.
If you recall from my Day 2 of Gratitude post, I was getting worried about high lead and aluminum levels in many teas, Chinese-grown tea, specifically. My research on the subject lead me to discover that there are a small number of American tea growers doing their thing.
Chinese smog levels 20 times safety limits, caused by coal-burning power plants, is nothing new, but not everyone connects the dots between dirty air and agricultural soils contaminated with heavy metals.
There's an excellent story here on the subject: http://e360.yale.edu/…/chinas_dirty_pollution_secret_t…/2782
I reached out to Steve Lorch, co-owner of Table Rock Tea Company with his wife, Jennifer, in South Carolina. While their Uniquely American Tea won't be ready for market til 2018, he did offer to send me some imported tea samples if I were willing to give my unbiased feedfback.
On Friday I received this package in the mail which looked a little like drug contraband upon opening. Also included was the bandana, which, if I take a photo of myself doing something fun with it, will get me into future contests and giveaways.
So I can now happily sample the Jacked Black tea (Steve advised me to use no more than a 1/2 teaspoon as this stuff packs a wallop), along with a winter green tea, baked green tea and roasted Yaupon. All minimally processed, as Steve's handwritten note explained. Sipping it now as I type, but I will withhold my opinions until I've sampled each tea several times.
Which leads me to Day 10 of my 365 Days of Gratitude. I appreciate American entrepreneurs with a vision of doing something a better way, and I also appreciate the personal touch where a customer can interact directly with the merchant from which they're buying.
Day 10, 365 days of gratitude
January 10th, 2016 at 11:36 pm
January 11th, 2016 at 12:51 am 1452473475
January 11th, 2016 at 12:51 am 1452473482
January 11th, 2016 at 02:36 am 1452479778