Why It Makes Sense to Switch to Organic Tea
I’m of Eastern European descent, and like in most European countries, tea has always played a central role at the kitchen table. While tea has been a mainstay in many other countries such as Japan, China, India, Turkey, Morocco, and the UK for centuries, its prominence in America has been a recent boom with the specialty tea market quadrupling from 1993-2008. In the U.S., tea can be found in 80% of all households with Americans consuming over 84 billion servings of tea in 2017 alone!
Whether most of us choose tea for its energetic boost, or its calming side effects at night, or just for its delicious, multi-faceted flavor tea-drinkers can agree that in the end, we are looking to get some benefits from consuming this beverage.
What we are not looking to get is pesticides. But folks, that may be exactly what you’re getting depending on the brand of tea that you buy.
Back in 2014, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) released the results of tests conducted on Canada’s 8 most popular tea brands (2 were from the same company):
- Tetley
- Lipton
- Twinnings
- No Name
- Uncle Lee’s Legends of China
- King Cole
- Signal
- Red Rose
Of the eight brands tested, the top 7 in the above list contained pesticides- only Red Rose was found to be clean. One of the pesticides found on the teas tested was Endosulfan, which has been shown to cause tremors and seizures in humans and animals when exposed to high levels. Also, they found traces of DDT.
While you may not end up accumulating enough of these pesticides through drinking tea, its truly a no joke when it comes to being in constant contact. Just last year in Kerala, India 5,000 victims of endosulfan spraying got compensated for their tragic development of mental and physical disabilities on cashew, cotton, and TEA farms.
Also in 2013, an independent analytic testing company, Eurofins, tested a handful of Celestial Seasonings teas.
- Green Tea Peach Blossom
- Green Tea Raspberry Gardens
- Authentic Green Tea
- Antioxidant Max Dragon Fruit
- Green Tea Honey Lemon Ginger
- Antioxidant Max Blackberry Pomegranate
- Antioxidant Max Blood Orange
- Sleepytime Kids Goodnight Grape
- Sleepytime Herb Teas
- English Breakfast Black K-Cup
- Rooibos Safari Spice
Of the entire selection, EVERY SINGLE tea product, except for Rooibos Safari Spice, contained pesticides that surpassed the U.S. federal limit.
Other companies such as Teavana have also been exposed of high levels of pesticide residue in their tea. And pesticides leach, especially if you are the type to leave your tea bag in your mug for hours…I know I’m guilty!
But, I don’t know. Maybe some of my audience isn’t ready to let go of popular tea brands.
Well, if that’s the case then let me continue my argument in support of organic tea and say that not only do you have to be wary of the types of unwashed tea leaves that are used to make your tiny, dainty triangle bags but (if you can picture where I’m going here), these increasingly popular plastic teabags are made of GMO corn-based polylactic acid plastic which can degrade similarly to BPA. Dr. Mercola comments the potential dangers of these new bags:
“So while these plastics are generally considered among the safest in terms of leaching potential, the molecules in these plastic tea bags may still in fact break down and leach out when steeped in boiling water—which is the recommended way to brew a good cup of tea”
But what about the paper teabags?
Those could contain a dangerous chemical called epichlorohydrin which is used to prevent the breaking down of the paper bags in boiling water so that the tea can be steeped. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) looked at epichlorohydrin and showed that it causes a number of health issues in mice models with a number of government organizations labeling it as a possible carcinogen to humans.
Organic Tea to the Rescue
Luckily, in today’s day and age, we have the option to invest our money in companies that value wellbeing for all of those involved in tea production and tea consumption. By choosing companies that provide pesticide-free, plastic-free, and chemical-free teas you’re not only doing yourself a huge favor but advocating for the removal of harmful pesticide spraying that’s negatively impacting tea farmers’ lives. Furthermore, you’re also advocating for the planet as pesticides are well known for leaking into waterway systems and destroying local ecosystems.
While I personally love loose leaf tea more than tea bags, as the flavors are usually much more potent and you can adjust the strength of your brew much easier, I can see the benefit of using teabags primarily with travel- it’s a lot less messy, easier to find on the shelf, and easier to transport (particularly if you have teas for every occasion). Below I’ve picked a few brands that I personally love because they provide a great product while also minimizing their impact on the environment.
Check them out and enjoy! 🙂
