Tea couldn’t possibly have any harmful chemicals or pesticides in it, right? I never, ever thought so, but I was… well… Wrong!
Still, I’m not giving up my tea anytime soon… whether its chai or green, oolong, white, pu-erh or an organic herbal tea.
Since a thorough investigation revealed tea (Camellia sinensis) to be a highly-sprayed crop, I’ve switched to specific all-organic tea brands, turning my back on some of my favorites due to tests showing high levels of carcinogens found in their products.
Modern food technology is again rearing its ugly head and causing brand-new health concerns over this otherwise healthful brew!
It appears, many tea companies do not source their products from responsible growers. The pressures have mounted with the introduction of industrialized agricultural practices, added chemical fertilizers or engaged GMO practices to make the land yield more. The results of these practices have been environmental pollution, soil erosion, and loss of biological diversity.
A while back, Vani Hari, founder of Food Babe uncovered unsettling facts about 8 popular tea brands:
• Celestial Seasonings
• Teavana
• Trader Joe’s
• Twinings of London
• Lipton
• Bigelow
• Tea Forte
Then, CBCNews/Canada tested black and green teas including Canada’s most popular brands: Lipton, Red Rose, Tetley and Twinings. Full test results can be found here. Of the 10 brands tested, only Red Rose pekoe came back free of pesticides.
One of the chemicals found was Endosulfan. This chemical is one of the most toxic pesticides on the market today. They also found DDT. Eight of the 10 brands tested contained multiple chemicals, with one brand containing residues of 22 different pesticides.
Celestial Seasons:
EuroFins (an analytic testing company) found 91% of Celestial Seasonings teas contained levels of pesticides that exceed the US federal limits. Considering all of the other toxins that the FDA lets slide by, this is frightening.
The Sleepytime Kids Goodnight Grape Herbal tea contained 0.26 ppm of propachlor, a known carcinogen. I may have given this to my children in past years!
Other teas, including the whole “Wellness” tea line, were found to contain traces of propargite, also a known developmental toxin and carcinogen. Meanwhile, thousands continue to drink the popular teas.
Author’s note: Traditional Medicinals has Nighty-Night tea and Yogi has Bedtime, as well. Although I don’t believe Yogi is as “clean” as Traditional Medicinal but still a great option.
Teavana:
Just as Teavana was bought by Starbucks in 2011, 100% of Teavana teas tested were shown to be filled with pesticides in the Glaucus Research study and they were taken to court in a class action lawsuit.
It was cited that 77% percent of their teas would be banned from import in the European Union and 62% tested contained endosulfan, a pesticide banned in the U.S. and 144 other countries because it is linked to impaired fertility and may harm unborn babies.
This year (2017), Teavana stores are all being closed but Starbucks is continuing to sell the tea as a flavored iced tea.
Are Plastic Mesh Tea Bags Dangerous? Gluten Avoiders Beware
Increasingly popular ‘silk’ mesh bags and sachets are made of GMO corn-based plastic (polylactic acid) and can leach harmful chemicals like BPA. These bags have wooed major companies due to their fancy look and claims of biodegradability. Dr. Mercola explains, “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.”
Are Paper Tea Bags Better or Worse?
Imagine you could be consuming pesticides from your favorite tea’s bag… Yes this sounds crazy, but it’s true. Some paper tea bags contain the pesticide Epichlorohydrin, a compound used to keep the bags from breaking.
After each tea bag is filled it is sealed with a type of thermoplastic and coated in epichlorohydrin so that it can withstand being in water without dissolving.
Epichlorohydrin becomes active when it is in contact with hot water. This pesticide is known to cause infertility and can harm your immune system. This pesticide also causes cancer in animals. So….why are we drinking tea made in little pesticide bags?
For perspective, the E.P.A. allows up to 20 parts per million in drinking water, and epichlorohydrin-containing bags may include 50 parts per million.
(Source) Last updated 2015.
Natural Flavors Are NOT Natural
And those “natural flavoring” additives…labeling laws allow them to hoodwink us with this now; crude oil is natural, but do we want to drink it? It’s still artificial flavoring, but because it began from a natural product its allowable.
So, now, have these companies made sure their teas are not compromised? There is really only one way to know, and that is to go to certified (meaning tested) organic tea.
Organic Tea
The following companies have excellent quality control reputations, and all tea bags are free of epichlorohydrin, as well as pesticides and artificial flavorings:
• Organic Numi Tea: “Our teas are pesticide-free and non-GMO verified,” confirms a company rep. “Our tea bags are made from manila hemp cellulose, and free of epichlorohydrin. The tags are made from 100% recycled material.” And Numi has a great black tea for those who want to make a pure kombucha.
• Organic Traditional Medicinals: “Our herbal teas are put into unbleached bags made from abacá (Musa textilis), also sometimes known as manila hemp,” says its website.
• EDEN Organic: “The bags are made from oxygen washed manila fibers with no polluting whiteners used,” confirms company rep. “Once filled, the bags are crimped and sealed with 100% cotton string.”
• Tazo organics: (note the chart above: their conventional (non-organic) teas have tested for possible pesticides).
• Organic Stash: “The filter paper used for the bags is made from 100% cellulose fibers (wood) and is made to appear white by forcing air between the fibers. No bleach is used,” explains Stash’s website. “The filter paper is not coated with the compound called epichlorohydrin.”
• Organic Yogi Teas: “The filtration paper does not contain epichlorohydrin, nor plastic or polypropylene. It is oxygen bleached using a natural process that is completely free of chemicals or toxins, including dioxin,” says a Yogi representative. (source)
• Red Rose pekoe was tested clean in the above test. I make my own kombucha with Red Rose.
For an even more pure tea:
• Select a Non-GMO Project verified brand of tea. The best way to avoid GMOs is to support organic producers. Look for country of origin and avoid China.
• Read the labels to make sure there no “natural flavors” or “added flavors.” There is no regulation on the word “natural”. Even MSG, fake sweeteners, and other toxins can be called “natural” on the packaging.
Fluoride in your tea? This is so interesting!
Knowing where our consumable products come from is becoming ever so much more important!
***For the Full Spike Protein Protocol to protect from transmission from the “V” and to help those who took the “V”, go here.
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Alicia Mae
Oh no!! Thank you so much for posting this, Jacqueline. Off to cull my tea collection.
Katie
My favorite tea has become red raspberry leaf and nettle which I collect and dry myself from our yard. For black tea, green tea and red rooibos (my second favorite!) I buy from the Bulk Herb Store. For a treat, I’ll make my own chai by adding cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fennel, and peppercorns to black, green or red rooibos.
Thanks for sharing this.
Jacqueline
Katie, the way you are doing it is the best way! 😀 Knowing where our products come from is becoming ever so much more important!
Blessings! J
Charlotte Moore
Thank goodness I don’t drink tea. Unreal all the things that we think are good but they are not.
How are you doing Jacqueline? GOD BLESS you and your family.
Jacqueline
Hi, Charlotte! Seems we’ve found a way to keep in touch just a little bit 😀
You know, sometimes I wonder why the Lord seems to put all the warnings in my hear to write about! I will never know, but I will just keep following what I think I’m supposed to do!
Are you safely away from fires and hurricanes and floods where you live?
Praying for you and thank you for your steady encouragement!!
Blessings!
J
Stephen Harden
Thank you for this object & enlightening article. I will certainly make some better choices. I have bought Tazo. It has a funny taste, which incented me to look up chemical in tea.
Julie
I just came across this website. What do you know about the manufacturer called Pique is this a recommended brand?
Sincerely,
Julie
Jacqueline
Hi, Julie! I do not. I am sorry! I just was able to vet those in the article. You will need to call the company to get their statement and ask if they had independent testing available to see!
I hope that helps! ~j
Michelle
Hello and thank you for this info! I’m sickened by the facts and was wandering if uncle lee green tea organic has the pesticides as the original. I’ve been drinking the organic for years . I feel sick ! Thank you for your time
Jacqueline
Michelle, I do not know about the company Uncle Lee, but the fact that it is organic is a step in the right direction! I would advise you to call the number on the product if it is listed and ask them if there is any testing that they do. I hope that helps! ~J
motivation456
“very nice christmas-day/christmas-eve
“
Mila
Dear Jacqueline,
I have no enough words to express how grateful I am to you for this article! Our family has been traditionally great tea-drinkers! Originally I am from RUssia and in my childhood we had a very good Georgian tea, of a high quality and terrific taste, very pure. As far as I know now Western companies destroyed their tea industry, some Georgians whom I met in Paris and Brussels complained that their unique tea had vanished. WEll, I drank a lot of Starbucks tea while I returned from Europe to Canada and felt myself terribly, though we eat only organic food. Recently I switched to Allegro black organic tea…. Now after reading your article I realized everything. Thank you, you help, as I believe, to thousands of people… Bless you. Mila
Jacqueline
Yes, Mila, we are in a pretty bad place bc we can’t trust the products we buy to be “clean” or pure anymore! But we can trust the Lord Jesus! He will never let us down and we are just passing through on this earth anyway! Thank you for your sweet encouragement!
God bless you!
Jacqueline
Holly
Hi. What are a few recommended tea brands that do not have so many chemicals?
I like herbal teas.
Thanks,
Holly
Jacqueline
Hi, Holly! There is a whole list in this post! I hope it is helpful! I think you must have missed it.
Blessings, J
Maltoni Richards
I am so thankful for this information. I drink tea several times a day. Lipton snd Tetley my favorites since strong.
I am now dumping everything and send your article via whatsapp.
Love n blessings!
Jacqueline
Maltoni! I am sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news!
I am glad that you are making the switch!
Here’s to your health! Enjoy!
Jacque
Jacqueline
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Blessings, Jacque
Lisa
Have you heard anything on adagio teas?
Jacqueline
I haven’t, Lisa. I would go to their website and see if they have a contact to ask about any testing or certification they may do/have.
That is what I would do!
Blessings,
Jacque
Gretchen
Excellent knowledge sharing. Many thanks for gathering this important information so that your readers are able to make better choices.
We love Traditional Medicinals when purchasing tea for our home.
They have many delicious teas.
Yogi Tea brand may be a fairly clean tea option however the origins of the company are pretty dark. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa, a.k.a. “ Yogi Bhajan”
known to have been a sexual predator and abuser. He started the 3HO cult and Yogi Tea, which makes billions of dollars each year is one of the corporate entities under the umbrella of 3HO and a the largest funder of the 3HO cult. Digging into it reveals very disturbing information.
I used to love their teas but can no longer support this company.
Thanks again for this essential information and all you share with the world. I love your perspectives and approach towards making a good life in this wild world.
Jacqueline
Oh, Gretchen, I had no idea! How horrible… i wish I could wrote about it… If you ever want to write on a topic like that that fits my brand, I would be interested to talk!
Sending peace,
Jacque
Gretchen
It is/ was horrible. Much of this story is still playing out on a number of levels. It is an interesting and very appreciated notion to think of writing to contribute to the valuable work you do!
Many thanks and peace also to you