Panda poo not everyone's cup of tea

14 Nov 2011, 11:07 am   -   Source: SBS
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Pandas have a very poor digestive system and only absorb about 30 percent of everything they eat. (AAP)

Pandas have a very poor digestive system and only absorb about 30 percent of everything they eat. (AAP)

A wildlife expert in China is attempting to launch the world's most expensive tea, using panda poo to fertilise the brew.

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A wildlife expert in China is attempting to launch the world's most expensive tea, using panda poo to fertilise the brew.

An Yashi is a college lecturer at the Sinchuan University believes the tea, which is fertilized with panda droppings, could prevent cancer and fetch a price of up to £50,000 per kilo.

Yanshi believes the rich aromas from the special blend will make it a favourite among connoisseurs.

"Pandas have a very poor digestive system and only absorb about 30 percent of everything they eat. That means their excrement is rich in fibres and nutrients," he told Chinese website Scol.com.cn.

"It has a mature, nutty taste and a very distinctive aroma while it's brewing."

He also believes there are serious health benefits to the drink.

"Just like green tea, bamboo contains an element that can prevent cancer, and enhance green tea's anti-cancer effects, if it is used as fertilizer for the tea," the professor said

Yanshi is aiming to secure the Guinness World Record for his brew, once the first batch of the blend is ready for sale.

He also already collected around five tonnes of panda excrement for use in manufacturing the tea.

Yanshi is not the first to use animal excrement in an exclusive drink.

The world's most expensive coffee, Kopi Luwak, is made using beans that have been eaten and excreted by the Indonesian civet cat.

Pandas , Odd News , Tea

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Your Comments

bamboo

bamboo - from SG, 2 years ago

can't we just eat bamboo shoots (popular asian dish) and enjoy the benefits straight away? plus the panda aren't actually eating tea leaves so it can't really be compared to the coffee version, where the civet cats are fed actual coffee beans.

coffee version

Shin - from Los Angeles, 2 years ago

There's a coffee version of it. The most expensive coffee and it's true, of course I saw this from Vsauce. http://www.bantaicivetcoffee.com/ check out their prices lol.

pandapoo tea

Jing Jing - from Spain, 2 years ago

the marketing is good, somebody had already tasted this tea?

Panda jerk

Mjb - from Melb, 2 years ago

How bout I chew my own damn bamboo and receive it's medicinal qualities that way?? Good compost poo maybe-but drinking it seems a stretch. And if it becomes popular china will start panda farms with bears in cages pooing straight into teapots. There'll be an uproar!!

Translation help needed

PD - from Sydney today, 2 years ago

How do you say "cashed up bogan" in Chinese?

Turdy coffee

Jamos - from Coogee, 2 years ago

That coffee's a bit shit, really.

Reply

Alex - from New York, 2 years ago

There is no mechanism by which the fertilizer could substantially change the tea product. If the pandas were fed tea leaves and THEN the droppings were used to make tea, that would be a different story. (And this is the case with expensive coffee.) But this is just a scam. It is probably good tea, but nothing new. http://highpowerrocketry.blogspot.com

pandapoo

oncewas - from bribie island, 2 years ago

Anybody want to buy the big bridge in Sydney? I can do a real good price for you.

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