OK, I have heard this before and I'd like to get an actual answer from people who actually know as to whether it's the truth. There is an article in the Salem News Online today about tea, in which the writer quotes Amy Paulose, said to be the head of Teaosophy, saying " "The dust is the lowest grade," she said. "It is literally swept off the floor and into (American) tea bags."" Now I have heard this before how the tea dust is "swept off the floor" and I have also heard how that is a bunch of malarkey. Could someone please elaborate? The entire article can be found here:
This upsets me only from the standpoint of implying that tea dust is contaminated with floor dust and also that tea dust is horrible just because it's dust. Sure, the stuff in Lipton's isn't great, but I imagine there are some tea dusts out there that are just fine. They may not be as complex as full leaf but they have their uses. In fact, if you wanted to argue it on particle size alone, matcha could be considered tea dust (though I know it doesn't fit into the dust catagory in actual tea official terms or anything).
So, what gives?
Melinda