Table 1.
Tea brands, country of origin and fluoride content in tea infusions.
| Sample Number | Brand Name | Origin of Tea | Weight of Tea Bag (g) | Tea Infusions Made with Drinking Water (mg·F/L) | Tea Infusion Made with Deionized Water (mg·F/L) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homestead * | Not listed | 3.5 | 6.1 | 5.5 |
| 2 | Tesco Premium ++ | Not listed | 3.4 | 6.0 | 5.4 |
| 3 | Bewleys Original Blend * | KE; RW; a-IN. | 3.4 | 5.5 | 4.4 |
| 4 | McGraths Traditional Irish * | Not listed | 3.2 | 5.2 | 4.6 |
| 5 | Fallons Irish Blend * | Not listed | 3.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 |
| 6 | Barry’s Original Blend * | Not listed | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.6 |
| 7 | Lyons Original Blend ++ | Not listed | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.7 |
| 8 | Barry's Classic Blend * | Not listed | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.3 |
| 9 | Fallons Original Blend * | Not listed | 3.3 | 4.3 | 3.8 |
| 10 | McGraths Decaffeinated | KE. | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| 11 | Rob Roberts Organic * | KE; TA. | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
| 12 | Rob Roberts Kenya Luxury * | KE. | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
| 13 | Knightsbridge Decaffeinated * | Not listed | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.3 |
| 14 | Daily Basics * | Not listed | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| 15 | Fallons Reserve Blend * | Not listed | 3.4 | 3.9 | 2.9 |
| 16 | Dunnes Stores Gold Blend * | Not listed | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.9 |
| 17 | Lyons 1 cup ++ | Not listed | 2.6 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
| 18 | Tetley ++ | Not listed | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
| 19 | Lipton Yellow label ++ | Not listed | 2.1 | 3.5 | 2.6 |
| 20 | Barry's Decaffeinated * | Not listed | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| 21 | Tesco Decaffeinated ++ | Not listed | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| 23 | Barry's Earl Grey * | Not listed | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| 22 | Supervalue Gold Blend * | Not listed | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.6 |
| 24 | Lyons Gold Blend ++ | Not listed | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
| 25 | Fairglobe Fairtrade * | Africa | 2.4 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| 26 | Rob Roberts Strong Blend * | KE; a-ID | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.3 |
| 27 | Typhoo Irish Breakfast Blend++ | Not listed | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| 28 | Fallons Gold Blend * | Not listed | 3.7 | 3.2 | 2.5 |
| 29 | Barry's Gold Blend * | Not listed | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
| 30 | Clipper ++ | IN; SL; EA | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| 31 | Barber Daly * | Not listed | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
| 32 | Diplomat Fairtrade * | Not listed | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| 33 | Knightsbridge English Breakfast * | Not listed | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| 34 | McGraths Gold Blend * | Not listed | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
| 35 | Sainsbury Basic Fairtrade ++ | Not listed | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.2 |
| 36 | Typhoo Tea ++ | Not listed | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.0 |
| 37 | McGraths Reserve Blend * | Not listed | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| 38 | Twinings English Breakfast ++ | Not listed | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
| 39 | AHMAD tea ++ | Not listed | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.0 |
| 40 | Typhoo Extra Strong Tea ++ | Not listed | 3.1 | 2.7 | 1.9 |
| 41 | Lyons Decaffeinated ++ | Not listed | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
| 42 | Supervalue Original Blend * | Not listed | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
| 43 | Clipper Organic ++ | IN; EA;SL | 3.3 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| 44 | Dragonfly Organic Earl Grey | Not listed | 2.8 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| 45 | Bewleys Gold Blend * | Not listed | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.7 |
| 46 | Ridgewood Organic ++ | Not listed | 3.3 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| 47 | Yorkshire tea ++ | IN; SL; EA | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.7 |
| 48 | Thompsons Punjana tea ++ | IN | 3.3 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| 49 | Supervalue Fairtrade tea * | EA | 3.4 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| 50 | Tesco Everyday tea ++ | Not listed | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| 51 | Tesco Finest ++ | IN; SL; EA | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| 52 | Knightsbridge Assam * | a-IN | 2.7 | 2.1 | 1.4 |
| 53 | Clipper Organic Assam ++ | a-IN | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.3 |
| 54 | Clipper Assam Organic Decaf ++ | a-IN | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| mean | 3.3 | 2.6 |
* Irish Blend; ++ UK Blend. Three tea bags selected at random from each branded box of tea. Each tea bag was brewed for a period of 5 min with 200 mL of water initially at 100 °C. After five minutes of extraction, tea bags were removed and the infusions were cooled to room temperature (18–20 °C). Fluoride level of boiled and cooled tap water 0.7 mg/L. Fluoride level of deionized water was 0.0 mg/L. The fluoride content of tea infusions made with drinking water are the mean of two samples tested from each brand of tea. Abbreviations: KE = Kenya; TA= Tasmania; RW = Rwanda; EA = East Africa; IN= India; a-IN = Assam India; SL = Sri Lanka.