Chinese green tea powder?
I understand that it’s not Matcha, since that’s sort of a Japanese thing and that this “Matcha” I got is actually food grade powder that includes stems and older leaves which gives bolder flavor that makes it ideal as a food additive. I don’t mind. I’ll certainly save up for the real thing in the future.
But my question is, is the Chinese stuff safe? I saw an article saying even the organically certified stuff is dangerous because “China is polluted everywhere”, etc etc. But if that were the case, then shouldn’t it also apply to ALL Chinese teas, and not just green tea powder? What are your thoughts?
Totally uneducated opinion here – China is a really big country. Most of the industrial area is far removed from the mountain tea farms. I don’t worry much about food grown locally being polluted by Los Angeles.
Yeah, that does make sense. And well like I said, if even organically certified tea was somehow polluted, then we might as well stop buying tea from China because that means all of their tea has gone bad. Which is of course not going to happen any time soon!
HI! This is why I go to China. I really like to see where the teas are grown. You are both correct in that China is a vast country and the pollution we hear about in the news is fairly contained to some pretty concentrated areas.
That being said, I might also point out that there are some tea growing areas that were once pristine, I’m sure, that are now inundated with air pollution. I won’t buy teas from there. Even if they are growing organically, the soil and the plants are stewing in foul air. If I can’t breathe comfortably there, if I wouldn’t want to go for a run there, then I do not want myself (or my customers) drinking tea from there either.
Also… I’d rather buy my organic veggies from the local farmers market rather than a giant conglomerate that owns thousands of acres of monocultured farms. Give me small farms any old day.
Great topic!
Hmm… I guess that’s the serious limitation in my case. Is there a reliable way to find a good source in China? I’m having a pretty good experience with AliExpress so far, but after reading that, I’m starting to feel like reading reviews of the seller/tea before ordering isn’t enough.
I’ve spent the last 10 years finding good sources in China. You can check out our website. mandalatea.com Not everyone can go to China and not everyone is going to be able to get the straight scoop all the time. It’s been a long road, but it’s a passion.
Depends on what you are looking for… what are you into as far as types of teas?
Well, I’ve had Darjeeling, but that’s Indian. And then there’s this green tea powder, which is pretty good. I’m still saving up a budget for my next choice (being a student living on an allowance and all).
I’ve got a basic idea of the different types, but beyond that, I’m not really sure what to go with. By my gut, I’m very much intrigued by the idea of puerh, being a fan of fermented things like kefir and sauerkraut (and because it comes in a cake/brick), but I also heard it was a sort of love-it-or-hate-it kind of deal.
Love fermented foods!! I drink pu’er all day long, both ripe and raw. While they are both called pu’er tea, they are quite different, really. I begin my day with ripe pu’er and switch to raw for the rest of the day pretty much. And sure, I drink other teas, too, heck I work in a tea shop after all :)
Some who enjoy ripe pu’er don’t like raw and that goes the other way, too. If the pu’er is good and the preparation and water quality proper, almost anyone can enjoy either type of pu’er.
If you like earthy, dark flavors, ripe is a place to begin. Conversely, if you find yourself more drawn to lighter flavors, lighter colored tea liquor, then raw is a place to begin. That is not to say that raw pu’er cannot be punchy and authoritative on your palate, because it can, again, depending on brewing procedure.
That’s a tough call… On one hand, I really like the look of the ripe pu’er’s liquor. It’s so… deep and alluring for some reason.
On the other hand, my parents are seriously into health, and have a lot of issues with oxidation and… well let’s just say they don’t think too highly of darker teas. They were actually sort of disappointed when I got the traditional black Darjeeling rather than the green Darjeeling (which sounds really weird to me) available at the boutique. (Also why I got the green tea powder next).
So, I dunno. Maybe I could get one from both? I’d have to save up longer, though…
I’ll tell you what: regardless of what you order, I’ll make sure you get a couple of samples of some other pu’ers to try. That way if you get raw tea, I’ll throw in some ripe or vice versa.
Cakes are great and economical, but there are plenty of teas available by the ounce. And some smaller cakes, too – 100 grams.
If you have particular questions, just let me know. You can’t go wrong with Phatty Cake II for a ripe tea – $15 for 3.5 ounces of good, clean tea. Raw – check out Heart of the Old Tree or Wild Monk 2014. Those would be good places to start. Heck, they are great teas no matter what your experience level!
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