used as a form of currency throughout China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Central Asia. This is quite similar to the use of salt bricks as currency in parts of Africa. Tea bricks were in fact the preferred form of currency over metallic coins for the nomads of Mongolia and Siberia. The tea could not only be used as money and eaten as food in times of hunger but also brewed as allegedly beneficial medicine for treating coughs and colds. Until World War II, tea bricks were still used as a form of edible currency in Siberia. Tea bricks for Tibet were mainly produced in the area of Ya'an (formerly Yachou-fu) in Sichuan province. The bricks were produced in five different qualities and valued accordingly. The kind of brick which was most commonly used as currency in the late 19th and early 20th century was that of the third quality which the Tibetans called "brgyad pa" ("eighth"), because at one time it was worth eight Tibetan tangkas (standard silver coin of Tibet which weighs about 5.4 grams) in Lhasa. Bricks of this standard were also exported by Tibet to Bhutan and Ladakh. Health effects All tea plant tissues accumulate fluorine to some extent. Tea bricks that are made from old tea leaves and stems can accumulate large amounts of this element, which can make them unsafe for consumption in large quantities or over prolonged periods. Use of such teas has led to fluorosis, a form of fluoride poisoning that affects the bones and teeth, in areas of high brick tea consumption such as Tibet. References Citations Sources Bertsch, Wolfgang (2006) The Use of Tea Bricks as Currency among the Tibetans ("Der Gebrauch von Teeziegeln als Zahlungsmittel bei den Tibetern"), Der Primitivgeldsammler. Europäische Vereinigung zum Erforschen, Sammeln und Bewahren von ursprünglichen und außergewöhnlichen Geldformen (European Association for the Research, Collection and Preservation of Original and Curious Money), No. 75, Rüsselsheim. This article was also published in the Tibet Journal and is available as website: National Palace Museum Exhibition Brochure "Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: the Culture, Practice and Art of Tea" Taiwan 2002 Rosthorn, Arthur de (1895): On the Tea Cultivation in Western Ssuch´uan and the Trade with Tibet via Tachienlu. Luzac & Co., London, 1895. External links Tea Money of China. Ken Bressett. Currencies of China Korean tea Tea Tea culture Alternative currencies