I never really thought about it but does anyone have any info on
taking tea on a flight in carry on? I'm guessing an unmarked ziploc
with loose leaf tea could be mistaken for a certain other substance
and the education level of the standard TSA is not going to include
"Gong-Fu." Any tips or info?

I may have some upcoming travel and some extended but will only be
taking a carry on bag.

Thanks,
Dominic

On Feb 1, 1:27*pm, "Dominic T." > wrote:
> I never really thought about it but does anyone have any info on
> taking tea on a flight in carry on? I'm guessing an unmarked ziploc
> with loose leaf tea could be mistaken for a certain other substance
> and the education level of the standard TSA is not going to include
> "Gong-Fu." Any tips or info?
>
> I may have some upcoming travel and some extended but will only be
> taking a carry on bag.
>
> Thanks,
> Dominic

So far so good, I travel extensively and have not been apprehended.
Yet.
If the travels are inter states, there is nothing much to worry about,
customs do not usually conduct checks.
Overseas travels may be trickier. If you carry more than a personal
consumption, it is better to declare the tea. if it is in ziplock
bags, label it so that in the event of a search, the customs know at
least by name what is inside.

On 2009-02-01, Dominic T. > wrote:

> I never really thought about it but does anyone have any info on
> taking tea on a flight in carry on? I'm guessing an unmarked ziploc
> with loose leaf tea could be mistaken for a certain other substance
> and the education level of the standard TSA is not going to include
> "Gong-Fu." Any tips or info?
>
> I may have some upcoming travel and some extended but will only be
> taking a carry on bag.

I posted a response to an almost identical question recently:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=8147

To summarize; never had any problems (even with unmarked bags). I have a
strong suspicion that most TSA screeners know all too well what weed
smells like.

w

> I may have some upcoming travel and some extended but will only be
> taking a carry on bag.

I usually take a decent amount of tea back home from China when I
come; some usually carry-on. I was once questioned about why I had so
much tea, but it was more jokingly than anything serious.

Had some 'fun' once carrying only a small backpack from Shanghai to
Osaka (looking like a long haired hippy undesirable at the time) ...
it had only a token change of clothes for the weekend within but a
hefty amount of tea for personal (and friends') consumption. I was
questioned extensively, despite my repeated astonished plea,

"You're Japanese ... surely you know what tea looks like!?"

As was pointed out later by my friend with Japanese wife and family,
if it wasn't JAPANESE tea it might as well have been anything.

Im Teas