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Tea – pesticides, cultivation, preparation, bagged tea or would you prefer loose tea?

What's really in the bag? Microplastics? Pesticides? And what about loose tea? Especially when it gets colder, almost everyone likes to grab a warming cup of tea. But how sustainable is tea actually? And how do you prepare the hot drink correctly?

Author: Claudia Spiess

Fun fact: Fruit and herbal teas are not teas at all, but tea-like infusions, also called infusions. Real tea comes from the evergreen tea plant Camellia Sinesnsis. Green, black and white tea are real teas!

Pretty trendy right now: matcha tea! Matcha green tea, which comes from Japan, is just one of over 1,500 types of green tea in the world. And green tea is trendy, especially as an alternative to coffee. In 2020, 47% of Germans drank it and therefore the original tea. Black tea is just ahead at 49%.

Preparation of tea

In order to fully enjoy tea, it is important to prepare it correctly. The tea leaves can be purchased in different leaf grades. From whole leaves to broken leaves to ground leaves, everything is included. With loose tea, the tea leaves are not reduced too much. This has an influence on the taste. The more chopped the leaf, the more flavors are lost.

True tea lovers therefore choose loose tea. It is best prepared in a pot-bellied teapot with a suitable strainer. This way the aroma develops well. The water temperature for infusion should be between 90 and 100°C for black tea and between 60 and 80°C for green and white tea. You can find the appropriate temperature on the packaging or ask a specialist retailer when purchasing.

Environmental balance: tea

With almost no other food do we have such a big influence on the environmental balance as with tea. Cultivation, harvest and transport are comparatively low here. The preparation is crucial. The most energy-efficient way to heat water is with a kettle instead of a pot. And many types of tea can be brewed multiple times, so the leaves don't always have to be thrown away immediately.

Important for the environment: Only boil the water that you actually need. In studies by Ökotest and Stiftung Warentest, slight pesticide contamination is repeatedly found. That depends on the growing area. Pesticides and residues found in the soil get into the tea plant. How much of it ends up in the teacup and how harmful it is for humans has not been researched enough. What is certain, however, is that with organic tea the contamination and residues are zero. When buying, you should therefore choose organic products.

If you use tea bags, you should make sure that they are organic and, ideally, Fairtrade. So good for people and the environment. In Germany, tea bags are made of paper, in other countries, such as Canada, they are made of nylon. In conventional companies, a small proportion of plastic fibers are added to the German paper tea bags. The pyramid bags are mostly made in Germany from bioplastic and are said to be biodegradable. But here too little research has been done. Therefore, always dispose of tea bags in the residual waste and not in organic waste!

Storage of tea

When storing at home, make sure that tea is kept dark, cool and dry. It is best to have a separate shelf, cupboard or drawer where you can easily store the tin cans and tea. This way you can enjoy the tea for as long as possible.

Source: YouTube SWR market check – Ökochecker SWR

Source:

SWR market check

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Notes:

1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication
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The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual articles (not fact checks) were created using machine help and
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