Moth larvae in tea?

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Jul 14th, '13, 01:11
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Joined: Jul 13th, '13, 22:19

Moth larvae in tea?

by tangerpan » Jul 14th, '13, 01:11

Hi guys, new here. Wasn't too sure if I should post under this board or the general tea board, but this one's probably the safer bet.

One of my cupboards recently got infested with moth larvae, thanks to some unopened bags of rice. I stored my tea in the same cupboard, and I purged everything that looked suspect, but didn't inspect the tea, just put it back after wiping everything down.

This morning, I found one moth larvae in that cupboard on top of one of my fandom Adagio sampler set boxes. My question is-- is it possible for the moth larvae to go for tea? I inspected the box and the tins inside and didn't see any signs of the larvae getting in (e.g. any webbing or eggs), but now I'm paranoid. The thing is that I *just* got that sampler set and didn't get a chance to try all of the blends in there yet, and it cost a pretty penny for a grad student.

Have you guys experienced anything similar to this? If so, what should I do?

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Jul 14th, '13, 11:59
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Joined: Jan 23rd, '07, 14:50
Location: Philadelphia
Contact: Evan Draper

Re: Moth larvae in tea?

by Evan Draper » Jul 14th, '13, 11:59

Yeah, they'll get in there, but it usually takes them a while. Drink up quick.

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Jul 15th, '13, 13:39
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Joined: Jul 9th, '13, 12:18
Location: Boston
Contact: IzzieBot

Re: Moth larvae in tea?

by IzzieBot » Jul 15th, '13, 13:39

I'd be a little more careful. From what I have read moth infestations are a pain in the ass and take forever to get rid of. They can get into almost anything, even unopened items.

Someone on reddit had a similar issue and her tea was being kept in a TIN.
http://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/1a ... long_that/ (warning - image is a little gross, but the link goes straight to comments, not the photo)

Reading through that thread, it would probably be in your best interest to inspect every single tea you have - especially those that are open or being kept in paper bags, and or fruity blends. It might really be a bummer, the thought of getting rid of that tea, but the alternative ... blegh.

Really sorry to hear this happened to you, though :(
I store my tea far from the kitchen for this reason (living with a bunch of sloppy dudes, our kitchen is never clean)

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