Research Article

Black Tea Source, Production, and Consumption: Assessment of Health Risks of Fluoride Intake in New Zealand

Table 1

Tea brands, weight of teabag, and fluoride content in tea infusions.

Sample number Brand nameWeight of tea bag (g)Fluoride in tea infusions made with 0.7 mg/L fluoridated drinking water (mg/L)Fluoride in tea infusion made with deionized water (mg/L)

1Bell Kenya Bold3.33.93.2
2Bell Original Tea2.33.42.7
3Pams-New World Supermarket Tea2.43.12.4
4Pak-n-Save Supermarket Budget Tea2.12.82.2
5Choysa Extra Strong2.32.71.9
6Twinings English Breakfast Extra Strong2.72.61.8
7Choysa Classic2.21.81.3
8Twinings Classic English Breakfast2.31.71.1
9Woolworths Home Brand Tea1.91.60.9
10Dilmah Organic2.31.50.8
11Chanui Pure Ceylon Tea2.21.40.8
12Twinings Lapsang Souchong Tea2.31.40.8
13Planet Organic Tea2.21.20.7
14Dilmah Premium Ceylon1.71.20.6
15Chanui Irish Breakfast2.31.10.5
16Dilmah English Breakfast Tea2.01.10.5
17Chanui English Breakfast2.20.90.4
18Dilmah Earl Grey Tea2.20.90.4

Note. Two teabags selected at random from each branded box of tea. Each tea bag was brewed for a period of 5 minutes with 200 mL of water initially at 100°C. After five minutes of extraction, teabags were removed and the infusions were cooled to room temperature (18–20°C). F level of boiled and cooled tap water 0.7 mg/L. F level of deionized water was 0.0 mg/L. The F content of tea infusions made with drinking water is the mean of two samples tested from each brand of tea.