Simply Darjeeling! » Miscellaneous

Chemical Residues Found in Oolong Tea

KF — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:12:10 +0000

This from yesterday’s China Post/Asia News Network:

“TAIPEI, Taiwan – The Oolong tea variety sold at the National Palace Museum (NPM) has been found to contain two toxic pesticides by toxicity tests, according to the results of tests done on teas sold in the NPM that were revealed yesterday by the Taipei City health department.
Health inspectors found 0.12 ppm of Flufenoxuron and 0.16 ppm of Ethion in a randomly selected sample of oolong tea with an expiration date of Sept. 15, 2011 distributed by iTea.
Flufenoxuron is a carcinogen, and prolonged exposure to Ethion may cause neural damages. Regulations do not allow for any trace of either toxin to be present in tea products.
Quickly responding to the findings, the museum has dissolved its contract with iTea and will return all of its iTea products in inventory at NPM, Feng Ming-chu, deputy director of NPM announced.”

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20091117-180501.html

Does Green Tea Protect Against the H1N1 Flu Virus?

KF — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:39:15 +0000

The flu season is here, and every day we get reports about the risks associated with the H1N1 virus, about the vaccines available, and the precautions recommended to the public. Green tea, and tea generally, figures prominently in advice columns. Writing for a website on women’s health, Nurse Practitioner Marcelle Pick reports: “Green tea extracts rich in epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenol in tea, have been shown to have antiviral effects against influenza A virus (seasonal flu) in the laboratory, and EGCG and its relatives are considered to be the likely source of this effect. In another recent study on mice, EGCG demonstrated strong effects against the H1N1 virus in particular. The exterior surfaces of influenza viruses are covered with protein-dense knobs responsible for binding to the cells being infected. Studies on EGCG suggest one way it inhibits the virus’s infectivity is by binding to these knobs so as to “preoccupy” them, actually altering the physical properties of the viral membrane” (http://www.womentowomen.com/inflammation/foods-immunityandrespiratoryhealth.aspx).

Green tea may even reduce the risk of pneumonia in women: “Drinking five or more cups a day cut the risk by ‘47 percent in Japanese women, but not Japanese men,’ Ikue Watanabe, from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan noted in an email to Reuters Health. Pneumonia risk seems to be reduced even by drinking small amounts of green tea. Drinking as little as one cup or less of green tea per day was associated with 41 percent less risk of dying from pneumonia among Japanese women, the investigators found”

(http://health.yahoo.com/news/reuters/us_green_tea.html).

So this is all good news: among the many health benefits of green tea may be some protection against respiratory illnesses, including the flu. (Black tea, incidentally, is similarly helpful; it just contains less EGCG than green tea.)

What is not talked about, however, is what else you may ingest with tea: residues of the pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides used in agricultural production. Who else besides the Boston Tea Campaign sells teas that have been lab-tested for these residues? Our test results are printed on the back of each package.

We have contacted Consumer Reports about doing a study on chemical residues in teas. Stay tuned.

A Tea that Delights the Senses in Every Way…

KF — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:27:53 +0000

The Tea Review has published a review of our First Flush Darjeeling Tea and characterized it as “a tea that delights the senses in every way.”

To read the review, please go to http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=3754

To order our First Flush Darjeeling Tea, please go to our secure online shop at https://shop.bostonteacampaign.com

Special Offer: 1000g of Pure Darjeeling Tea

KF — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:42:51 +0000

1000g (4 x 250g) Darjeeling First Flush or
1000g (4 x 250g) Darjeeling Second Flush for just 44.00 USD.

To order, please go to our secure online shop at https://shop.bostonteacampaign.com

Second Flush Ambootia Garden Tea, 2007 sold out

KF — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:35:37 +0000

Our Ambootia Garden Tea, Second Flush, of harvest 2007 is sold out. A small supply of equally fine Ambbotia Garden Tea, Second Flush from harvest 2006 is still available and now offered as a SPECIAL:

Buy 2 x 500g Ambootia Garden Tea, Second Flush, Harvest 2006 for just 38.00 USD.

Remember: Tea keeps for three years (at least), if properly stored. We guarantee the freshness, purity and superb taste of all of our Darjeeling teas.

To order, click here.