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Q: Rinsing dishes with tea in restaurants?
We have all witnessed this ritual and I am willing to bet most of you do the same thing now without thinking like me.
Even washing packaged and supposedly sanitized dishes, cups and chopsticks.
Does this ritual actually do anything like kill germs or is it just for peace of mind?
12 years 4 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
It is supposed to be done to make sure the utensils are clean and no germs in it. But both, you and me, know that the tea served is at around 140 to 150 degrees F, and to kill germs it would have to be at 212 degrees F, and submerged for a few minutes like an autoclave will do. So, in reality is a futile attempt, a waste of time and good tea, and all they really get is peace of mind.
Many restaurants do use outside companies to supply clean and sanitized utensils with the hope that more clients will come and eat there in confidence, even if cost of this is higher than in house cleaning, no matter how good that may be.
My GF gets very upset at me when I refuse to do it, and in many occasions she will open the package and do the ritual for her and for me, even if I have explained to her over a 1000 times she is not accomplishing anything. But she swears she is, so who am I to tell her realities of science ?. Her favorite answer is to tell me to look around and see how everyone is also doing it, and my answer to that is "if someone jumps off a cliff, will you follow him and jump too?. After that I shut up, otherwise I sleep in the dog house, and I rather not leave my HARD MATTRESS !.
thedude:
I have had the same arguments with my girlfriend too. I gave up long ago. She usually does it for me, but sometimes I will return the favour and do it for her.
I didnt bother questioning it, at first it looked a bit weird and of course i knew right away that it does absolutely nothing in regards to actually cleaning anything, but what the hell.. when in rome!
I have only been to beijing, zhejiang and guangdong. I believe only southerners do this and elsewhere doesnt bother.
tea has antibacterial properties and it can only help get rid of odors and foul taste. so both of you might want to listen to your girls.
look below
- Antioxidant and antibacterial properties of green, black, and herbal teas of Camellia sinensis.
- Authors:
- Chan EW; Soh EY; Tie PP; Law YP
- Author Address:
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Source:
- Pharmacognosy Research [Pharmacognosy Res] 2011 Oct; Vol. 3 (4), pp. 266-72.
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Language:
- English
- Language Code:
- eng
- Journal Information:
- Country of Publication: India NLM ID: 101558769 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 0974-8490 (Electronic) Linking ISSN:09748490 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Pharmacognosy Res Subsets: In Process
- Abstract:
- Background: The role of non-polymeric phenolic (NP) and polymeric tannin (PT) constituents in the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of six brands of green, black, and herbal teas of Camellia sinensis were investigated.
Materials and Methods: Total phenolic content (TPC) and ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant capacity (AEAC) were assessed using the Folin-Ciocalteu and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays, respectively. Minimum inhibitory dose (MID) against Gram-positive Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus, and Gram-negative. Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was assessed using the disc-diffusion method. Teas were extracted with hot water successively three times for one hour each time. The extracts were fractionated using Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography to obtain the NP and PT constituents.
Results: Extraction yields ranged from 12 to 23%. Yields of NP fractions (70-81%) were much higher than those of PT fractions (1-11%), suggesting that the former are the major tea components. Ranking of antioxidant properties of extracts was green tea>black tea>herbal tea.For all six teas, antioxidant properties of PT fractions were significantly higher than extracts and NP fractions. Extracts and fractions of all six teas showed no activity against the three Gram-negative bacteria. Green teas inhibited all three Gram-positive bacteria with S. aureus being the least susceptible. Black and herbal teas inhibited the growth of M. luteus and B. cereus, but not S. aureus. The most potent were the PT fractions of Boh Cameron Highlands and Ho Yan Hor with MID of 0.01 and 0.03 mg/disc against M. luteus.
Conclusion: Results suggested that NP constituents are major contributors to the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of teas of C. sinensis. Although PT constituents have stronger antioxidant and antibacterial properties, they constitute only a minor component of the teas. - Entry Dates:
- Date Created: 20120106
- Update Code:
- 20120112
- PubMed Central ID:
- PMC3249787
- PMID:
- 22224051
- Database:
- MEDLINE
- Pu-erh tea is made via a natural fermentation process. In this study, Pu-erh tea was used as a raw material for nanomaterials preparation and as anantibacterial agent. Antibacterial activities on Escherichia coli of Pu-erh tea, Pu-erh tea powder (PTP) of different sizes, and Pu-erh tearesidual powder were firstly determined, respectively. With polyvinyl alcohol as the carrier, through an electrospinning technique, different kinds of nanofibrous membranes were obtained from the extract of Pu-erh tea and nano-PTP (NPTP), and their antibacterial properties and mechanism against E. coli were evaluated. The results showed better antibacterial activity with smaller PTP particles, the nano-sized particles had the best effects, and the MIC of NPTP was 13.5 mg/mL. When NPTP was in nanofibrous membranes, the antibacterial activity decreased slightly, but increased with modification by ZnO. Pu-erh tea in nanofibrous membranes damaged the E. coli cell membranes and caused leakage of K and enzymes. What is more is that damage of the cell walls led to the leakage of fluorescent proteins from enhanced green fluorescence protein-expressing E. coli. These results indicate that the Pu-erh tea nanofibrous membranes had good antibacterial activities against E. coli, which may provide a promising application of novel antibacterial materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Copyright of Applied Microbiology & Biotechnology is the property of Springer Science & Business Media B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Author Affiliations:
- 1School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, No. 1239 Siping Road Shanghai 200092 People's Republic of China
2College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, No. 1 Weigang Road Nanjing 210095 People's Republic of China
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040526070934.htm
http://www.whiteteacentral.com/antibacterial.html
http://icmr.nic.in/ijmr/2005/july/0709.pdf
i know my tea
edit2403:
that is very enlightening. I must admit that I have done the ritual rinsing with tea at hundreds of restaurant meals without thinking it had any real benefit.
Jíliú.hé:
thanks you are the first to comment on it they used to use used to live to help seal and clean wounds. though i have thought of using tea to clean i never thought that it was used for cleaning cups. what will they think of next
edit2403:
I bought a traditional tea set once and my wife often washes it (or keeps it submerged) in green tea. Apparently, when a tea set is made from good-quality clay, the tea permanently infuses into the cups etc. and this is meant to enhance the flavor.
Hugh.G.Rection:
You might know tea but you obviously know diddly squat about sanitisation!
Jíliú.hé:
that a lot of dislikes for a scientific article and who still say diddles anything.
Well i like the idea of wiping (or rinsing) something in a restaurant that touches my lips, so i mainly do it to clean the edge of the cup
When in Rome. I don't drink the tea, so it's good for something, plus I get to make a mess and no one cares.
I see this "ritual" more often in southern China. Germ are killed at different temperatures, some just above 50C some over 100C, but it can clean a bit, if not from germs - then from other things like dust etc.
I'm used to it just like small ritual. And not even in every place.
let 'em do it I say. harmless enuf, and they seem to enjoy it.
I do it. Gets off soap residue, dust and what not.
Seems to be some ethnocentric opinions taking shape in this question. I love it!
I have stopped doing this. If I don't trust the plates are clean then I will rather go elsewhere to eat than this emergency washing.
most often the tea served is lukewarm
