Health Concerns of Imported Tea

Taiwan is a tea producing area with a long history. The production and baking technology and tea quality are among the best in the world. However, Taiwan’s tea production in 2016 was 13,018 metric tons, of which 7,594 metric tons accounted for 58% of exports, but in 2016 Taiwan also imported 28,095 metric tons of tea, so 83% of the tea consumed in Taiwan (including tea bags, canned tea, hand-cranked tea, etc.) is imported. Among them, Vietnam, the largest importer, accounted for about 54% of the total imports, and Sri Lanka, the second largest importer, accounted for about 11% .

Photo Credit: Claire Chao Photography

Most of the tea production in Vietnam is made by Taiwanese businessmen using Taiwan's tea seedlings, Taiwan's production and baking technology, so the taste is almost the same as that of Taiwan's tea. However, everyone knows that during the Vietnam War, the U.S. military sprayed 76 million liters of toxic defoliants on farmland in Vietnam. About 18% of Vietnam’s non-urban areas were sprayed with an average of 13 times the amount of defoliants recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture. The sprayed farmlands still remain for centuries. The poison Dioxin, according to the conservative estimate of the Red Cross, the spraying of defoliants has caused about 1 million Vietnamese people to have deformities and other health problems.

In addition, in addition to concerns about dioxin, Vietnam's pesticide application standards are also much looser than Taiwan's. We are not saying that Vietnamese tea is necessarily bad, but when we buy tea, we rarely see the place of origin marked from Vietnam. In addition, the Taiwanese high mountain tea sold in the market is out of proportion to Taiwan's real production. According to the experience shared by experienced tea masters, because the tea seedlings, planting, production and baking techniques of Vietnamese tea are all from Taiwan, the taste is almost the same as that of Taiwanese tea. To identify the true source of tea, there will be a phenomenon that tea farmers use Vietnamese tea as Dongding Oolong and win the gold medal of the farmers' association.

Photo Credit: Claire Chao Photography

Due to the low price of tea imported from Vietnam, the profit of selling as Taiwan tea is several times higher than that of distribution or planting Taiwan tea. If you have concerns about tea imported from Vietnam like me, it is recommended to buy tea directly from tea farmers or tea merchants you know well. Many tea farmers who already have a good reputation have already sold out the tea that has just been baked each season. There is no chance at all. Flow to the channel for sale. In addition, low-priced tea is mainly supplied to related businesses who are cost-conscious, so if you don’t want to drink Vietnamese tea, you should also consider these teas before buying tea bags, canned beverage tea, and hand-cranked tea that can be seen everywhere in the street. origin of.