Is Chinese tea 'dirty'?

25 Jul 2011 | Comments |

A friend recently asked me if Chinese tea is dirty - what she was specifically referring to was loose-leaf Chinese tea, like the ones we sell in our shop.

It's actually a great question. Tea is a fresh and natural product, and like your vegetables, you want to know how best to enjoy it and whether it's safe to use.

Chinese tea is grown naturally and organically

Like any natural product, tea is grown 'in the wild' and so there's a certain amount of dirt or dust that might accumulate on the leaves as it grows. During the processing, where the tea is turned from fresh green leaves into the dried product ready to drink, it might also come into contact with some natural dust or dirt in the air.

What you may find when you brew a pot of fresh loose-leaf tea the first time is a very small amount of 'tea-dust'. Most often this is the dust and tiny remnants of other tea leaves and pieces of the tea plant that stick to the leaves post-processing. There might be tiny particles of earth in there, but this is unlikely.

You can wash your tea

If you want to, it is possible to wash your tea. In fact, drinking Chinese tea in the traditional way involves a first stage of 'washing the leaves'. You just need to steep them in hot water for a few seconds, strain out the leaves, and then throw the water away. There's nothing wrong with this, and actually most people find the second brew to be the best (or at least, tastier and purer than the first brew).

Do I need to worry about chemicals?

One thing you'll never need to worry about with any tea bought from The Min River Tea Farm are chemicals. None of our teas are grown with the use of chemicals or artificial products to enhance taste or colour for example. If you're in a rush, you can simply brew your tea immediately without fear of drinking any chemicals.

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