Steeped in Secrets: When Tea Is More Than Leaves

Tea is commonly celebrated for its ability to relax, heal, and promote mindfulness. The drink is usually made from dried leaves, but are there other forms of tea we’re overlooking? 

Tea historians date the earliest use of the leaf to the Chinese Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), when it was consumed for medicinal purposes, and dramatic spit takes. Shortly after the Han Dynasty, during the Tang Dynasty (named after the drink), a culture of tea, its cultivation, and rules surrounding beverage consumption grew, likely outlawing dramatic spit takes. This tea culture spread as a result of Lu Yu — known as the “Sage of Tea”—who wrote The Classic of Tea (茶經, Cha Jing). Yu covers tea’s origins, cultivation, picking, and important reminders, such as not getting it in your nose. Tea has gone on to play an integral role in colonial histories, warfare, and as a powerful reminder of the relationship between people and land. But for many Western Instagram influencers, mindfulness and relaxation are second in importance to tea’s real benefit...brewing one’s own batch, so to speak. From the Kardashians to Cardi B and Hilary Duff, celebrities promote the certain tea leaves to lose weight through increased bowel movements. This connection between tea and bodily functions appears in unexpected ways.    

While some prefer adding milk, sugar, or honey to their tea, in Southwest China, the Miao and Dong ethnic groups use a special, unexpected ingredient... insect feces. Far from the only food in which feces play an important role, the now-extinct giant ground sloth Lestodon ate avocados whole and, when traveling, “deposited” the pits in new places, ensuring the survival of the avocado tree. In fact, if it weren’t for these animals pooping, who knows if we would be paying extra for guacamole at Chipotle? Insect tea is a traditional tea made from the feces of insects that feed on plants. The tea is known for its many health benefits and for grossing Westerners out. In an article titled “Insect tea, a Wonderful Work in the Chinese Tea Culture,” the authors discuss the complications of processing the tea, its manifold variations (different types of bugs and plants create different “teas”), and their favorite ways of bringing all of this up at the dinner table.

Insect tea takes quite a long time to produce, and the process begins in late spring and early summer, consisting of air-drying leaves, spraying them monthly with rice water to attract the insects, and making sure the bugs remember to flush. Once the “crop” is fully harvested, the tea fetches up to $270 per pound. So, remember if you’re looking for your next side hustle, consider insect feces.