Tea (rec.drink.tea) Discussion relating to tea, the world's second most consumed beverage (after water), made by infusing or boiling the leaves of the tea plant (C. sinensis or close relatives) in water.

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Mydnight
 
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Default The importance of water.

After reading the thread about the reverse osmosis in Toronto, I felt
compelled to share some of my recent experiences regarding water
quality. During one of my recent travels to my friend's hometown of
Xinfeng in Northern Guangdong province, I was visiting one of the local
swimming spots when I saw some children drinking water from a small
dribble coming from one of the rocks on the mountain. The swimming
area is a small series of waterfalls rushing down the side of a
mountain in such a way that it creates small, relatively deep, fresh
pools of water that you can swim, dive, or relax in. We climbed up to
the top of the rocks where the children were, and they said it was a
natural spring and it's safe to drink the water there. Upon further
investigation, by no means scientific, we found the water to be clear,
clean, a little sweet, and very cold. The next day, we returned with
many empty bottles of the local "spring" water and filled them directly
from the source of the spring. It was very interesting to note that
after you filled a bottle, the outside of the bottle had the appearance
that you just took it out of the refrigerator; it was so cold and had
condensation.

The tea we had available to test the water was some Autumn 04 mid grade
Tie Guan Yin, high grade A Li Shan Chu Lu, and some shu-sheng 70/30 mix
pu'er from a newer factory that opened in 1999; decent stuff. The
water that we had beforehand was also pretty good; though, only tap
water, Xinfeng's water source comes from an unpolluted reservoir and
tastes like well water. When we finally got to brewing the tea (gongfu
style), the first and most noticable aspect was the tea xiang wei
(smell) that eminated from gaiwan. The scent was as was as if it was
top grade, first pick. The Tie Guan Yin was as sweet as it was in the
Autumn of last year, with full flavored freshness and excellent hui gan
and kou gan. With the other teas, it was the same: It was the water
that resurrected the slightly old tea.

The moral of the story, I suppose, would be find the best quality water
that you can possibly find; tap water simply WILL NOT do. Also, go
climbing mountains to find water if you can!

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Space Cowboy
 
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Our mountain first aid stations are full of people with fake heart
attacks because of high altitude sickness and lifelong attacks of
Giardi symtoms because they didn't boil the pure mountain spring water
polluted with parasites and germs by the creator of intelligent design.


Jim

Mydnight wrote:
> The moral of the story, I suppose, would be find the best quality water
> that you can possibly find; tap water simply WILL NOT do. Also, go
> climbing mountains to find water if you can!


  #3 (permalink)   Report Post  
Mydnight
 
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I'm alive and kicking, thanks.

  #4 (permalink)   Report Post  
Alex Szmajda
 
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And of course, he had to boil the water if he wanted to make tea.

  #5 (permalink)   Report Post  
Space Cowboy
 
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That is Giardia. It makes the Montezuma Revenge look like
constipation. When you get it you'll be alive and kicking in the ER
room from stomach cramps. It is an untreatable bug that lives with the
bacteria in your stomach till you eat something it doesn't like.
Mountain water districts know this which is why they have high levels
of chlorine like Aspen and Vail.

Jim

Mydnight wrote:
> I'm alive and kicking, thanks.




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Mydnight
 
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>When you get it

The water was boiled when I made the tea...common sense would tell you
that.

Why do you assume that this strain of bacteria native to the USA, or
where ever you are, exists in a remote Chinese village? The local
people of this village are known around the province for their
longevity, and from what my friend's relatives told me, their water is
highly sought after. There are many natural springs around this area
and natural hotsprings as well due to volcanic activity.

There have been 0 cases of whatever ailment you described above in
their small hospital's records to date, just to let you know.

And, I guess you're just jealous of my water; you've probably never
tasted tea this good before. Enjoy your reverse osmosis.

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Space Cowboy
 
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My water comes from an aquifer charged over the last 70 million years.
It just comes up through the well out of the faucet at a prechilled
constant year round 60F. There is some mineral buildup on the kettle
and the glass teapot needs cleaning about once a month. There is a
harmless bacteria that lives in the pressure tank I'm suppose to treat
with chlorine once a year but I don't. You only notice it on the
hottest days when the water warms to room temperature in the lines.

Jim

Mydnight wrote:
>
> And, I guess you're just jealous of my water; you've probably never
> tasted tea this good before. Enjoy your reverse osmosis.


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Mydnight
 
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We don't have any mineral buildup whatsoever; not in the kettle or in
the rest of our tea stuff. I do remember when I was in the US for a
bit, and my brother bought an automatic water boiler from Wal-mart. It
took only about 2 weeks for the inside of the pot to be coated with
some sort of white, calicum like substance from using "spring" water
that I bought in the supermarket. If you can get that much gunk from
supposedly natural (processed) water, I couldn't imagine how fast it
would take using tap water.

My normal water comes from my water machine; you know, one of those
deals that you can get the 5 gallon jugs. In China, it's the best way
for water consumption. I'm using Danoe "Health" spring water, and it
yields a pretty good brew.

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Scott Dorsey
 
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Space Cowboy > wrote:
>That is Giardia. It makes the Montezuma Revenge look like
>constipation. When you get it you'll be alive and kicking in the ER
>room from stomach cramps. It is an untreatable bug that lives with the
>bacteria in your stomach till you eat something it doesn't like.
>Mountain water districts know this which is why they have high levels
>of chlorine like Aspen and Vail.


This is why it's important to drink tea. By boiling the water for tea,
you kill giardia and make otherwise unsafe water into safe water that
also tastes good (due to the tea added).
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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Space Cowboy
 
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I also seem to remember chlorine evaporates at boiling temperatures. I
also boil water because tea is an agricultural product.

Jim

Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Space Cowboy > wrote:
> >That is Giardia. It makes the Montezuma Revenge look like
> >constipation. When you get it you'll be alive and kicking in the ER
> >room from stomach cramps. It is an untreatable bug that lives with the
> >bacteria in your stomach till you eat something it doesn't like.
> >Mountain water districts know this which is why they have high levels
> >of chlorine like Aspen and Vail.

>
> This is why it's important to drink tea. By boiling the water for tea,
> you kill giardia and make otherwise unsafe water into safe water that
> also tastes good (due to the tea added).
> --scott
>
>
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."




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Lara Burton
 
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I live in a mountain community in the western US, and the water that comes
out of my tap is pure untreated spring water. Very nice for making tea.
Communities only need to treat water for giardia if the water source has a
high likelihood of coming in contact with fecal matter (poop). Beavers are
the main carriers of giardia in these mountains and any water near beaver
dams needs to be treated for giardia. Area high in human traffic and dog
traffic (human poop and dog poop) also are in danger. However, lots and
lots of mountain water is giardia free, especially in high altitudes without
poop.

Sorry, couldn't resist typing poop multiple times.

My tea tastes great with my water. I have to carry my own water with me
when I go to work (in the valley) because I can't stand chlorinated stuff
anymore.

In fact my tap water is safer than bottled "spring water" because it
undergoes more rigorous water testing. Maybe I could start a mail order
business . . . bottle my own water to sell for tea consumption . . .

L

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Our mountain first aid stations are full of people with fake heart
> attacks because of high altitude sickness and lifelong attacks of
> Giardi symtoms because they didn't boil the pure mountain spring water
> polluted with parasites and germs by the creator of intelligent design.
>
>
> Jim
>
> Mydnight wrote:
>> The moral of the story, I suppose, would be find the best quality water
>> that you can possibly find; tap water simply WILL NOT do. Also, go
>> climbing mountains to find water if you can!

>



  #12 (permalink)   Report Post  
TeaDave
 
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Hey Lara, I live in the the US western mountains as well, but I wanted
to point out that there is an awful lot of poop at higher altitudes. I
was hiking two weeks ago in Rocky Mountain National park, and saw two
deer close up while I was above treeline. Large quantities of (deer)
droppings could be found past 13,000 ft., don't forget all the pikas
and chipmunks that leave thier waste (albeit smaller droppings).

  #13 (permalink)   Report Post  
Lara Burton
 
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yes deer poop is everywhere (and elk, and moose, and cougar and bear and all
those little forest creatures) but for some reason, it is ok in the water.
my friend monitors the natural springs that make up our water supply (on the
side of the mountain==no beavers) and he is only worried about human traffic
and dog traffic. so i suppose i am making my tea with deer poop water
(perhaps that is why it tastes good?), but it's at least better than the
water down in the city--which even my children refuse to drink at
restaurants. i'm not sure if deer carry giardia--but i'm thinking they must
not.

L

"TeaDave" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hey Lara, I live in the the US western mountains as well, but I wanted
> to point out that there is an awful lot of poop at higher altitudes. I
> was hiking two weeks ago in Rocky Mountain National park, and saw two
> deer close up while I was above treeline. Large quantities of (deer)
> droppings could be found past 13,000 ft., don't forget all the pikas
> and chipmunks that leave thier waste (albeit smaller droppings).
>



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