4 BIG Tea Industry Problems All Tea Drinkers Should Know About | Tea Masterclass Chapter 8

In this KZbin video, we explore the major issues facing the modern tea industry, including carbon pollution from tea production and packaging, nitrogen pollution from unsustainable fertilization practices, health hazards from agro-chemical residues on tea, and microplastics that infuse from industrial teabags into the brewed cup of tea.
The tea industry is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, due to the energy-intensive processes involved in tea production, such as firing and drying. In addition, the packaging of tea, which often involves the use of non-recyclable materials such as plastic, can also contribute to carbon emissions.
Another major issue facing the tea industry is nitrogen pollution from unsustainable fertilization practices. Tea plants require a certain amount of nitrogen in order to grow and produce leaves, but if the nitrogen levels in the soil are too high, it can lead to nitrogen pollution, which can have negative impacts on the environment and human health.
Tea plants are also often treated with agro-chemicals, such as pesticides and herbicides, in order to control pests and diseases. These chemicals can remain on the tea leaves and be ingested by consumers, which can pose a potential health hazard.
Finally, many tea bags are made from plastic materials, which can release microplastics into the brewed cup of tea. These microplastics can enter the food chain and potentially harm marine life and the environment.
Overall, Chapter 8 of the Masterclass on Tea is a deep dive into modern tea industry is facing many challenges, including carbon pollution, nitrogen pollution, health hazards from agro-chemical residues, and microplastics in tea bags. Importantly, we also discuss potential solutions for today’s various tea industry issues, most of which already exist however remain to be implemented. So, be sure to watch this video to learn more about these issues, and what can be done to address them.
#tea #tealovers #teaindustry
00:00 - Introduction and Hype Reel
2:31 - Approaching Tea Industry Problems
3:02 - PROBLEM #1: Carbon Pollution in the Tea Industry
8:14 - PROBLEM #2: Nitrogen Pollution in the Tea Industry
13:42 - PROBLEM #3: Agro-Chemical Applications to Tea Crops
17:07 - PROBLEM #4: Microplastics from Tea Bags
19:01 - Closing Words for the Masterclass on Tea
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Credits:
Intro track: I Dunno by Grapes ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626 Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported- CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/i-dunno-grapes Music promoted by Audio Library • I Dunno - Grapes (No C...
Outro track by Jared Mulcahy
"Toca Lab: Elements Periodic Table" by Toca Boca is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
"015 Phosphorus - Periodic Table of Elements" by Science Activism is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"007 Nitrogen - Periodic Table of Elements" by Science Activism is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"006 Carbon - Periodic Table of Elements" by Science Activism is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"3D Recycle Logo" by ccPixs.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Smokestack" by Jarod Carruthers is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
"Electric kettle" by Joeri van Veen is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
"ICI fertiliser, 1977, ICI no.8 NPK composite ferti (chemical, fertilizer)" is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
"Tractor Fertilize Field Pesticide And Insecticide" by aqua.mech is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
By Global Carbon Project - www.globalcarbonproject.org/n..., CC BY 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
"eutrophisation" by cieau is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
"Creating the high-trust organization" by opensourceway is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
"Trust" by @rondmac is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
"Empty Tea Bag !" by jesse1dog is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
"One of those new-fangled tea bags" by irrational_cat is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
"Tea bag macro" by Vaguely Artistic is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
"Throwing stuff away makes you tear in half." by markbult is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
"Carbon Footprint Reminder" by mikecogh is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
"My brand new phone Motorola DPC 500 Flip Phone !!!! #brandnew" by johncpiercy is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
"Mobile cellular telephone (Motorola 'Flip Phone') (Mobile telephone)" is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

[@ironlion45]

This series was a godsend for someone looking for a good overview of tea production and the science behind all those factors.

[@wumountaintea]

Great! 😃🌱🍵 Let me know what topics you want to hear more about in future videos 🙏

[@carles_roch_arnau]

@@wumountaintea I loved the series! It would be great to have an episode on the different tea ceremonies. And different levels of tea preparation. I want to get into good tea but I am not sure what advantages using a gaiwan and chaiwan have, and if it is worth it, or how to even use them.

[@carles_roch_arnau]

Just saw your video on loose leaf infusion and the Chinese method of infusing tea! My bad.

[@tadeoguerrero7892]

I'm amazed (really) on how good your explanations are. As an autistic person who loves maps, visuals, sources, and solution focus... I'm fascinated by how perfect your videos are. I wish this way of communicating was more common. Thanks for all the insights! A before and after in my understanding of tea.

[@TheCatFan21]

Having studied forest and soil conservation for almost a decade, I'm convinced that the lack of information on the third propety of soil - the biological component - is a huge driving factor in negative ecological outcomes in agriculture. Does the soil have a vast network of mycorrhizal fungi? What species? What about Rhizobium? Carrion beetles? The list goes on. You're awesome for bringing awareness to the biology of soil!

[@AlsanPine]

i am impressed. i just went through all the class and as someone who grew up in a tea drinking household, i have learned so much here. it is clear that you love tea and you have studied and understand tea in a most comprehensive way i have seen. i am particularly happy with this last chapter. i came across this series as i am starting to make my own kombucha and wanted to have a better understanding of tea and you have given just that. thank you for your integrity, interest, and dedication to the subject and most of all for sharing it with us. live well 🙂

[@treehouse7571]

thanks so much for your labor of passion and love in this series. i’ve gone through it all within a day 😅 the series is informative, and has inspired a few changes. have been drinking 熟普 for a few years now, branching out recently into 生普 and 乌龙. your class on different types of teas is inspiring me to try even whites and other blacks. organic chinese teas aren’t as readily available but after your series, i’m determined to go organic, as a small step of wielding my power as an individual consumer. 水积成川. all the best for your PhD!

[@DasHemdchen]

Microplastic from these fancy modern teabags? Good to know - easy to avoid! Thanks for sharing

[@jeanettegirosky7735]

Awesome video as usual! Ya know...I live next to Lake Erie and actually studied algae for some time...we have the phosphorus issues from corn farming. Nitrates though, in my opinion, are often overlooked and there is more then a few studies out there correlating nitrate run off with microcystin (the toxin from Microcystis algae) production during these blooms. And great point about just heating the water!

[@wumountaintea]

Yep I totally agree, I may have downplayed the impact of nitrates relative to phosphorus runoff in this video but you're right that both likely play a role. I'm glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching and commenting 😊🙏🌱

[@FrankJamesMD]

this person is simply brilliant. amazing, thoughtful, science based... wow.

[@OrLy-ut7ro]

Wow, these series really got me. Thank you so much for all the work you've put in. I'm literally blown away by all the knowledge you share with us!

[@wumountaintea]

Aw you’re welcome! Thanks for the kind comment 🤗 I’m glad you were able to come away with a lot. It is a lot of info but there’s even more fascinating stuff to get into about tea ~ so stay tuned 🌱🍵🫶 Any chapter stand out to you as a favorite? Trying to gauge what people are most interested in so I know what to dive deeper on in the future. -Dylan

[@OrLy-ut7ro]

@@wumountaintea For me, I enjoyed the chapters about tea categories, health, and history the most. I think at the moment I would be interested in: a) more about sub-catergories (sub-types), b) learning about tea philosophy. I am a christian but interested in other worldviews as well. c) interviews with scientists, growers, merchants, and other tea-vloggers. Let's build the tea community :.) Happy new year!

[@zeroandthehero]

Amazing work buddy love tea but had no idea all this blew my mind. I won't use tea bags anymore for sure.

[@johnanderson3700]

Hope you continue to do videos on tea as you are so informative, even to those of us have been in love with tea for a long time. I will need to review this over and over as it’s hard to absorb it all in one pass. Thanks for doing this.

[@Just4AZ1]

Wish you would continue posting new content. I have learned so much from your videos.

[@hansdampf2284]

7:50 heating something with electricity is already almost at 100% efficiency. Energy is usually lost through heat in other machines, but since that is what you want in a kettle, heat, it’s hard to loose much energy in the process. I think a better approach then getting a kettle with 99% energy efficiency over one with 97% is getting a kettle that is better isolated. So the water cools down more slowly.

[@lukeshdoesntknow]

Absolutely loved this series! I've been drinking tea my whole but this is the first time I've delved into the intricacies of it. It's clear you love tea, and it was a pleasure learning from you over this series

[@wumountaintea]

You’re welcome!! Glad you liked it ~ Pour up a tall cup for 2024 🍵🌱🫶

[@a.westenholz4032]

Same.

[@Decoded-if5mo]

I highly appreciate the enormous effort you put into producing this eight-chapter video series. Your videos were packed with valuable information covering a very large area of knowledge about tea. Keep up your work. Tea planter from the tea hills of Sri lanka

[@johnrodgelatenemusic7262]

Just binge-watched this entire series of superb videos. Your level of knowledge and passion for your subject is truly impressive. Thank you for creating this invaluable resource for anyone interested in good tea in all its wonderful forms.

[@wumountaintea]

Awesome ~ You’re welcome! 🌱🍵🙌 Any chapter stand out as your favorite? I like to poll the tea masterclass binge watchers with that one so I can learn what topics people are most interested in. Cheers, Dylan

[@johnrodgelatenemusic7262]

@@wumountaintea hi Dylan, I’ve been a tea lover all my life and have built up a tidy stock of fine teas but your masterclass was enthralling. I particularly enjoyed getting into the organic chemistry of tea. Have you done anything dealing with Indian teas specifically? I’ve got a couple of lovey Assams and Ceylons on the go at the moment as well as a lovely first flush Darjeeling. Congratulations on a great body of work there.

[@1Lightdancer]

Love this series, thank you Dylan! Still have several to watch 😊🍵 I am more and more grateful for my small tea patch, and local sources for whole leaf tea! I tend a Tea Garden with our Edible Landscapes program - 4×4' (wine grape) box near a coffee shop (ironic, yes?!) There are a young tea camellia, plus Rosemary, Chamomile and other herbs. I added lemon verbena, lemon thyme, pineapple sage and a Tulsi (basil) this year, plus our native Clinopodium, Oregon Tea (C. douglasii) My former hubby is a biologist, and we've been proponents of organic and natural gardening and farming methods for decades, and eating 'fresh, local and organic' as much as possible. Since the 70s, I've grown lots of herbs, and enjoy strolling through the garden to gather favorites for tisane. I got my first Camellia sinensis nearly 20 years ago, and learned to process (Oolong) 5 years ago with my friend Nikki who has 9 lovely shrubs 🍵 🌿(var Sochi) Natural farming methods are better for the growers and those who harvest as well - way too many sad stories around their health when exposed to a soup of chemicals! I moved into a Grannie Flat this spring, and have an electric tea kettle, induction cooktop, and 'bake' in a glass air fryer - and have successfully processed one small harvest from the tea garden Camellia using a wok on the cooktop and the air fryer! Ramsey McPhillips, who spearheaded our Ø Waste and Edible Landscaping groups, lives in his family farm and is experimenting with composting methods, including biochar - most recently adding black soldier flies, which speed processing of organic matter! His farm is housing research into their benefits and use on a larger scale (there's a great interview with Ramsey on the McMinnville Yacht club podcast) .... Together, we can make a difference!

[@liamhealy112]

Excellent masterclass series, loved all the chapters. Have been drinking tea for many years and there is so much to learn. This has greatly improved my knowledge without being overwhelming. Awesome🤓. I do hope that we can change practice to keep things that we have taken for granted for many years and are at risk of losing!!!

[@wumountaintea]

Missed Chapters 1 through 7? They're all linked right here: Chapter 1: The 6 Major Tea Types and a World of Awesome Sub-Types: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onK8g42bea9nhsU Chapter 2 - Exploring the biology and cultivation of tea plants: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6bRe4KeYpZsr80 Chapter 3 - Everything about tea processing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqKnnGWprLmceJo Chapter 4 - How to conduct a formal tea quality assessment kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZrUpKV3r8yVkJo Chapter 5 - How to make a good cup of tea and not make a bad cup of tea: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpDPmXx6jc-Zaq8 Chapter 6 - Health effects of tea (EPIC CHAPTER DON’T MISS IT): kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGW8oXqYiNKUfKc Chapter 7 - The History of tea from 2737 BC to today’s Tea Renaissance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqHHoIhteamojtE

[@marianakaraskova2661]

thank you so much. This whole "masterclass" really helped me a lot to start doing my research for bachelor thesis ! thank you again for making it accessible on youtube for students like me.

[@mascoffeegrande2763]

Loved this series, thank you! 🫖

[@tamara.herbalist]

This was amazing!!!! Loved the whole series!! Thank you so much! Greetings from Portugal 🌱

[@gunnarthegumbootguy7909]

I sometimes heat way too much water on purpose in winter and let the heat radiate into my apartment which is cold in the winter. (between 18 and 20°C, I'd prefer ~22°C) We only use like 1-2% of fossile fuels in the mix to generate electricity in my country though (and that 1-2% is only in wintertime when the demand is at the peak the launch up a few reserve natural gas power plant and in very extreme conditions there's even an oil power plant that can be taken online). Most of the year it's all nuclear and renewal (mainly hydropower, but also wind, solar and a tiny amount from other minor renewable methods like sea wave power, tidal power). Just hydro and nuclear combined is ~70% at most times so the electricity doesn't add much (or anything at all most days) to CO₂ emissions. Some of the mix (like 5% or something) is non-fossile and carbon neutral but still CO₂-releasing things like biofuel. (You grow plants, usually a certain type of tree, in sweden aspen is the most common for this i think, calculate how much CO₂ it sucks up from the air during its life time and then harvest it and burn it at the state where the release of CO₂ is equal or less than what it took from the air, this isn't completely uncontroversial since even if it's carbon neutral, some say "you could just leave those trees and not burn them then you'd just have CO₂-negative operation instead", of course you'd get no power (an almost no money) from that. But in the summer i don't want unnecessary heat in my apartment of course so i only heat as much as i need. Another way is to use less energy get one of those water heaters with a thermometer or that even stops automatically so you can set the temp you want so you don't have to reach boil and then either wait for it to cool down or add some cold water. Since with most tea types 100°C is not necessary anyway, even most black tea in my opinion taste better at slightly lower 90-95°C for really black fujian blacks, zhengshan xiaozhong and such which are my favorite teas, and for darjeeling/nepalese blacks that are usually much less oxidized i'd say ~85°C. Really dark and heavy roasted oolongs and dark pu'er (and other heicha) are the only tea i think truly needs 100°C, but i'm sure i'd barely notice a difference if i use 96°C water and getting and heating those last degrees up to the boiling point also requires significantly more power than heating from 80 to 90°C, heating it over 96°C is just so much more power demanding that i think you could stop there it's basically the same properties as boiling anyway for tea brewing purposes since no vessel can keep it at a 100° it will quickly fall down in no time to 95° or lower in a gaiwan or a small pot, even warmed up clay pots can't keep 100 for very long. Nature just doesn't want water to be at that temp.

[@jamc666]

Just spent the evening binge watching this video series and still begging for more. Excellent content, length, worth every second. Well done. 🙏

[@jackgoldman1]

Great job. Thanks for your efforts.

[@Simaisan]

Thank you so much for this incredible amazing Masterclass

[@tbbivi]

thank you for this amazing masterclass 🥰 so happy yt recommend your channel to me. all these videos have been so valuebale and packed with so much knowledge. what a gem 🥰 definitely excited for more videos 🤩

[@veroqawsed]

Thanks so much for the series, I loved every last minute! Now you got me thinking about becoming a tea farmer lol

[@Bruhne]

Very good!

[@catalinacaro8183]

Since you are studying it I'm guessing Maybe you already had the idea, bur maybe for nitrogen fertilization would be a good idea to plant legume plants here and there in between the tea plants, because legumes use the nitrogen in the air and save it in their roots, so maybe that's a way to fertilize without contamining so much.

[@katieisoffline]

Thanks for giving us the diploma in tea knowledge ❤🎉🎉🎉

[@robinredbeard]

Hey Dylan, Thanks so much for this series. I have greatly enjoyed it! This episode made me think about issues related to treatment of tea workers. I'm sure it is different around the tea-producing world and for different kinds of tea workers, but I read a few articles about poor working conditions for the tea pickers in India. Do you have any insight into this aspect of the tea industry? Once again, I greatly appreciate your efforts making these videos. Take Care.

[@wumountaintea]

Hey there @robinredbeard, I'm glad you like the series! 😊🙏🍵 You raise is an interesting question that I would need to take some more time to research before I can give you a good answer. Like you said, it is different in each tea producing country. In China I know that tea worker labor prices are rising quickly as the economy of the country as a whole becomes more robust. Mechanization is also an interesting factor. Since tea production is very labor intensive - particularly in terms of plucking the tea - advancements in automated or mechanized tea plucking technologies could cause big shifts in the labor market and labor conditions. I will dig into it a little bit and if I find some interesting things I will try to make a video on this topic. Thanks again for watching and commenting 🙏🍵🌱 - Dylan

[@faughnan1337]

Great series, thanks for putting this together! Curious if you're aware of the use of JADAM/Korean Natural Farming in tea growing (esp obviously within the Korean tea/ag context)? Generally, a video looking into organic and beyond organic tea growing practices would be super cool. Your lab perspective has been so valuable, and now the permie and Fukuoka acolyte in me is hopeful that you can provide some on the ground perspective that maybe some of the small producers can implement/experiment with Regardless of if that's within your wheelhouse, thanks for what you provide to the tea community, esp us in the West

[@oscars4107]

I use an old stanley flask to keep my water hot during my tea sessions so I only boil the kettle once. Doesn't seem to make it taste bad. Works for me and I use less electric which helps my utility bills.

[@levmurflatazara9853]

Also thanks for your videos, this is was very pleasant way to learn about basics of tea

[@gemsoft2607]

Thanks so much for making this masterclass! It's fed my hyperfocus on the drink. I'm interested in the history of agriculture techniques concerning tea cultivation. I'd appreciate it if you did something on that 😊

[@Top12Boardsport]

Great information

[@_de_reve]

LOVED THIS SERIES and specially your teaching apporoach with science, practical experience and culture!!!! Your humorous and well-organized classes helped me to understand so much as a visual learner!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this all✨👏 Also your rant is SO relatable as someone who tries to consume conschously and vegan.... sigh! There is much to do for a better future. But anyways, thank you now i will more deeply enjoy my quality loose leaf tea✨😌

[@AlextheguitarFreak]

Thanks for the diploma! 🍵😁👍🏻

[@colleenorourke6934]

Yes, burning wood produces a lot of co2 at point of release as compared to oil, but that co2 was within the ecosystem relatively recently (depending on age of the plant matter being burned). The problem with burning oil is that co2 hasn’t been in the ecosystem for 100million years, so it’s like dumping a bucket of water into an already full bathtub. But that said, electricity from sustainable sources like solar and wind is obvs the best bet at the moment, coupled with being better about conservative energy use. Also I’m from a heavily east-Asian-communities area so I find some fancy-ass tea packaging boxes in my local thrift stores sometimes and I up cycle them into lots of great uses😆

[@Vuchel]

Thanks! I didn' know tea was that intersting, thanks!

[@wumountaintea]

Thank you so much!! Going towards my next tea purchase 😃🌱🍵🫶

[@esthela5]

Congratulations on your Masterclass. And thank you very much. I don't know why it took me the whole eight classes tu subscribe to your chanel, but this is one of the best chanels I follow. I will continue watching your videos and rewatching this masterclass full of information and passion. Congrats again.

[@sccsclothing]

I appreciate the passion and research. I agree with buying organic and better sourced around farming practices. Electric Kettles and roasting I dont agree, it definitely shifts the flavor and quality and artistry of tea. Cast Iron, Clay, Silver kettles all can enhance different types of teas.

[@bengolden9964]

Excellent class! Would love reading recommendations.

[@wumountaintea]

Glad you liked it! What aspect of tea are you most interested in? I could try to make a recommendation based on that

[@debbiehill369]

When you boil the kettle pour all the water into a thermos jug should keep for hours. 😊xx

[@Winfield_KS]

It's probably not something you want to do but would you be willing to create an online store where we could buy tea. In saying that I'm hoping you'll include videos on each tea so we can learn about processing of said tea and all the environmental and quality issues. After watching your masterclass (yes all of them) I really want to reach out and try white tea and yellow tea both of which I never even knew existed. Thank you for the classes.

[@pbandjosh]

Just found your channel, terrific content, seriously man. Chapeau :) Two questions on the teabag side if you don’t mind commenting. I agree with you - just don’t use teabags. I very rarely do. But they can be convenient (in my case, traveling) and we’re not likely to get rid of them. So the two questions are: 1) Do you think Polyamide sachets/pyramids are actually any better than the petroleum plastic sachets/pyramids, or do you think it’s mostly greenwashing and marketing bs? 2) Is there a reason beyond marketing / market perception of “it looks more premium” that these plastic pyramid bags have exploded instead of some form of paper bag with loose or broken leaf tea in it for the “premium” bagged teas?

[@lambchaikies]

Whether as a note, addendum, or it's own separate video; I think it would be helpful to address plants that can be planted nearby camellia sinensis with positive benefits. Plants that enjoy the ~4.5 pH soil (or specifically attempt to counterbalance it to maintain soil health long-term), nitrogen-fixing plants that help reduce need for fertilizers, pest-control or decoy plants that repel, discourage, or Take The Hit to protect tea plants, preferred tree species that provide the optimal level of shade to mimic valley conditions mentioned in Ch.2, or even things like flowers that Just Taste Good With Tea. Going above and beyond the tea plant to describe it's ideal permaculture plot would be really nice, many people are already familiar with the concept of the Three Sisters (planting Corn, Bean, and Squash together) and I'm wondering what tea's sisters would be? Could you account for 100% of the soils pH and nitrogen problems at the cost of tea density? Does tea pollinate via wind-blown-pollen or does it need bees? Does honey made from tea nectar have a nice taste? Could you grow it in your backyard, perhaps in a big pot or wooden box and make your own home-made white tea? So many fun little questions about the agriculture here. Thanks for the 'diploma'! It was a joy to watch your series, and your passion really came through.

[@DClaville]

thank you for this series i learned a lot as someone new to tea

[@wumountaintea]

Cool! You’re welcome 🤗🌱 Got any teas you’re eager to explore first?

[@DClaville]

@@wumountaintea so far after starting on gong fu brewing, I've only tried 1 green, 1black, 1 ripe puerh and 2 oolongs, I'll keep trying more before I buy bigger portions :)

[@wumountaintea]

Nice! Enjoy the journey 🤗🍵

[@jackkennard4539]

Dylan, Are you studying the microbiome in the soil on tea farms? Do the tea trees - plants talk to each other through or with the soil microbiome?

[@wumountaintea]

Hey Jack, yes I research the microbiome of tea plantation soil. Tea trees interact massively with the microbiome living in and on their roots, leaves, shoots, etc. It's a fascinating field of research but we have only begun to scratch the surface. Tea plants also communicate with one another through chemical messages emitted from their leaves into the air where neighboring tea plants can receive the message and respond accordingly. Both tea plant - tea plant and tea plant - microbiome communications have been studied and characterized so far. If you are interested in this topic I could consider putting together a video exploring the tea plant microbiome a bit more, perhaps discussing some of my recent research on the topic. It's pretty fascinating stuff! Cheers, - Dylan

[@jayrichardson221]

​@@wumountainteawould love to hear about the relationships between microbes and tea! It's the technology of our future

[@johnanderson3700]

I’ve produced some teas for ice tea by brewing either in the sun, or doing a cold brew in the refrigerator; but I’m wondering if that would work at all for properly brewing any of the teas to be heated and consumed hot. With different teas requiring different temperatures and times I doubt it will work for brewing teas to later heat for consumption. I do enjoy pre heating my pots and cups, but I’m wondering if I need to rethink doing that.

[@havencat9337]

i've been to a farm in Yunnan -i would just call it a forest/jungle - very mountainous and remote , i wonder places like that also use nitrates? It was literally like aforest on a mountain, pretty hard to get to,

[@jamesekaran9125]

Is the same applicable to purple tea. Thank you so much for the insightful information about tea ,I would like to hear more from you sir.

[@thegourmetgardenschool]

Thanks, a great vid. FYI though, heating with wood is carbon neutral.

[@chriswiltsie7855]

Do you have suggested places to order organic tea for people in the U.S.

[@billsweeney9089]

Bravo, very well done. Great work. One thing I would take issue with is your feeling that burning wood for heat in tea processing is bad. Burning wood is carbon neutral. The carbon released by burning wood, or decaying for that matter (i.e. the tree dies and rots in the forest), will be taken up by plants to produce more biomass. A basic carbon cycle. Electricity is not necessarily clean. You must take into account how it is produced and these factors, especially if burning coal, can be very bad environmentally and are definitely not carbon neutral. Now that being said, if the wood is not burned with great efficiency it can lead to localized air pollution. In the end it would be better to use solar ovens or something that involves no carbon, but that may not be an option for everyone right now. Smart people like you can work on that! Keep up the great work, you obviously have a sophisticated knowledge of many areas of tea production and consumption.

[@wumountaintea]

Thanks Bill! I'm impressed that you made note and commented on this point. When I scripted the video I had read a source that suggested that burning wood was highly CO2 emitting, THEN when I was editing the video and supplementing with visual citations I realized that this claim was actually not nearly as conclusive as I led on in the video. I actually tried to edit my commentary about this part in order not to come off as certain but I couldn't completely fix it. That's why my visual citation is a blog article rather than an actual peer-reviewed research article, as my other claims throughout the masterclass are. I completely admit this mistake, and I do apologize for it. From the research I reviewed on this point I saw that the dampness of the wood actually was one key factor. Less dried out wood emitted more CO2. Of course, other factors play in too, such as wood type and wood harvesting process. Like you said, HOW the energy was created is THE key detail. An electric tea fixing process powered by COAL likely has a higher carbon footprint that burning wood, despite it being "electric." Perhaps to push back on one detail... playing devil's advocate, burning wood for fuel might not be completely carbon neutral in the sense that the carbon cycle, or carbon flux homeostasis, would have a set degree of wood combustion factored in, which could be exceeded by human activities if more wood is burned than what naturally occurs. In that sense, a certain degree of wood-burning globally could be said to be carbon neutral however that boundary could be surpassed. Anyway, feel free to push back on that point if you think it doesn't make sense. Otherwise, thank you for this comment, and I hope that others who watch the video see it and gain clarity from it. Best, Dylan

[@stevec404]

I will open a tea centric cafe soon. All teas will be organic if supplies are adequate. Leaves/infusers for in house consumption. Do any manufacturers use safe (paper?) bags for tea-to-go?

[@wumountaintea]

That's great! Best of luck on the new cafe 😃🍵 As for bags for tea to-go, I'm not too sure... I just did a quick google search right now to see if there was anything obvious but I didn't find anything that stood out. You may need to spend some time researching the best options for you, but I would be surprised if nobody has made an organic empty tea bag for cafe purposes by now. Anyway, the fact that the tea itself is organic is already an awesome start! Feel free to DM on insta@WuMountainTea if you want a second opinion on any other tea questions you might have as you get the cafe going 😊🌱 Thanks for watching and commenting :) - Dylan

[@Fishdogpigsquirrel]

Never ask for coffee, always ask for tea because it will make you look more professional. When they hand you mug with a bag of Twinings, berate them for an hour about their tea choices to solidify the fact that you are an intelligent and classy individual. That's how I got my job at Google.

[@wumountaintea]

Yes, an unreal pro tip - use tea to establish dominance immediately in all situations 💯🍵💪

[@mhx47]

Travelled for a long time, did not have my tea set with me… Found celulouse bags I can put tea in, infuse for few times, throw it out all easy to handle and clean. Once I spent them, had more trouble to find such thing at new place, but I did find some that was OK for hot water, thoigh it was not written it is from celulouse - seems like there is some nylone… I hope not.

[@hewhoadds]

in terms of carbon emissions, because wood is technically renewable it /can/ be better than fossil fuels it all depends on what specific fuels/power plants a region has access to

[@tydish]

Great informative video! One thing in this video confused me a little. You talked about avoiding nylon/plastic tea bags but it kinda segwayed into you sounding like all tea bags are bad. Are you saying the traditional fabric(not sure of the actual material) like bags are to be avoided as well? Thank you.

[@wumountaintea]

Hi glad you liked the video 😊 So the specific study that I reference in the video only examined the nylon/plastic tea bags, which is more of the newer "high-end" style compared with the traditional paper-based tea bags. In terms of purely measuring microplastics, I would guess that the paper-based tea bags might not be as bad, however I also do not know what paper materials are used for producing those tea bags, and there may be other non-paper materials (glues, strings, etc.) that could be released from those. The reason I segway into being more generally critical of all tea bags is that the whole idea just seems risky and unnecessary. I was attempting to argue that other methods of tea preparation are equally convenient but carry less risk of industrial contaminants. Below this comment here I linked the original article on the plastic tea bags so you can take a look if you'd like. I hope this answered your question and let me know if you would like me to try to explain anything else 🌱 Thanks for watching and commenting 🙏🍵😊 - Dylan DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b02540

[@commenter4898]

What about habitat lost when forests are cut down for tea cultivation? I vaguely recall that being the biggest environmental impact of agriculture in general.

[@TheYashie]

Lovely video! One of the most info-filled ones, this one. I learnt a lot. Now, I can hardly wait for the hidden secret flex video coming next week! Oh and where I live, there's one company that's doing this like alternative to tea-bags where they basically tie up a bunch of tea leaves with twine, then they steam and squish the leaves into a lil ball that you can dip directly in hot water. It's such a cool concept, but the tea tastes horrible 😢

[@wumountaintea]

Yeah I might have heard about that company! Interesting idea, I hope they keep working to optimize it. You're right this one was very dense - there was a lot of important stuff I didn't want to leave out. Secret bonus video drops next Saturday 👀... As always, thanks for watching and commenting on this one, you tha man!! 🙏🤟🍵

[@TheYashie]

@@wumountaintea Thank you for the PDFs! I had them open on another screen while I watched the video. It helped me follow along much much better. Hope others are making use of the resources as well!

[@wumountaintea]

oh you only found them now!? 😂🌱 that's ok, they will still help you review and remember the details a bit better. Also, there are more PDF's specific to tea quality assessment (chapter 4) - they are blank tea tasting rubrics for each major tea type with vocabulary cheat sheets on the back, which are all ALMOST done and will also be available for download right next to the main pdf in a couple of days. I'll DM you when they are ready 🤘🍵😊

[@TheYashie]

@@wumountaintea I knew they existed but this is the one video where I had to like look at them WHILE watching the video, because of the information density! And yes I've been waiting for the tea taste rubric sheet ever since you mentioned you'd put them up in the previous video :P I have a sampler pack that I haven't opened because I wanna try doing the *professional tasting* on em :P

[@wumountaintea]

rubrics are up! 😃🤘🍵

[@nhansen197]

I've watched some of the videos, and not necessarily in the right order. One of the things I was hoping to find out was can I use the leaves from the Camellia bushes in my yard in the event I should suddenly find myself cut off from all tea sources?

[@wumountaintea]

Nice 🙌🍵 Tea processing is chapter 3 (put the link below for you) - in case of a tea apocalypse you can use that as a guide to make your own tea 🌱🤗. I also have an Oolong-specific processing video that you could watch if you want, but Oolong is hard to make and I would recommend starting with a green or white tea. Good luck! Tea Processing Explained in Full: How Raw Tea Leaves are Transformed into the 6 Major Tea Types kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqKnnGWprLmceJo

[@TaciturnusIneffabilis]

how about the levels of fluoride in the tea? I heard its pretty big.

[@miriamendres7415]

Have watched most of this series today. For some information about soil health--reducing inputs, Dr Elaine's Soil Food Web School (USA), The Permaculture Student (USA), Soil Learning Centre (Australia). I have being drinking tea for most of my life and plan to grow a few bushes for my own consumption. What simple equipment would I need?

[@wumountaintea]

I’m a HUGE fan of Dr. Elaine’s soil food web school (it’s actually the majority of the videos that I personally watch on KZbin - in addition to advancing eco-agriculture (AEA) with John Kempf). To grow a few tea crops you don’t need much! Dial in your soil pH to 4.5-5.5. If you want to make a simple green tea, you just need a big wok. Can I ask what climate zone you’re in? Best, Dylan

[@miriamendres7415]

@@wumountaintea It was one of John Kempf's videos that took me down this path. The tea will be growing in the sub tropics, about 300km south of the tropic of Capricorn and about 50km inland from the sea. It is on the Northern side of a hill, sunny side. I plan to have a quail pen, and plant the tea around the boundary of the pen. You said they need high nitrogen. That is some of my reasoning. Thanks for responding.

[@wumountaintea]

@@miriamendres7415 Good, the climate seems fine. Do you have access to cuttings or are you trying to grow from seed?

[@miriamendres7415]

@@wumountaintea Dylan, at the moment I haven't looked into where I am getting the plants from. Would like to cross two different types and have my own variety that can grow in my area. This is a medium term goal. I am living 2 hours from the block of land, need to build a house and start establishing plants. I am learning and applying things now where I am living. This weekend I am brewing some worm compost tea. Since green tea is the easiest for me to do, I have bought some loose leaf green tea from the local supermarket.

[@wumountaintea]

@@miriamendres7415 Sounds good! When you get to deciding on your plant genetics we can talk more. For now, since your climate seems good, all you need is fertile (enough) soil, which you are equipped to identify thanks to Dr. Elaine and John Kempf 😊🌱 🙏 Also, you are about 3-5 years away from processing your own green tea, but when the time comes you can find a big metal wok and use that. You will also need clippers (eventually, maybe, depending on the growth status.) But that's about it! Good luck and keep me posted! Dylan

[@_lntergalaktikOpereitor_]

Beloved Wonderful Teacher, Could you, please, composee a (minimum) 30 minutes lecture on L-Teanine, and another (maybe separated) one on Nitric Oxide, PLEEEEEEEASE 🤗💚🤗

[@paulphelps7809]

Is the proliferation of tea-growing into other countries a good thing? or not? Are there any issues?

[@hollo0o583]

In japan there are these cattle’s (?) that keep water warm I don’t know what their actually called but they have two major advantages. 1) a LOT more convenient. You can walk up to your little machine and get hot water on command at any time of day without having to wait for it to heat up. 2) they use way less electricity. These devices are thermo insulated and take minimal energy consumption to keep hot. And since the water’s left at a really hot temperature, bacteria and mould can’t develop.

[@harmonicaveronica]

I think you mean kettle there. Kettle = pot specially designed for heating water. Cattle = cows. Anyway, the object you're talking about is a hot water dispenser 😊

[@hollo0o583]

thanks XD@@harmonicaveronica

[@hollo0o583]

There’s that one luxury swiss herbal tea brand every single slightly more bugee café and restaurant uses here in switzerland. It gained a lot of popularity in like the last 10 years and they STILL use plastic teabags. It makes me mad every single time because 1.plastic duh, and 2. It’s not even good! Anny cheep ass tea you can buy at the supermarket is way better!

[@michaelangelopalacio8631]

😊

[@jackgoldman1]

Like the tea master said, secret of tea? Boil water. Steep tea. Drink.

[@vincento2925]

based

[@clareryan3843]

I had no idea tea cultivation used so much nitrogen🤦 Nirates in drinking water is terrible: over 7 parts per million means a significant increase in bowel cancer in affected communities, over 4 perts per million and miscarriages and premature births go up - ask me how I know?? Dairy farming has done this to large areas of my province

[@wumountaintea]

Yes it’s a serious problem across many forms of agriculture and livestock. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way at all - the nitrate pollution is a product of poor management practices that are going to get phased out by sustainable and eco-friendly practices in the coming years. The reason I’m so confident is that - for better or for worse - money is the driving factor. Nitrate in the water started as expensive nitrogen fertilizer that the farmer gained no benefit from by applying in such excessive quantities. Organic fertilizer and more sustainable N management practices not only clean up the drinking water but save farmers money, so it will win out in the end. In the meantime, try to support organic/sustainable farming when and where you can to help push the transition! 🙌🌱🍵🫶

[@MsMarktwain95]

How much conversation is happening in China/other parts of Asia on reducing waste and carbon foot print? It's hard to tell from here in the west and only speaking english.

[@7531monkey]

Plastics make you live forever.

[@asfasfasfasf124]

cradle to grave of animal based fertiliser is something i think you also forget here. i don't think organic is the path forward. the path forward is creating something new. something that is less harmfull overall. if all farms switch to organic manure and so on we will just create a even bigger problem. we have allot of chemophobia, but honestly i see gmo as a potential lifesaver here if it's done the right way.

[@aaronyork3995]

My girlfriend is also against me “tea bagging”. Lmao. Sorry had to say it

[@levmurflatazara9853]

Global tea consumption level can't be efficiently covered only by organic farms, especially in capitalist state when you need to make money to continue your buisness Also humans aren't really like to downgrade things untill it's too late So more efficient and realistic solution to emissions and level of pesticides is to research and use GMO.

[@tewtravelers9586]

I don’t think there’s enough evidence to consider nitrites bad. I like my celery and beets.

[@SpachtelEimer]

Pls name some figures on co2 emissions by electricity consumtion. Dont think its that big of a deal tbh

[@fransahm1956]

Luckily electricity just appears out of nowhere. That said I get the drift of this. I really enjoyed the info in this course. Thank You !!

[@wumountaintea]

You’re welcome! Right should have been more specific - solar/wind powered electric. Thanks for watching 🍵🙏

[@rachellel]

Electrification sometimes just moves the pollution to a central location

[@fionafiona1146]

Central locations are more accessible for policy interventions though

[@thomasa.243]

​@@fionafiona1146yeah. It is easier to put preventive measures in a few places than in millions of households...

[@fionafiona1146]

@@thomasa.243 I am happy to pursue both but industrial food packaging is better made an industry problem

[@thomasa.243]

@@fionafiona1146 I fully agree. We as individuals can also do something but only up to a certain point if you still want to participate in the society.

[@Eric-sy1xu]

Large scale industry is more efficient for power generation, produces less carbon per watt than a home-scale generator, say. This means that even if it's "Just centralising pollution" the end result is still preferable if we care about mitigating pollution and keeping a high output. Centralised pollution producers have their own issues of course; they disrupt the local environment a lot more than smaller producers do individually, this is observable truth, but in the process of selecting an appropriate power station environmental assessments are done to minimise environmental impact.

[@codrin1862]

CO2? Really?

[@HellGod67]

I'm sure the first teabag happened much earlier 😏

[@wumountaintea]

how much earlier?

[@SchmittsPeter]

Really a shame you did stop to produce videos.

[@wumountaintea]

Got a new one coming soon 🌱

[@SchmittsPeter]

@@wumountaintea Than I maybe should keep you on my radar. Great to hear, the masterclass-playlist was really interesting.

[@mbg8733]

Wood is carbon neutral as long as it is from a forest that is continually being replanted. For every tree felled another is planted, which is mostly what happens because if not the lumber company would run out of trees. In many countries electricity is produced not very green and then electrification would actually be worse for the climate.

[@lordofchaosinc.261]

I don't know where you live but plastic tea bags sound gross and unedible to my ear like using cotton oil for food. Pretty sure I never saw such.

[@wumountaintea]

Sound gross and inedible to my ear too! 😂🤷‍♂️

[@theshoemanstream2347]

What about using a microwave to heat up the water?

[@RobertaPeck]

Isuggestion: I drink tea as an anti cancer and would like you to address the best teas that are the most anti cancer

[@kc66]

Electrifying everything is too simplistic an approach. There's substantial energy loss in the generation and transmission of electricity so, unless your electricity is completely green or the generating power plants have effective carbon capture technologies you're better off boiling your water on a gas stove.

[@jackgoldman1]

Solution is stop drinking tea. Drink water only. Problem solved. Water falls from the sky for free. Problem solved.

[@DASLAKILL]

Plants need carbon tea needs carbon, first environmental issue is global warming BS, what a joke.

[@OriginalMariAnnaWolf]

I heared electric is not better.. still not eco of reasons I forget, but I rather forget then to be sad y its bad.. Its something with diggin? For battery and how batteries just become waste and stuff? Just better go the old old ways to do everything ourselves!😅 As for micro plastic.. its everywhere now, even in air, every water, theres just no running away no more from the plastic.. Its everywhere! Plastic! Plastic everywhere! No escape! Plastic is earth now! Panik..

[@hyper-cat]

I believe what you're trying to recall is mining for lithium for batteries. It's true that it's been very destructive for the environment; any sort of mining is going to be greatly harmful, but it's not like the process to extract, process, and transport oil is any better, even if oil companies would like folks to think so. While it's still not great, new and larger lithium deposits are being found in places that can hopefully cut down on mining in endangered areas, like the Amazon. There is certainly the potential for more sustainable mining operations to take hold. In my opinion, the real issue will eventually be recycling lithium batteries, as it's very difficult and expensive to do so currently. However as EV's and L-ion batteries become more in demand, the costs and ability to recycle will be much more accessible. The incentives to recycle old batteries will greatly outweigh the costs of mining. It will take a long time, but things will level out. However, that is all just manufacturing. In terms of operation, electric is better. Easy. However, that also assumes one's power grid is somewhat sustainable or at least can become carbonless in the future.

[@fionafiona1146]

Electric kettles need no batteries. The rare earth minerals in small household electronics aren't going to be any less resource intense than having a stove top kettle. Electric kettles with target temperatures can have additional energy savings by avoiding energy waste. Having tight post consumer recycling infrastructure is important, German stores need to take back everything they sell or product from the cathegories they sell to centralise small electronics recycling (landfill mining is starting to be profitable)

[@Thankingyou1]

You have an excellent program, but it's extremely time consuming, over complicated and down right boring. It's too technical and too tiring to wade through all these details. How about a simpler easier to understand version?

[@Window4503]

Are you sure it’s not your own overexposure to flashy videos and 10 second shorts? Because I can follow this and I’m no scientist.

[@Thankingyou1]

The series is extremely dry and has way too many details. It's Overwhelming with all the facts and details. I can follow just about anything, even Organic Chemistry, physics, calculus and theoretical mathematics. I love tea. But, entertaining it ain't.