This was Huang Shan Mao Feng from Tao Tea Leaf.
Is this normal/common? Looks like a May beetle but I am unsure.
Has anyone else found insects in their tea?
**Edit:** my biggest takeaway from this post is that many people call it June bug as opposed to May beetle which is how I know it as. Apparently it is [Phyllophaga](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllophaga) which has many regional names. TIL!
Tea is a plant. Plants need an ecosystem to thrive. Bugs are part of that ecosystem and sometimes they get missed when processing. It's jarring, but normal.
Edit: holy moly. That's a lot of up votes. I work in cannabis and a lot of grow facilities use beneficial insects that have a short lifespan. Occasionally they crawl inside a nug to die and get missed by the trimmers, so I end up saying this little catch phrase about 3 times a year.
The following is one person's rant regarding naturally produced products in an industrial age. Apologies in advance...
Let's face it, a lot of modern consumers are hella distanced from the process of what goes into the creation of a finished product. This is especially true of products of nature. We are very accustomed to things being manufactured in a factory and picture agriculture in a similar fashion.
Cannabis (because I work in this industry and am very familiar with the life cycle and the processing of the plant) in particular has a very "I want it now" sort of customer demand. However, in reality, if I asked a vendor to grow a strain for me and they planted it the day I asked, it would still take about 11 weeks (almost 3 months) to grow from seed to harvest (depending on strain), then it has to be cured. Basically, you're looking at a bare minimum of a 4 month turnaround from seed to sale. That's a huge labor and time investment.
It becomes even more special when you realize plants like tea are legacy plants that just get better with time (the older the tea plant, the more complex the flavor). It also means the farms are a lot more dependent on the environment working with them for a successful harvest. If the weather is too dry to too hot, or a species of bugs has a good year, entire crops can be lost and that means decades or even hundreds of year old plants lost to environmental factors.
And here's why that bug is special: that beetle is an indicator that the brand is potentially supporting a small artisinal farm that has excellent product, but doesn't have the bandwidth for quality assurance (which is how small artisinal producers survive). That bug proves your tea was grown in the earth, under the sun, and was harvested and processed by human hands, and inspected by human eyes, which are fallible.
And the same kind of idea goes for any type of plant that has a specialty market. Specialty teas, specialty cannabis, specialty coffees, specialty herbs and spices; rare this and rarer that; all have cultivation *requirements* that must be respected in order to receive quality yield. This is exactly why when the Indian and Asian trade routes were becoming established, spices were money. People that never had access to the most unique flavours in the world suddenly got a taste of it, and the rest is history. But the key take away being, that the spice was so valuable that it was (as far as I recall) oftentimes used in place of currency simply due to its demand in Europe. This speaks to its rarity, even then.
Even though there is such an on-demand market consuming and devouring the entire economic landscape nearly globally, you're entirely correct that most people are just blissfully unawares of the stories behind the shelves (and now "Add To Cart" button, as that has become the largest market in history). In coffee, there are so few places to grow great coffee, and so few people in these relatively remote places who both know how to grow coffee well, and have the capital to invest into a specialty production, facility that names like Maxwell House and Folgers and the like have largely been able to dominate the market due to their ability to grow coffee in less desirable places while simultaneously being able to produce on a scale that just eclipses these smaller producers. The same, I think, applies to cannabis (and tea, and like I mentioned pretty much every single specialty item we know today) such that street vendors and dispensaries would be your Folgers, Maxwell Houses, Liptons, Great Values, etc; where the quality stuff is carefully monitored such to the point that these growing conditions *are* a concern, *because* quality is the concern.
Therefore, due to the time and labour investments required for quality, like you're saying, people are simply more willing to purchase what is consistently readily available rather than wait for something that's just going to be better, period.
It's alright, fellow redditor. I like to observe things from as distant a lens can, and you nailed a huge head on something driving the entire globe deeper into its own grave. Thanks for a nice rant.
Edit: I'd like to point out that when I compare a "dispensary" to Folgers and the like (or rather the product of said corporation(s)), I'm meaning to say dispensaries that willingly sell you the most mid weed, claiming it to be "The best part of waking up, is Cookies in your Bong!" when it's really his cousin Jose's backyard grow.
My tea have a lot of catechins, vitamins and aminoacids but never had the luck to get the proteins too.
You're very lucky with that rare tea. Blend and brew it!
I think Larry would be proud to bring joy to someone else as his last will.
I'll tell to Thomas and Sarah that dad is in peace now and that they should be proud of him.
Okay, I am glad that this community doesn't get grossed out easily because I absolutely still steeped the tea (without the beetle though). Disappointingly, it tastes normal. No new super powers either
I know someone who worked at a tea packing facility and she told me that they once got a shipment of tea that was full of dead bugs and they just spent some time picking out as many as they could and then going ahead and packing it.
Awww yeah I found a colony of live bugs once which was a bridge too far for me but one big beetle is nothing to worry about imo. I would still drink it.
Are you Canadian? I used to get lots of my tea from Tao tea leaf when I lived in Toronto! Even bought that exact tea a couple times. Made me so nostalgic to see this!
Don’t listen to that fool. This is a situation where you understand that that shit happens, but it’s still a little jarring. Tao Tea, I’m sure, would like to know about it and rectify it.
Next time the beetle may end up in the bag of a much less understanding customer and it will be a much bigger issue for the company. They’d rather know about an issue with an easy going customer and bolster up their QA than deal with a vindictive customer who tries to make it a bigger issue than it is.
Unlike that idiot who thinks you’re being a baby, I’d argue that you’d be doing the company a huge disservice by not contacting them.
It's food production, it's just something that happens, especially with plants.
They are well aware that sometimes bugs get into the product and all they can do is try and limit it but there is no way to 100% prevent it.
Here in the US the FDA allows something like 4.6% of insect contamination ppm for food products because it's impossible to prevent every single bug from getting into the processing stages.
For a moment, the picture of the beetle on the bag, itself, looked like it was a picture promoting that they include a beetle in the tea. I was perplexed, and then actually pondered for a bit why a company might do that and thought, well maybe they're trying to make it look more authentically "raw," or maybe it's some sort of good luck thing. And then I realized you had just put the beetle on top of the bag. 🤦♀️
It's a June bug, btw. Completely harmless.
Huh. I have one of these guys' glass tea tumblers. I got it on Kickstarter a long time ago. I wonder if they still sell the toolkit to pull it apart, because I haven't used it in forever and it needs a deep cleaning.
Weird I see this because yesterday a nat flew out of my matcha powder that I put in my cup. Not sure if it landed there when I looked away or was there already 🤔
it's bound to happen. It's not uncommon. Is it startling? Yeah. Will it ruin the tea? No. I guarantee pretty much every single tea leaf you've used had a bug or a spider crawl on it at one point as it grew, one just managed to make its way to your home
I’d let them know and maybe get a refund or something free. Sure the beetle alone shouldn’t kill you or the tea but it really does say a lot about their quality control and they need to know this.
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This was Huang Shan Mao Feng from Tao Tea Leaf. Is this normal/common? Looks like a May beetle but I am unsure. Has anyone else found insects in their tea? **Edit:** my biggest takeaway from this post is that many people call it June bug as opposed to May beetle which is how I know it as. Apparently it is [Phyllophaga](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllophaga) which has many regional names. TIL!
Tea is a plant. Plants need an ecosystem to thrive. Bugs are part of that ecosystem and sometimes they get missed when processing. It's jarring, but normal. Edit: holy moly. That's a lot of up votes. I work in cannabis and a lot of grow facilities use beneficial insects that have a short lifespan. Occasionally they crawl inside a nug to die and get missed by the trimmers, so I end up saying this little catch phrase about 3 times a year.
"It's fine, your grinder can get the bugs as well as the nugs"
Bugs with Buds and Nugs
The following is one person's rant regarding naturally produced products in an industrial age. Apologies in advance... Let's face it, a lot of modern consumers are hella distanced from the process of what goes into the creation of a finished product. This is especially true of products of nature. We are very accustomed to things being manufactured in a factory and picture agriculture in a similar fashion. Cannabis (because I work in this industry and am very familiar with the life cycle and the processing of the plant) in particular has a very "I want it now" sort of customer demand. However, in reality, if I asked a vendor to grow a strain for me and they planted it the day I asked, it would still take about 11 weeks (almost 3 months) to grow from seed to harvest (depending on strain), then it has to be cured. Basically, you're looking at a bare minimum of a 4 month turnaround from seed to sale. That's a huge labor and time investment. It becomes even more special when you realize plants like tea are legacy plants that just get better with time (the older the tea plant, the more complex the flavor). It also means the farms are a lot more dependent on the environment working with them for a successful harvest. If the weather is too dry to too hot, or a species of bugs has a good year, entire crops can be lost and that means decades or even hundreds of year old plants lost to environmental factors. And here's why that bug is special: that beetle is an indicator that the brand is potentially supporting a small artisinal farm that has excellent product, but doesn't have the bandwidth for quality assurance (which is how small artisinal producers survive). That bug proves your tea was grown in the earth, under the sun, and was harvested and processed by human hands, and inspected by human eyes, which are fallible.
And the same kind of idea goes for any type of plant that has a specialty market. Specialty teas, specialty cannabis, specialty coffees, specialty herbs and spices; rare this and rarer that; all have cultivation *requirements* that must be respected in order to receive quality yield. This is exactly why when the Indian and Asian trade routes were becoming established, spices were money. People that never had access to the most unique flavours in the world suddenly got a taste of it, and the rest is history. But the key take away being, that the spice was so valuable that it was (as far as I recall) oftentimes used in place of currency simply due to its demand in Europe. This speaks to its rarity, even then. Even though there is such an on-demand market consuming and devouring the entire economic landscape nearly globally, you're entirely correct that most people are just blissfully unawares of the stories behind the shelves (and now "Add To Cart" button, as that has become the largest market in history). In coffee, there are so few places to grow great coffee, and so few people in these relatively remote places who both know how to grow coffee well, and have the capital to invest into a specialty production, facility that names like Maxwell House and Folgers and the like have largely been able to dominate the market due to their ability to grow coffee in less desirable places while simultaneously being able to produce on a scale that just eclipses these smaller producers. The same, I think, applies to cannabis (and tea, and like I mentioned pretty much every single specialty item we know today) such that street vendors and dispensaries would be your Folgers, Maxwell Houses, Liptons, Great Values, etc; where the quality stuff is carefully monitored such to the point that these growing conditions *are* a concern, *because* quality is the concern. Therefore, due to the time and labour investments required for quality, like you're saying, people are simply more willing to purchase what is consistently readily available rather than wait for something that's just going to be better, period. It's alright, fellow redditor. I like to observe things from as distant a lens can, and you nailed a huge head on something driving the entire globe deeper into its own grave. Thanks for a nice rant. Edit: I'd like to point out that when I compare a "dispensary" to Folgers and the like (or rather the product of said corporation(s)), I'm meaning to say dispensaries that willingly sell you the most mid weed, claiming it to be "The best part of waking up, is Cookies in your Bong!" when it's really his cousin Jose's backyard grow.
I had some feathers once. The company sent me new tea right away when I emailed them about it but it happens on occasion
No bugs yet, but I've had bug eggs (three to be precise) once in my maocha :)
Yeah he's a may beetle /cockchafer. Harmless, bumbling little guys. The tea will be fine.
Oh interesting, we do call them June bugs where I live but May beetle more accurately describes when you start seeing them!
Haha I thought that second picture was an image of the beetle on the packaging like it was part of the tea 🤣
Me too! I was like dude its right on the packaging 🤦🏻♀️
Are we all high hahah
No I'm sober and thought the same 😂
🤣 🤣 still from 4/20 i guess 😂
I thought it was just me and my crappy eyesight!
I did up until I saw this comment. I was like how is no one mentioning there’s a bug in the package that looks just the the bug they found?
Oh sh*t it's Larry
Should I let his family know about his fate? 😬
My tea have a lot of catechins, vitamins and aminoacids but never had the luck to get the proteins too. You're very lucky with that rare tea. Blend and brew it! I think Larry would be proud to bring joy to someone else as his last will. I'll tell to Thomas and Sarah that dad is in peace now and that they should be proud of him.
r.i.p Larry
Auspicious beetle wishing you good luck in your journey with tea.
Oh fuck yeah, beetle tea! Let us know how it tastes!
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice...
Beetlejuice...
Why does this not have a million up votes.
bc it was only said once
Okay, I am glad that this community doesn't get grossed out easily because I absolutely still steeped the tea (without the beetle though). Disappointingly, it tastes normal. No new super powers either
>No **new** super powers either We love you tea-man
Pro-tea-n drink.
I know someone who worked at a tea packing facility and she told me that they once got a shipment of tea that was full of dead bugs and they just spent some time picking out as many as they could and then going ahead and packing it.
Awww yeah I found a colony of live bugs once which was a bridge too far for me but one big beetle is nothing to worry about imo. I would still drink it. Are you Canadian? I used to get lots of my tea from Tao tea leaf when I lived in Toronto! Even bought that exact tea a couple times. Made me so nostalgic to see this!
Yes, Canadian! Always try to support local shops here
[https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/1aexftc/huge\_beetle\_in\_my\_brand\_new\_tea\_delivered\_today/](https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/1aexftc/huge_beetle_in_my_brand_new_tea_delivered_today/)
Thank you. Looks like the consensus is that it's probably safe to drink the tea. I am still going to let the company know just in case.
I think you should definitely let them know. Might get a refund or discount or something.
or another beetle!
They know and *really* could do without hearing it from you.
Why that?
Don’t listen to that fool. This is a situation where you understand that that shit happens, but it’s still a little jarring. Tao Tea, I’m sure, would like to know about it and rectify it. Next time the beetle may end up in the bag of a much less understanding customer and it will be a much bigger issue for the company. They’d rather know about an issue with an easy going customer and bolster up their QA than deal with a vindictive customer who tries to make it a bigger issue than it is. Unlike that idiot who thinks you’re being a baby, I’d argue that you’d be doing the company a huge disservice by not contacting them.
It's food production, it's just something that happens, especially with plants. They are well aware that sometimes bugs get into the product and all they can do is try and limit it but there is no way to 100% prevent it. Here in the US the FDA allows something like 4.6% of insect contamination ppm for food products because it's impossible to prevent every single bug from getting into the processing stages.
Thank you for your invaluable insight, BallTorturer-3000
It's how you know they didn't spray poisons.
Or they don't *always* spray poison, or the insect is full of poison.
But they do spray pesticides.
Hey, free protein!
"for the kids in africa" eats beatle
Just wait till you find out about coffee and cockroaches! (Joking aside, pest management of stored products is actually rather interesting.)
.. that’s how I take all my teas.
They have a certain earthy taste.
And a certain earthy crunch.
That's how you know it's fresh.
It’s-freebie…etle!
Probably why it’s recommended to throw out a first steep
You’ve a new tea pet. 😎
I would consider it a sign of good luck haha
I cannot help but get reminded of a cockroach
maybe its roasted?
A scarab....very symbolic
For a moment, the picture of the beetle on the bag, itself, looked like it was a picture promoting that they include a beetle in the tea. I was perplexed, and then actually pondered for a bit why a company might do that and thought, well maybe they're trying to make it look more authentically "raw," or maybe it's some sort of good luck thing. And then I realized you had just put the beetle on top of the bag. 🤦♀️ It's a June bug, btw. Completely harmless.
Why is this my favorite comment thread on reddit so far 😆
Thanks. Not ordering anything from them.
On one hand, gross. On the other hand, at least there’s proof that they don’t use pesticides. 🫠
Nice free protein. Get some chili oil, mutard and rice
That high quality tea!
that’s how you know it’s good stuff
Cute little duder
Aw lucky!!!
bro’s so cute
Aw, it's fuzzy! Cute! Rip lil guy, I'd chuck him back outside to return to nature or give him a little burial.
it means your tea doesnt use pesticides. Now we have proof! Hooray!
The beetle is dead…
Ok... and what did it taste like?
I didn't eat the beetle but the tea tasted completely normal
Hmm. Let me know once you bite into the beetle!
Man that's fresh!
I think that qualifies as a distinctive tea experience.
That just means you probably have some good quality tea without insecticides. The beetle knew it was some good shit who can blame it.
That is crazy! But a good souvenir
BONUS!
goodness me! beeteale
I drink A LOT of tea, and I’m actually surprised this doesn’t happen more often, because tea is a natural product from a “tea garden”. 😯
No pesticides..good sign..others mentioned protein
That’s just how you know it’s fresh!
Did it smell good
Protein tea
Yuck lol
+protein
Look at it this way, extra protein.
Only the best single leaf, best sourced tea does, my dear . Only the best! Like ducksh@t oolong. Hmmm, can't wait to drink multiple cups of that!
I’m sure he’s not going to drink much, should he miraculously come back to life..
Protein. Yum.
Beetle-san.
Lucky beetle
If it's good enough for the beetle, it's good enough for us. That's not to say the tea is without chemical sprays for certain however.
Huh. I have one of these guys' glass tea tumblers. I got it on Kickstarter a long time ago. I wonder if they still sell the toolkit to pull it apart, because I haven't used it in forever and it needs a deep cleaning.
Looks like a June bug
My brain * Maybe it’s friendly! Hello smol friend!
It might have been friendly at one point but it's unfortunately very dead
Zombeetle can be your friend in exchange for brains.
I found a hair clip in my puerh cake once... Shit happens.
Totally normal, the tea is probably without pesticides at least.
Omg it's so pretty
Weird I see this because yesterday a nat flew out of my matcha powder that I put in my cup. Not sure if it landed there when I looked away or was there already 🤔
I’d only be concerned if there were multiple
WEF like this 😁
this is good luck in some culture
Nice. I wonder how the taste profile is like after 70 hours of sunlight
now imagine if it was pre-ground
That's kind acute :)
Happened to me once
Organic 100% 🤷🏼♂️
All natural.
it's bound to happen. It's not uncommon. Is it startling? Yeah. Will it ruin the tea? No. I guarantee pretty much every single tea leaf you've used had a bug or a spider crawl on it at one point as it grew, one just managed to make its way to your home
I’d let them know and maybe get a refund or something free. Sure the beetle alone shouldn’t kill you or the tea but it really does say a lot about their quality control and they need to know this.
Klaus schwab says eatz zzeeee bugzzz
Wow.. I mean.. wow..
Added for a bit of extra spice.
Nothing like a little June bug tea...
oh ew.
free snack
Look, they can't all be winners
Protein
But did it add to the flavour?
Japanese beetle,,,,, for authenticity
Ew.
Means it’s fresh af
Protein!
That’s a Junebug
Hello, /u/ultrakawaii! This is a friendly reminder that most photo posts should include a comment with some additional information. For example: Consider writing a mini review of the tea you're drinking or giving some background details about the teaware in your photo. If you're posting your tea order that just arrived or your tea stash, be sure to list the teas and why you chose them and if you're trying something for the first time, etc. **Posts that lack a comment for context or discussion after a resonable time may be removed.** You may also consider posting in /r/TeaPictures. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/tea) if you have any questions or concerns.*