's very easy for people to get a false sense of security. I would enjoy my tea better if I knew the farmers and workers were not repeatedly exposing themselves to potentially harmful chemicals. Still, it's not a perfect world and I'm not a perfect consumer, so it's just a preference, but I am excited to see more organic options avaliable.
I'm finding it rather odd that not anyone has mentioned the achey and scratchy throat that happens with lots of teas. Search for acute pesticide poisoning and it's also one of the symptoms. I do have some allergies, so it may be that I'm much more easily triggered than others. For me it's very clear that some vendors are not picking up on this with the teas that they are selecting/selling (or happily ignoring), whilst some definitely do. Although not blind tests, I've had other people confirm the same reaction with suspected teas. Yeah, I know, power of suggestion is strong. I'm at a point though where I'm trusting my senses with this. I've been sensing this in various teas for years. Any tea that causes these reactions strongly, or mildly on successive sessions with the tea, gets my stamp of pesticide disapproval and I won't touch it again. Given that I can't know for sure these reactions are caused by pesticides, I don't publicly call this out for particular teas.
EDIT: Obviously, a lack of scratchy or achey throat doesn't mean the tea is free of agrochemicals.
EDIT: Obviously, a lack of scratchy or achey throat doesn't mean the tea is free of agrochemicals.
Some people here ( I mean in KM tea market ) would claim that tea has pests if your mouth , lips get dry or even agitated somehow. I kinda "debunked" this claim ( at least on my body reaction ) when drinking certified organic sheng from bushes which was loaded with tannin and probably caffeine same time. I had a persimmon sensation not only during drinking but also after feeling on my lips , especially at the sides
Some people even say , that can sense chemical on tongue ( not the taste but some itch or whatever sense ) or on their body. Like my friend says she has itch skin on hands or whatever body reaction.
I can not confirm that as Im not them , neither ran some blind test with those people. It usually happened that I got some sample from somebody on market and then I'd go to other tea shop who I know and let the other boss brew the tea to see / hear what he/she is going to say. As it's common here , any tea which is not from them , is not good
In fact, few times I brought back to vendor their sample of so claimed Gushu , but I said I got those old woods from one friend.
Every time I got reaction from them : " This is not Gushu "
But this is different topic , sorry for steering away.
Some people even say , that can sense chemical on tongue ( not the taste but some itch or whatever sense ) or on their body. Like my friend says she has itch skin on hands or whatever body reaction.
I can not confirm that as Im not them , neither ran some blind test with those people. It usually happened that I got some sample from somebody on market and then I'd go to other tea shop who I know and let the other boss brew the tea to see / hear what he/she is going to say. As it's common here , any tea which is not from them , is not good
In fact, few times I brought back to vendor their sample of so claimed Gushu , but I said I got those old woods from one friend.
Every time I got reaction from them : " This is not Gushu "
But this is different topic , sorry for steering away.