Pesticides in Chinese Tea

Would you like a little sugar with your tea?  Honey?  A splash of hazardous pesticides?

A 2012 Greenpeace report found the "massive use of chemical pesticides" in samples of Chinese tea.

Greenpeace tested 18 medium grade oolong, jasmine and green teas from 9 major Chinese tea companies.  All of the samples were found to contain multiple pesticides and most contained hazardous, banned pesticides.

The report indicated that the Chinese government has a 5-year plan to reduce the use of pesticides by 20 percent.  Greenpeace is urging a "drastic reduction."


What's a tea drinker to do?  Dirty Harry would say you have to ask yourself, "Do I feel lucky?  Well, do ya, punk?

Having said all that, is chinese tea is more or less safe than tea from other countries?  The report may not change my tea drinking habits a lot but I'll probably reach more for certified organic versions.