Nigel at Teacraft wrote:

> And as a quizzical afterthought - how many of the "Senchas" available
> now actually derive from China, processed in Chinese/Japanese joint
> venture built factories processing Japanese bushes growing in China?
> There are apparently at least 80 such factories.

The bulk of this China-grown "Japanese" tea is probably relegated to the
enormous prepared tea industry in Japan -- tea beverages in cans and
bottles, available everywhere. Bags of loose-leaf tea sold in Japan are
clearly marked with the name and address of the producer. As to the
origin of teas sold by online vendors in the US, well, that's something
you'll have to take up with them.

--crymad