Yesterday, my mother face-timed me with serious worry lines in her lovely face. The cause of my dear mother's anxiety was recent findings by the KCA(Korean Consumer Agency) on unacceptable levels of pesticides in some Chinese teas labeled as organic.  So as a  public service announcement triggered by my mother,  I alert you the reader about the below brand of organic puerh which was found to have Bifenthrin (0.02 mg/kg) and Cypermethrin (0.49mg/kg). I didn't recognize the wrapper as one of my own or any I've ever seen for sale. I think Youji means organic and the front says something like 100 Years Era.  The news reports that other expensive organic labeled teas including jasmine tea were shown to contain goodly amounts of pesticide. So upon being presented with this unpleasant news, what's a tea lover to do.  I really don't want to accumulate potentially carcinogenic neurtoxins in my fatty cells although environmental impact from the usage of such insecticides is the greater evil.  What are we to learn from this alarming news?  The organic label does not always mean much.  I guess rinsing your tea is critical. Which middleman or middlewoman can bridge this gap sourcing directly from reputable farmers?  I was always dubious about a scene where David Lee Hoffman rejects teas in "All in this Tea" by just a single whiff claiming that the farmer used pesticides.  I think most teas on our markets may not have such strong indicators as such tea would be weeded out by the consumers.

I am liable to forget all this and drink tea as I have always done.  After the Dai Fukushima nuclear blowout, I had vowed to avoid all new tea from 2011. But after even a short while I drank random sencha at sushi restaurants without a second thought.
[null, null, {"document_url": "http://teacloset.blogspot.com/2013/01/korean-news-reports-pesticides-in-puerh.html", "unformatted_src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOfrd5_TZiE/UQVeldJdY9I/AAAAAAAAB4U/Rx2eDpnz4Uo/s320/photo+%25281%2529.JPG", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOfrd5_TZiE/UQVeldJdY9I/AAAAAAAAB4U/Rx2eDpnz4Uo/s320/photo+%25281%2529.JPG", "formatted_filename": "photo", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 168}, {"document_url": "http://teacloset.blogspot.com/2013/01/korean-news-reports-pesticides-in-puerh.html", "unformatted_src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OeHSzeUODwI/UQVehC-xIzI/AAAAAAAAB4M/pDlhHO3Nai0/s320/photo.JPG", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OeHSzeUODwI/UQVehC-xIzI/AAAAAAAAB4M/pDlhHO3Nai0/s320/photo.JPG", "formatted_filename": "photo", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 174}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null]