(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-05-15 12:38

Free tea served in restaurants could be of poor quality and possibly bad for your health, according to the Shanghai Tea Institute.

It said if people consume large volumes of such teas over a long period, the beverage could damage the liver and kidney. According to the institute, free teas may contain high levels of heavy metals and dust. It warned consumers to beware of tea with a strong fragrance or funny smell.

Free tea is popular in many restaurants, both cheap and expensive eateries, as a way to attract customers.

"It is difficult to guarantee the quality of tea since it is free," said Liu Qigui, secretary general with the Shanghai Tea Institute.

The poor quality tea is due to inferior tea leaves. In some cases, it is made from the leftover residue of tea leaves in shops. Restaurants can purchase tea leave residue from vendors that buy it from shops. At times the tea will be mixed with other plant leaves like poplars to make it seem fresh. Sometimes the tea is actually good, but due to improper storage the leaves go bad.

Another popular practice is to buy tea that has no leaves, only the stems, which are sprayed with fragrance.

Meanwhile, the restaurants said they have different sources for the tea they serve. Some purchase tea in supermarkets or tea shops while others buy direct from tea dealers.

Most free teas served cost less than 30 yuan (US$3.7) per kilogram and more restaurants are choosing to serve barley tea.

"We change the barley every day and we have received no complaints about the taste," said an official, surnamed Wang, at Little Sheep, a famous hot pot chain restaurant.

Wang said it's difficult for most restaurants to tell bad tea from good varieties as there is a lack of testing devices.