Tap Water VS Bottled Water

I would highly doubt you have "high counts" of bacteria in your tap water as it is treated for just this reason. Fluoride, yes, bacteria, most likely not. The "cleanest" bottled water is distilled, but that is not necessarily the best for tea.

Almost all bottled water comes from those very same taps you find troublesome just around the country. They filter the water and bottle it. You can do the very same.

I am a hiker and deal with water purification in the field at times, I prefer either boiling or a chemical (bleach/Aquasafe tablets) to UV methods like a Steripen. Many use the UV methods but it is not something I put any trust in.

- Dominic

bacteria is everywhere in nature bacteria is all over in/on the human body, contributing to some essential functions.

from what water report did you read "high count of bacteria" ?

here?

if such levels reach a threshold they would stop pumping it as opposed to giving thousands of people and children diarrhea... and having to pay 10s of millions of dollars in health care and lawsuits.

I saw a UV light, SteriPENN, that fits in a pocket and will kill even viruses. It's at

Problem is, though, the water has to be clear or any particulates, such as tea, will cause "shadowing" that prevents the UV from working.

bookburn

If you're worried about fluoride, maybe you shouldn't drink tea, which adds fluoride to the water it's steeped in.

/Lew

I mentioned this device in my reply, however as I briefly stated above I would never actually trust this in real life as a well seasoned hiker/backpacker/camper. This reply is not so much directed to you, but just in general since I didn't expand too much on my distrust of UV sterilization.

There is no way to tell if it has "worked." There is no way to tell if it is in proper working condition (batteries of sufficient charge, malfunction, any sort of failure). It is dependent on power, which is not always available... even with a gimmicky solar case. A cloudy day or night or dense cover or about a million other problems could arise to render it useless like a cracked panel from oh, say just the kind of traumatic experience that would lead one to truly need to rely on it. No filtration at all. I truly could go on forever but I'll cut it short here. Please read the customer reviews from that REI link as well as elsewhere on the 'net if you are even considering a UV sterilizer.

I truly depend on my gear and it can mean the difference between life and death. Too often I see people fall for the latest gimmick or flashy product and get stuck in some very bad situations. Sure, here it may just mean a bad cup of tea but I figured I'd at least offer my

3 cents (the dollar is finally mounting a comeback).

- Dominic

PS FWIW I use a Katadyn Hiker Pro with Aqua Mira tablets as my backup in almost all occasions. A bandana is my backup filter before purifying.

I drink tea daily for the health benefits. I've read a lot of negative things about tea. Don't know what to believe anymore without testing things yourself. That's why it's wise to do it yourself. How adverse is flouride?

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote

I drink tea daily for the health benefits. I've read a lot of negative things about tea.

Would you please tell me about it, directing me to references or any literautre on the web, for instance?

There's a lot, I don't know where, but don't worry. One thread/site said some ingredient in tea causes cancer. No worry, because billions drink tea and prolly >50% of the heaviest tea drinkers who live a long life didn't die of cancer. Also, you can bet EVERY thing we eat or drink has at least one adverse health aspect to it. (For every advantage, there's disadvantages). Even the sun which supports all life and is healthy especially the natural vitamin D, has some harmful aspects to it including skin cancer. Yes some foods are unhealthier than others. Tea ain't one. Eat, sip and be merry. Continue sipping and enjoying the sun. 8)

Just make sure your water is clean - that's the big issue and one that can be dealt with fairly easily and inexpensively.

Oh yeah, make sure the air you breathe is clean. Very important. Live upwind from cities. We must go gas-free. I hope gas climbs to $1000/ gallon to speed things along.

And filter your home air! For fast results, I place a big strong Patton fan at the corner of the biggest room aimed at the hallway. I weave a damp large beach towel through 3 mesh baskets and place it at the back of the fan and crank that puppy on high for about fifteen minutes twice a day. The moisture in the towel traps the most minute particles that expensive filters miss. Make sure the towel is thin and the meshing is very aerated so that the fan can easily pull as much air through it as possible. I also have one fan filter where I spend most of my time. The air you breath is as vital as your drinking water. One reason is we drink about 6-10 glasses of water each day. Compare that to 23,500 breaths we inhale each day!

You can also create pure air by boiling water. Something air-filter companies won't tell you. You'd be surprised how much air can be made from so little water. You can see the process using a kettle.

The problem is air moisture (humidity) will be high .. which ages electronics (for every advantage, there's a disadvantage). A good dehumidifier will help if you use it simultaneously.

BTW this is how the earth got its air: water flowed onto lava. At least that's my current personal view.

Why? What is the benefit you're trying to achieve? Cancer? ... Lung cancer has cigarette smoking as the cause of 90%

you mean 14400-20160 ... lets just say 17280 for simplicity. You obviously breathe more than normal adults. The theophylline sure is doing a number on you... better check those levels before you overdose.

rec.food.drink.tea = tea =/= (does not equal to) humidifiers, air purifiers or lava.

.

I wouldnt. Epidemiologically the countries that do drink tea and do better in whatever health category you care to associate also are more active than us and consume less junk food. The only thing we do better is tap water. As I always say if drinking tea keeps me alive another day longer it didnt cost me anything extra. All I know is if you drink enough tea all at once youll drown.

Jim

PS On my last office visit the Doc said to be sure to drink a lot of water to flush the kidneys with the new medication. I told her how much tea I drank and she literally started to stammer saying something about the chemical makeup of vegetable proteins. I could tell she was caught off guard. I imagine she immediately got on the phone to the pharmaceutical company and heard them stammer.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: ...always boil water...

...for drinking tea...

While intrepidly exploring the bowels of USENET on Sunday, August 10,

2008, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com rolled initiative and posted the following:

I feel compelled to delurk and counter this hope. At that cost for fuel, water quality for tea won't matter as I won't be able to afford the leaf. Not a lot of tea is grown in the US.

And I seriously doubt that the claim can be substantiated that schooners and tall ships will be able to replace existing fuel oil cargo ships to the point that prices don't skyrocket.

That gives you some H2 and some O. Now, where'd the N2, that makes up

78% of our atmosphere, come from?

So how much tea do you consume? Everything has negatives. Tea is prolly better for you overall than 90% of other beverages. The traces of junk in tea is likely very trivial; however over consumption of the cleanest water on earth is bad for you.

You've sidestepped my point. I'm actually with you. My hope is for gas free ($0/gallon) vehicles to be mass marketted. Driving the cost of gas up is the means for this goal. And it is already working. More people drive hybrids today. Car companies are finally getting around to being motivated to explore the idea of cranking out gas free cars.

Cars. Not ships. One step at a time. Cars pollute our surroundings about a zillion times more than ships.

Soil. Lava. God. Obviously one or more of these sources. Where else? Where did anything come from?

While intrepidly exploring the bowels of USENET on Monday, August 11,

2008, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com rolled initiative and posted the following:

And, in the process, they pollute more - just not around here. Electric vehicle production creates more waste, and more toxic waste, than production of typical cars. The toxic production just tends to happen "over there" rather than in our back yards.

I recognize that you've said "gas free," but I'm guessing you also mean "zero emission vehicles" which rules out diesel as well. However, electric cars won't take off unless supercapacitors replace batteries so that the vehicle can be charged in the same amount of time it takes to top off a tank.

(I'd like to have a nice little diesel that runs on switch grass bio fuel, gets 70 miles to the gallon and is a lot of fun to drive, myself. VW's going that direction.)

Depends on where you live. Cargo ship in the LA/Long Beach area produce about as much pollution each day as an oil refinery.

But you're missing the point. If gasoline is $1000 a gallon, it will be because oil is similarly expensive. Now, if you want to mandate nuclear powered cargo ships...

Speaking of side-stepping... (heh.)

Beyond the ultimate source for matter in the universe, boiling H2O will not produce nitrogen. Neither will it produce free standing hydrogen or oxygen. Water hitting lava boils, it does not undergo electrolysis.

The confluence of H2O and magma cannot have produced our atmosphere.

don't we all bro

B.S. propaganda. Electricity produces zero emmissions and nothing else harmful to our environment. Should we ban electricity altogether?? Yike!

Propaganda. You can't be this stupid?

That's a lofty goal. Reduction is also helpful.

And yes even diesels will peter out eventually, time allowed for technology to adance. Get out of the fifties bro. Do you believe in technological advances?

I didn't say gas-free today did I. We need to generate serious motivation today. Higher gas prices forcing people into hybrids is one.

Most of us live in cities. Don't know about you.

Nope. Nice try. I've lived in LA for decades and you're wrong. Now in the LB harbor itself during busy hours you are right. There's plenty of air pollution in non coastal cities and cities along the coast upwind from the ocean. Many inland cities in China are grossly polluted .. not too many land ships.

Auto emmisions are the main source of all air pollution simply due to their numbers. Even factories pale in comparison. Ships are a joke in comparison.

No. I made the first point that the goal is to be gas free. You continue to duck the issue.

No, that was just a response to a question you asked. What's your IQ?

Jeeze, what happens to water when it is heated? It turns into air. So what do you think when water hits lava, it freezes? Low IQ points again.

I'd say it's probably not best to feed the trolls... but sometimes it's just hard to pass up the opportunity to poke one with a pointy stick a couple times. Don't feed them past midnight or get them wet either.

- Me

heh, see I try to even get involved with trolls and I end up replying to the wrong post. I meant to reply to Space Cowboy not you steve, you are in fact the very troll I was speaking of... so don't get your hopes up that I was on your side. I firmly believe you are either bat shiat crazy or just a PITA.

- Me again

Care to elaborate or just troll?