Environmental Implications of Taiwanese Oolong Tea and the Opportunities of Impact Reduction

Tea is the second most consumed beverage globally, yet its environmental implications are largely unknown. To overcome this knowledge gap, life-cycle analysis was conducted aiming to quantify the environmental impacts associated with tea production and consumption. To achieve this objective, Oolong tea production in Taiwan was selected to investigate the life-cycle impact in global warming potential (GWP) and eutrophication potential (EP) associated with one serving of hot tea consumed in Taiwan domestically and the international market in the U.S. and U.K. The results indicate that each serving of Oolong tea can result in a total of 28.6 g CO 2 -equivalent of GWP and 0.09 g N-equivalent of EP. Over 52% of GWP and 44% of EP are associated with the tea’s cultivation, in which the application and production of agrochemicals accounts for 90% of GWP and 98% of EP. International consumption can increase GWP and EP by 19% and 26%, respectively, which is largely attributable to the change of cooking energy from natural gases to an electric-gas mixed scheme. The findings from this study articulate the environmental portfolio of Oolong tea. More importantly, we can identify opportunities to mitigate the environmental footprint of Oolong tea in order to advance future sustainability.