Bulk Tea, Safety

[OldSaw]

I want to buy some bulk tea leaves for my wife. However, I am fairly clueless and the little bit of digging that I have done has me worried about things like heavy metals and poisonous pesticides.

So how do I know if a supplier is providing a safe product? What are the watch outs and tell tale signs? And what about varieties/flavors, etc?

Thanks

 

[Lefonque]

Even more clueless than you when it comes to bulk tea. Sorry.

 

[sneefy]

Regarding pesticides and heavy metals, best thing you can do is buy high quality, perhaps contact the seller and ask.

My go-to tea source is called... The Tea Source. They contract directly with growers so can probably tell you the methods used since provenance is known.

TeaSource | Buy Quality Tea Online

TeaSource brings you the highest quality teas and tisanes from around the world. Buy tea online or at our store in St. Anthony Village.

www.teasource.com

I've bought a lot of different teas over the years and I now pretty much get all my tea from them. Top notch quality. Great variety.

What flavors, generally speaking, does your wife like?

 

[Jan Sobieski]

I was a huge tea drinker for years and frankly never thought about that issue. No idea what to tell you... probably hard to know much about the source since teas no doubt change hands so many times. Is there any positive reason to know of to be fearful about it, or is it just a general speculation/worry?

 

[OldSaw]

Regarding pesticides and heavy metals, best thing you can do is buy high quality, perhaps contact the seller and ask.

My go-to tea source is called... The Tea Source. They contract directly with growers so can probably tell you the methods used since provenance is known.

TeaSource | Buy Quality Tea Online

TeaSource brings you the highest quality teas and tisanes from around the world. Buy tea online or at our store in St. Anthony Village.

www.teasource.com

I've bought a lot of different teas over the years and I now pretty much get all my tea from them. Top notch quality. Great variety.

What flavors, generally speaking, does your wife like?

Here’s what I found in her canisters on the countertop. I think she uses that Rooibos a lot.

 

[sneefy]

The Tea Source has a selection of Rooibos blend teas. The Montana Gold is fantastic. Cinnamon forward.

 

[OldSaw]

I bought her one of these steeping cups for her upcoming birthday and wanted to increase her tea experience with leafier bulk tea.

 

[sneefy]

Looks like a nice fine mesh infuser.

 

[OldSaw]

I was a huge tea drinker for years and frankly never thought about that issue. No idea what to tell you... probably hard to know much about the source since teas no doubt change hands so many times. Is there any positive reason to know of to be fearful about it, or is it just a general speculation/worry?

As I was reading reviews there were some reviewers who pointed out that some teas that have the word organic in their name or claim to be organic are not certified organic. Then others said that there was a heavy metal concern for tea from certain regions, etc.

So here I am asking a group of guys who probably know much more about this than I do.

 

[Jan Sobieski]

I understand - at this point I am not on top of the subject like I used to be, so I was just checking in case something had come up in the news or whatever. Just meant, were you asking simply as a "what if?" or not.

I would not worry when it comes to any of the major brands. You might simply avoid tea from China to eliminate any or most possible concerns. Some heavy metals are going to be present in teas and other products but are not a problem at very low levels.

This comment might start the arrows flying, but I have little use for the organic concept, which seems to be largely meaningless in real terms. Some of those you mentioned writing on the subject sound to me like followers of the "cult of 'organic'" who want to defend the money they are giving away in order to feel that certain products are somehow superior. If you ask me, they should either refer to a known and proven case of poisonous tea being sold in the American market, or leave off spreading unwarranted concern.

Hope you find something good for your wife!

 

[sneefy]

Eliminating tea from China would be silly. It would eliminate a huge variety of some of the best teas in the world.

The Chinese care a lot about their tea, so buy from a place that sources from growers that care about their export product. Like the shop I linked. Buy quality and quit worrying.

 

[sneefy]

As I was reading reviews there were some reviewers who pointed out that some teas that have the word organic in their name or claim to be organic are not certified organic. Then others said that there was a heavy metal concern for tea from certain regions, etc.

I'm curious what regions and what empirical evidence they have, but respectfully, they sound paranoid. Just buy high quality. Tea, cup for cup, is inexpensive even for high quality.

 

[Lefonque]

This thread reminds me, I have to get some Russian Caravan tea. I love it’s smokey flavour.

 

[malocchio]

I gave up drinking coffee and tea that was not certified organic. Both standard tea and coffee farming rely heavily on pesticides, herbicides etc. .............. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/pest...ange Brew,residues of 22 different pesticides.

 

[annik]

Loose leaf tea - Buy tea online - Tealyra Store

 

[Ad Astra]

One rinses puerh leaves, but yeah - buy quality.

AA

 

[matwho]

Upton tea is a good reliable source for certified organic teas.

 

[TimothySummers]

I buy organic tea from Tealyra, because they have a certificate and there is good technical support.

In general, a very long time to understand teas, but there are so many that it is quite difficult to understand).

 

[TexLaw]

I buy organic tea from Tealyra, because they have a certificate and there is good technical support.

Thanks for the heads-up on that. I was just about to reorder the Moroccan mint tea I was talking about in another thread, so I thought I would give the one from Tealyra a try. It's a little less expensive, so it's worth a go!

 

[TimothySummers]

You're welcome! They do have good tea, and I ordered the mint tea myself 3 days ago

Thanks for the heads-up on that. I was just about to reorder the Moroccan mint tea I was talking about in another thread, so I thought I would give the one from Tealyra a try. It's a little less expensive, so it's worth a go!