From April until recently, the Taiwanese government has found many well-known tea brands and tea shop chains selling teas with banned pesticides or with pesticide residues over allowable limits. As a tea drinker, I feel very angry that a few immoral businessmen were willing to sacrifice customers’ health to make profit. I also feel worried that there may be more cases undisclosed.

When I talked to our farmers, they seemed not too surprised. To make profit, tea shops import low-quality tea leaves from India, Vietnam, and China. These tea leaves are from questionable sources. Some of them are stored poorly. Before putting these teas on the shelf, retailers then add a number of different scents and artificial flavors to make the teas appealing. A farmer we work with recently told me that he hasn’t drunk teas from any unknown sources for a long time, including the teas from brand names. I understand.

Unfortunately, we believe that the Taiwanese government has just revealed the tip of an iceberg. There are thousands of tea shops keen to cater to Taiwanese who have a good appetite for convenient teas. Without thorough inspection, we don’t know how many tea shops still sell questionable teas.

What happened in Taiwan is, in fact, also happening globally. Customer awareness is the key. We should be aware of what we are drinking! Being cautious customers not only protect themselves, but also protect honest tea farmers, tea makers, tea retailers and other tea drinkers. If we support honest tea retailers, we will actually benefit ourselves. This is why we have put so much effort into searching for trustworthy teas and tea farmers. As a tea retailer, I only provide tea that I would share with my family and friends. I care about my family and friends. I also care about my customers. My customers should have high quality teas that I and my family drink everyday. It is a commitment to our customers.