Traditionally and typically, tea is sold as deriving from a named
area. This gives the buyer a prime clue as to type, character, and
expected quality.

I have just noticed a news item that may give consternation to these
traditionalists:

>>snip>>>
The Zimbabwean tea company "Tanganda" has announced that it is to
establish tea plantations in Mozambique as part of its expansion
plans, reports Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias". The
company's managing director, Andrew Mills, revealed that Tanganda has
completed feasibility studies, and has decided to establish the
plantations in Mozambican soil, but the tea will be processed in
Zimbabwe.
>>>unsnip>>>>

Will this tea then be classified a Mozambican or a Zimbabwian? Is tea
from Darjeeling grown leaf, transported by truck to, and processed in
Assam - a Darjeeling or an Assam? I suspect the Tea Board of India
would accept neither classification.

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.

Nigel at Teacraft

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

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

"Nigel at Teacraft" > wrote in message
om...
> Traditionally and typically, tea is sold as deriving from a named
> area. This gives the buyer a prime clue as to type, character, and
> expected quality.
>
> I have just noticed a news item that may give consternation to these
> traditionalists:
>
> >>snip>>>
> The Zimbabwean tea company "Tanganda" has announced that it is to
> establish tea plantations in Mozambique as part of its expansion
> plans, reports Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias". The
> company's managing director, Andrew Mills, revealed that Tanganda has
> completed feasibility studies, and has decided to establish the
> plantations in Mozambican soil, but the tea will be processed in
> Zimbabwe.
> >>>unsnip>>>>
>
> Will this tea then be classified a Mozambican or a Zimbabwian? Is tea
> from Darjeeling grown leaf, transported by truck to, and processed in
> Assam - a Darjeeling or an Assam? I suspect the Tea Board of India
> would accept neither classification.
>
> 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.
>
> Nigel at Teacraft

Well, consider another food where origin is important - cheese. For
example, in France a cheese may be made outside a name-controlled area, say
Morbier, then shipped to that area to be aged. The manufacturer may label
it as "Morbier", but the label must reveal the real place of origin. The
unwary may buy it as real Morbier, but a careful examination will reveal the
true origin.

I may misunderstand you, but are you implying that there are no
international regulations that control the use of place names with tea, or
is the problem that they are country-specific ? I know that Darjeeling is
name controlled - the problem is that I have to trust my retailer (in my
personal case, 99% of which are online), because I can't physically inspect
the chest to see if the tea sold to me has the official designation. But
then, I'd have the same problem if I bought cheese online.

I guess my conclusion is: as a consumer I need to carefully choose my
vendors, because ultimately I will have to trust them to ask the hard
questions, and label/describe the tea accordingly: "This tea was grown on
the Wazoo estate in Mozambique and processed in Zimbabwe".

Regards,
Dean

"Nigel at Teacraft" > wrote in message
om...
> Traditionally and typically, tea is sold as deriving from a named
> area. This gives the buyer a prime clue as to type, character, and
> expected quality.
>
> I have just noticed a news item that may give consternation to these
> traditionalists:
>
> >>snip>>>
> The Zimbabwean tea company "Tanganda" has announced that it is to
> establish tea plantations in Mozambique as part of its expansion
> plans, reports Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias". The
> company's managing director, Andrew Mills, revealed that Tanganda has
> completed feasibility studies, and has decided to establish the
> plantations in Mozambican soil, but the tea will be processed in
> Zimbabwe.
> >>>unsnip>>>>
>
> Will this tea then be classified a Mozambican or a Zimbabwian? Is tea
> from Darjeeling grown leaf, transported by truck to, and processed in
> Assam - a Darjeeling or an Assam? I suspect the Tea Board of India
> would accept neither classification.
>
> 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.
>
> Nigel at Teacraft

Well, consider another food where origin is important - cheese. For
example, in France a cheese may be made outside a name-controlled area, say
Morbier, then shipped to that area to be aged. The manufacturer may label
it as "Morbier", but the label must reveal the real place of origin. The
unwary may buy it as real Morbier, but a careful examination will reveal the
true origin.

I may misunderstand you, but are you implying that there are no
international regulations that control the use of place names with tea, or
is the problem that they are country-specific ? I know that Darjeeling is
name controlled - the problem is that I have to trust my retailer (in my
personal case, 99% of which are online), because I can't physically inspect
the chest to see if the tea sold to me has the official designation. But
then, I'd have the same problem if I bought cheese online.

I guess my conclusion is: as a consumer I need to carefully choose my
vendors, because ultimately I will have to trust them to ask the hard
questions, and label/describe the tea accordingly: "This tea was grown on
the Wazoo estate in Mozambique and processed in Zimbabwe".

Regards,
Dean