Generally, I avoid teas in tins -- Downton Abbey English Breakfast, Royal This and That stuff. and all the British sounding blends of assam, ceylon, kenya, etc.
My main problem is that there is so often a conflict between what the label implies and what the ingredients are listed as. You get all the stuff about it being specially selected from some local garden in China but then the ingredients show just :Green tea" or "A blend of black teas."
Any expert out there on what the labels actual mean -- if a "darjeeling" shows the ingredients are just "Black tea" how much Darjeeling does it actually have in it? Harrod's pushes a High Alishan Taiwan Oolong as Oolong Green tea" and the ingredients don;t specify country of origin or type.
Well, the ingredients are correct. There's green tea in there, and/or a blend of black teas. This isn't necessarily enough information, but it's not information-free.
Of course, sometimes the ingredients aren't correct. You can buy a Chinese black that has been made a little fresher-tasting by the addition of methyl salicylate, or a green tea that has been mellowed out with a touch of vanillin, and of course a lot of the cheaper Chinese greens have had a little artificial coloring added in to make them look better in the cup than they really are.
Darjeeling is a special case because the majority of Darjeeling tea sold is counterfeit. But, if the labelling were honest, if it said "Darjeeling" on the can, it would be a pure Darjeeling tea.
Right, but you're purchasing from Harrod's tea counter, and you have some fair degree of trust in them that what they are selling is what they are claiming it really is. This is the key, to buy from a supplier that is honest, and which has some control over their own supply chain.
The ingredients list might just say "tea" and still comply with the EU requirements. The ingredients list is basically there not to insure the integrity of the tea itself, but to establish that there is no outside material added other than tea. (And outside of China you can probably trust that).
No, it's just that the ingredients list isn't the place to get the information that you want. There _is_ a con game going on, but it's not with the ingredients list, it's with labelling in general. Which is why you buy from Harrod's tea counter and not from some doubtful-looking guy on a street corner in Guangzhou.
Taylor afternoon Darjeeling "highest tea gardens in foothill so of Himalayas" Ingredients "Darjeeling tea. Wrapper ""Tea produce of more than one country." What is all this about? It looks to me as if the label tells me nothing about the actual tea. What is Taylor up to? When I see something I may want to buy, how can I tell what I will be getting?
I avoid blended teas specifically for this reason. However, I do enjoy regular old Lipton, as well as PG Tips, both in the loose boxes. Both are respectable for an inexpensive black tea, with a consistent flavor box to box. The Lipton is qctually a fine enough tea to stand on its own even against fancier blacks - it has a very very light smoky touch and it's just delightful. PG Tips seems to have more of a malty Assam character.
Oddly enough, both kinds of tea are quite insipid when bagged!
Okay, ingredients seem correct, the description seems shamefully wrong.
Ingredients are definitely wrong, and possibly in a hazardous way. What if someone is allergic to citrus or vanilla?
Those are probably correct, but they are also very vague.
Well, likely the wrapper is correct, and that is kind of shameful too.
Taylor is selling a mix of Darjeeling and something that is very close to Darjeeling, like a greener sikkim tea. It might taste indistinguishable from a pure Darjeeling, and unfortunately most of the teas that are sold as Darjeeling, including some "single estate" teas are like this.
ALL you can do is buy from a legitimate supplier and hope for the best. Sadly we do not have an Appelation d'Origin Controle system for tea, and many teas come from places where counterfeiting and relabelling is standard practice.
On the other hand, Harney should really be ashamed of listing a scented tea as just containing tea. (It is entirely possible that the scenting ingredients are small enough quantities that they don't have to be listed by US law in the ingredients, though.)
This and That stuff. and all the British sounding blends of assam, ceylon, kenya, etc.
el implies and what the ingredients are listed as. You get all the stuff ab out it being specially selected from some local garden in China but then th e ingredients show just :Green tea" or "A blend of black teas."
shows the ingredients are just "Black tea" how much Darjeeling does it actu ally have in it? Harrod's pushes a High Alishan Taiwan Oolong as Oolong Gre en tea" and the ingredients don;t specify country of origin or type.
thanks Scott.... discouraging. I read that something like 60% of teas is no w packed by reexporters in Dubai and that just about all lipton teas are mi xed there. this all makes the labels pretty meaningless
You can get it in some grocery stores that feature a 'British Isles' ethnic section. Most stores only carry the bagged junk. And there's always Amazon!
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