Tea is one of the most popular drinks across the world. Made by brewing tea leaves, with or without milk and sugar, tea has many variations, and each one has a loyal fan base. Be it the morning cuppa to wake up the mind or those mid-work breaks to freshen it up, and tea is the ultimate beverage for it all. No matter if it is in India or anywhere else, and tea holds a special place in every household. So there is a reason why tea connoisseurs passionately research and discover new facets of tea leaves worldwide. And this includes tea adulteration too. Yes, tea leaves can be adulterated too. But how do you find out the difference? Here’s when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) comes to the rescue.
The country's apex food regulator has taken to social media to post an informative video. Sharing the video on Instagram, FSSAI wrote: “Detecting Exhausted Tea Leaves Adulteration in Tea Leaves”. The video details the process to find out if your tea leaves are adulterated.
The video shows a simple filter paper test wherein you can spread the tea leaves on filter paper and sprinkle water droplets to make the paper wet. A few minutes later, remove the leaves and wash the paper under tap water. Now observe the stains on the paper against the light. If the tea leaves are unadulterated, there will be no staining on the paper, while on the other hand, if the filter paper has blackish-brown stains all over it, the tea leaves are adulterated.
Now you may ask what effect does it have if we use pure tea leaves. A tea prepared with pure tea leaves gives a distinct aroma besides many health benefits and flavours. This may not be the case if you use adulterated tea leaves. FSSAI keeps on sharing tips and tricks to check some of the most common ingredients in our kitchen. For instance, recently, it shared a simple test to ascertain if black pepper, a popular ingredient in Indian cuisine, is adulterated or not.
The number of people and the variety of teas they consume could be significant to consume the best. Some prefer tea with milk, and some like it all black. And now there are several available teas, from lavender to jasmine to green tea as well. One can easily run an adulteration check before brewing one.
