The results of analysis of black and green tea samples are presented
in Table 2. There was wide variation in the heavy metal content of
black and green tea. Consumer brand teas are the blend of various
individual teas from different estates across country. The results
indicated that the contents of Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Zn, Mn and Cr in tea
were different for the different agroclimatic regions. The content of
Cu measured in black and green tea were 14.34 ± 0.49 mg/kg) and
11.28 ± 0.08 mg/kg. Copper is one of the native metals found in tea,
central to polyphenol oxidase enzyme. The lowest value of copper
was found in Nilgiris tea and the highest in Gudalur tea samples. Cu
content in made tea was also reported15‐16. It was evident from this