What do you think -is this tea safe to drink?
This molded pu - safe or hazard?
A vendor in Czech republic sells this pu-erh:
What do you think -is this tea safe to drink?
What do you think -is this tea safe to drink?
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
I can't see the pictureTuoChaTea wrote:A vendor in Czech republic sells this pu-erh:
What do you think -is this tea safe to drink?
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
Sorry, I used flickr for the first time. Now it is OK, tested 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/112650816@N06/11599977644/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/112650816@N06/11599977644/
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
I am not sure from the photo but the yellow mold is really spooky.
This unusual and not common even with old tea.
If it is me, I wouldn't drink this tea.
Take care!
This unusual and not common even with old tea.
If it is me, I wouldn't drink this tea.
Take care!
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
everything looks about right to suggest that this is Hunan Fu Zhuan (fu brick).
you may have to taste it. if it does not taste sour or pungent, i'd assume it's safe.
you may have to taste it. if it does not taste sour or pungent, i'd assume it's safe.
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
Agree, those are golden flowers, and safe/nutritious to drink. Most anything else, just toss.
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
What are golden flowers?shah82 wrote:Agree, those are golden flowers, and safe/nutritious to drink. Most anything else, just toss.
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com/2012/0 ... hunan.html
P.S. Tuochatea: Blog more. Don't you have a Retaste Project you could try? ?:~)
P.S. Tuochatea: Blog more. Don't you have a Retaste Project you could try? ?:~)
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
They are a kind of fungus that grows on a "Dark" brick or "fu" tea as I believe they are called. They are cultivated on the tea for health benefits that they bring to the tea. Here is a link to one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bai-Sha-Xi-Clas ... 2a271a22b7Tead Off wrote:What are golden flowers?shah82 wrote:Agree, those are golden flowers, and safe/nutritious to drink. Most anything else, just toss.
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
TuoChaTea wrote:Sorry, I used flickr for the first time. Now it is OK, tested
http://www.flickr.com/photos/112650816@N06/11599977644/
its a calculated risk because no one knows the exact specie of fungus that is growing on a particular cake.. it can be benign or bad..
i personally will not touch any "moldy" tea.. and have largely decreased my intake of poorly stored/shu pu-erh as well.
if the mold on the tea's from the famed eurotium species, it might be perfectly safe with the tea flavour enhanced by fungal metabolites. but if its from the other family of "common yellow molds" i.e. aspergillus, you run into the risk of the presence of certain toxic aspergilli species that secrete aflatoxin. (incidentally the chinese name for aspergilli type of molds 黄曲霉 literally translates as "yellow mold")
citing an article from last year : http://news.cntv.cn/china/20120325/117033.shtml of which the title translates as : can pu-er cause cancer?
2011年7月，广州市疾控中心曾经和中山大学公共卫生学院、南方医科大学等研究机构联合进行了一项关于普洱茶的调查研究，他们从广州的市场上抽查了70个普洱茶的样品，其中有11%的样品黄曲霉毒素含量超过国家相关标准。
in July, 2011, there was a study carried out in collaboration between Guangzhou City Cancer Therapeutic centre and Zhong Shan University/Southern Medical University on pu-er teas. 70 pu-er tea samples were obtained and analysed, with 11% of them exceeding the national "limit" for aflatoxin content.
记者电话采访了这个项目的带头人——广州市疾病预防控制中心毒理学检验科医学博士朱伟。
记者：黄曲霉毒素超标多少？
朱伟：量倒不是很高，因为国家标准没有一个专门针对茶叶的，我们当时参照的是一个针对糖果类产品的一个含量标准。那它是每公斤5个微克，我做出来70多个，应该有8个在5微克稍微多一点，那么相比而言，这个比例并不是很高。
the reporter called the principal investigator, professor Zhu Wei (Guangzhou Cancer therapeutic centre, toxicology dept)
reporter : how much was the aflatoxin limit exceeded by?
zhuwei : not very much i suppose, because there is actually no national limit/restriction that was placed on pu-er tea. so we just used the limit/standard that is currently enforced on candy/sugar products which is 5 milligrams per kilogram. in our 70 samples, 8 of them had a level that exceeded this limit.
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no one seem to test pu-er tea that stringently for pesticides, toxins and all that so far..
the only way around this is to have the mold tested, either by PCR or some toxin detection assay, or to brew the tea in a "tibetan" like manner, cooking the tea (sometimes boiling the h3ll out of the leaves) in which aflatoxin can potentially be inactivated.
unless this tea is so extremely tasty that one has to take a risk/chance to drink it (just like fugu fish), i personally wouldnt recommend the consumption.
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
+1
It is better not to take the risk unless it is scientifically proven. Tea suppose to be a simple beverage that taste good and natural. A lot of tea is laced with stories to lure buyers. Sometimes it is genuinely safe but down the production line someone took shortcut and you take the risk with your own health. Moldy tea is definately out of my palate.
It is better not to take the risk unless it is scientifically proven. Tea suppose to be a simple beverage that taste good and natural. A lot of tea is laced with stories to lure buyers. Sometimes it is genuinely safe but down the production line someone took shortcut and you take the risk with your own health. Moldy tea is definately out of my palate.
Re: This molded pu - safe or hazard?
I'm curious as to what this tastes like. Have you had any?mr mopu wrote:They are a kind of fungus that grows on a "Dark" brick or "fu" tea as I believe they are called. They are cultivated on the tea for health benefits that they bring to the tea. Here is a link to one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bai-Sha-Xi-Clas ... 2a271a22b7Tead Off wrote:What are golden flowers?shah82 wrote:Agree, those are golden flowers, and safe/nutritious to drink. Most anything else, just toss.