Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
Update Date: 2009/04/29 10:05
Tea left to steep for too long develops "tea alkaloids," which taste bitter and astringent. Some vendors therefore add "tea essence" to enhance the aroma or "saccharin" to mask the bitter taste. However, nutritionists warn that both tea essence and saccharin, being chemical additives, can burden the kidneys if consumed excessively, much like medication. (Reported by Liu Ying-lan)
Taiwanese love tea, and chain tea shops are everywhere. However, to cut costs, some vendors add "tea essence" during brewing to enhance the flavor. Nutritionists point out that tea essence is a synthetic chemical, and frequent consumption can harm the body, just like overusing medication. How can consumers tell if tea essence has been added? Yeh Hsin-chi, spokesperson for the chain tea shop "Sharetea," explains that after drinking, one can smell the cup—unless the tea is served hot in a ceramic cup, which acts as an aroma cup, plastic or Styrofoam cups retaining a strong tea scent indicate excessive tea essence.
Tea steeped for too long develops "tea alkaloids," becoming increasingly bitter over time. More conscientious vendors limit the sale of a batch of tea to two hours, as tea older than that is unpalatable to most consumers. To sell such tea, some vendors add "saccharin," which can strain the kidneys.
As for bottled or canned tea, while convenient and hygienic, some consumers find the taste inferior to freshly brewed tea. Vendors explain that there is inevitably a slight difference in flavor between machine-brewed and hand-brewed tea.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 090429/ 1/ 1im3l. html
Cold Tea Lingers with Strong Aroma: Excessive Tea Essence
Tea left to steep for too long develops "tea alkaloids," which taste bitter and astringent. Some vendors therefore add "tea essence" to enhance the aroma or "saccharin" to mask the bitter taste. However, nutritionists warn that both tea essence and saccharin, being chemical additives, can burden the kidneys if consumed excessively, much like medication. (Reported by Liu Ying-lan)
Taiwanese love tea, and chain tea shops are everywhere. However, to cut costs, some vendors add "tea essence" during brewing to enhance the flavor. Nutritionists point out that tea essence is a synthetic chemical, and frequent consumption can harm the body, just like overusing medication. How can consumers tell if tea essence has been added? Yeh Hsin-chi, spokesperson for the chain tea shop "Sharetea," explains that after drinking, one can smell the cup—unless the tea is served hot in a ceramic cup, which acts as an aroma cup, plastic or Styrofoam cups retaining a strong tea scent indicate excessive tea essence.
Tea steeped for too long develops "tea alkaloids," becoming increasingly bitter over time. More conscientious vendors limit the sale of a batch of tea to two hours, as tea older than that is unpalatable to most consumers. To sell such tea, some vendors add "saccharin," which can strain the kidneys.
As for bottled or canned tea, while convenient and hygienic, some consumers find the taste inferior to freshly brewed tea. Vendors explain that there is inevitably a slight difference in flavor between machine-brewed and hand-brewed tea.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 090429/ 1/ 1im3l. html