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Alex[_3_] Alex[_3_] is offline
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Default worried about pesticides in tea?

On Sep 18, 10:37 am, niisonge > wrote:
> > If this worries you, drink tea from Taiwan instead.

>
> Drink tea from Taiwan instead? It's got to be just as polluted as the
> stuff from the Mainland. You can see Taiwan from Xiamen. It's just a
> stone's throw away. Same in Fuzhou. Remember, pollution knows no
> boundaries. What and drift in on the wind, can go anywhere. Just
> because it's from Taiwan doesn't necessarily mean it will be better.


You can see Taiwan from Xiamen? Really? I've spent some time in
Xiamen, and I could see Jinmen, which is administered by Taiwan and
produces really good cutlery but no tea. You'd have to have really
good eyes to see Taiwan, because it's about 130 miles away. The
closest point to Taiwan, which I believe is the Gaoshan area near
Fuzhou, is about 80 miles. I know this because once upon a time I had
a crazy English friend who was planning to fly his ultralight to the
Mainland. He never did. Anyway.

In any case, I think we are talking about tea that has had pesticides
directly applied to them, and while I have not looked, I don't think
that would be hard in Taiwan. I guess I am just about 100% with
Mydnight on this point. For one thing, if something says "certified"
in Taiwan, it is much more likely to be true, and for another, I have
had teas from Taiwan (OB and Stephane Erler's guifei cha, for
instance) that were clearly chewed by insects, and I think that means
no pesticides. It is a very polluted country, sure, but in my mind
there is no question that its tea fields, many of them located very
far from any other human habitation, are less polluted than oolong
fields in Fujian.

Another point on which my mind brokes no questioning (Mydnight, this
is for you) is the natural source of the naixiang taste. The jinxuan
varietal of oolong produces this taste naturally. It is attested in
the scientific literature (of which I have read quotes in Chi
Zongxian's books) and the taste lasts through many steeps, which to me
means it is highly unlikely that it comes from something sprinkled or
sprayed on the leaves.

Alex