Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Görkem Üçtuğ and his team of 5 people carried out a study that is the first of its kind in Türkiye, calculating the carbon footprint of tea, an indispensable part of our kitchen. As a result of the research conducted specifically for our country, it was revealed that tea is approximately 30 times more environmentally friendly than coffee and 12 times more environmentally friendly than carbonated drinks when all criteria such as production, supply and packaging are taken into consideration. Drawing attention to the fact that Türkiye ranks first in the world in tea consumption per capita, Prof. Dr. Üçtuğ said, “There is no huge water consumption during tea production, and the use of chemicals is not very high. Tea has great advantages over carbonated drinks and coffee in terms of its environmental impact. We can further reduce the carbon footprint of tea with the right brewing methods.”
Prof. Dr. Görkem Üçtuğ, a faculty member at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Izmir University of Economics, carried out the study together with academicians from Izmir Institute of Technology, Dokuz Eylül University and Adana Alparslan Türkeş University of Science and Technology within the scope of a TÜBİTAK project carried out by Prof. Dr. Volkan Ediger from Kadir Has University.
APPEARED IN AN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Stating that they used the life cycle assessment method in their research specific to Türkiye, Prof. Dr. Üçtuğ shared the details of the study, which was also published in an international scientific journal. Üçtuğ said, “We received data from a company that produces tea in Adana. We took into account all elements such as the production of tea in the field, its transportation, packaging in the factory, the delivery of the product to the customer, the brewing of the tea and the disposal of the tea pulp while making the measurements. There were previously studies on the carbon footprint of coffee and carbonated drinks; we were the first to conduct this on tea. The results showed that the environmental impact of tea in our country is much lower than coffee and carbonated drinks. For example; a can of 330 ml carbonated drink has approximately 0.17 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent in terms of carbon footprint. This figure is at the level of 0.014 in tea. There is approximately a 12-fold difference. This figure increases to 0.40 in coffee. When we compare tea with coffee, the difference approaches 30 times. Since carbonated drinks are an industrial product, they undergo intensive fabrication processes. The fact that coffee comes from abroad and the differences in drying methods are decisive in the formation of this picture. By measuring the carbon footprint of tea in Turkey, "We have also scientifically demonstrated its environmentally friendly aspect," he said.
“BREW WITH ELECTRIC TOOLS, USE THE PULSE”
Prof. Dr. Üçtuğ, who stated that the brewing method of tea is also of great importance, said, “Brewing tea using electric appliances is much more environmentally friendly than brewing tea on a gas stove. At this point, I recommend using electric appliances. We can make compost from tea pulp; we can use it as fertilizer for vegetable and fruit production. Tea pulp is valuable, but we throw it away. These seem very simple, but they are quite decisive on environmental impact. If these issues I mentioned are taken into consideration, it is possible to reduce the carbon footprint of tea and further reduce its environmental impact.”
