Law of Tea.com
A WEB RESOURCE FOR THE TEA INDUSTRY
A WEB RESOURCE FOR THE TEA INDUSTRY
The tea industry today does not find itself subject to the same level of international standardization that
is present in the trade of other commodities such as cocoa and coffee. However, historically attempts
have been made to agree on export controls and marketing, although none of these historic agreements
remain effective today.
By traditional Chinese accounts, tea originated with the mythic Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. Yet, its
original medicinal use did not apparently give tea the status of China’s beverage of choice until millennia
later. The Dry Law of the T’ang Dynasty (AD 618 - 907) popularized tea drinking, since that statute
forbade the making of wine because population growth required that crops be used for food, so with the
prohibition on wine making, tea is said to have become more popular throughout China. It was also
during the T'ang era that the first great tea treatise, the Ch'a Ching or "Tea Classic" of Lu Yu was
written.
The first tea regulation passed in the English-
speaking world was the Statute of Tenures
1660 (12 Car. II, c. 24). Although famous as
the final act abolishing feudalism, it was likely
also the first statute to impose an excise tax on
tea. Later, the Tea Act 1773 (13 Geo. III,
c. 44) would allow the East India Company to
export directly to American colonies, but to pay
a duty, rather than forcing the Company to
export the same tea via London. Tea
legislation in Britain and its effect on duties and
taxation in North America also gave rise to the
eventual American Revolution in the New
England colonies.
The Sale of Food & Drugs Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict., c. 63), perhaps the earliest of the modern food and
drug regulatory statutes in the English-speaking world, contained specific provisions for the inspection
of tea imports into Britain. For many years in the United States, the Tea Importation Act of 1897
required the FDA’s Tea Board of Experts to test and approve all imported tea. Tea's importance in the
United States was quite clear, given that the more general Food & Drug Act ("Wiley Act") did not come
into existence until 1906. Yet, with the passage of the Federal Tea Tasters Repeal Act of 1996, the
FDA now regulates tea importation along the same lines as other imported foods. U.S. Customs
regulations, however, continue to impose specific requirements for tea imports into the United States.
From the 1930’s until the 1950’s, several tea producing countries maintained a Registration Scheme
under the International Tea Committee, which placed limits on tea exports. Today, the International Tea
Committee provides tea statistics to the tea industry. Regulation of tea production and distribution falls
largely to the authorities of the tea producing countries, with the Tea Boards of India, Sri Lanka, and
Kenya enjoying a high profile in the international tea trade. With the privatization of the China National
Native Produce & Animal Byproducts Import & Export Corporation (CNNP) in the 1980’s and 90’s, direct
regulation of Chinese tea production and export is shared between that country’s ministries of
agriculture and commerce.
In 1978, the tea-producing countries of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Tanzania formed the International Tea Promotion Association
(ITPA), with its headquarters in Rotterdam. However, the organization closed its operations in the 1980’
s. Since that time the only major intergovernmental organization to monitor tea production,
consumption, and regulation has been the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), whose
Committee on Commodity Problems has recently taken steps in the direction of promoting tea
consumption.
is present in the trade of other commodities such as cocoa and coffee. However, historically attempts
have been made to agree on export controls and marketing, although none of these historic agreements
remain effective today.
By traditional Chinese accounts, tea originated with the mythic Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. Yet, its
original medicinal use did not apparently give tea the status of China’s beverage of choice until millennia
later. The Dry Law of the T’ang Dynasty (AD 618 - 907) popularized tea drinking, since that statute
forbade the making of wine because population growth required that crops be used for food, so with the
prohibition on wine making, tea is said to have become more popular throughout China. It was also
during the T'ang era that the first great tea treatise, the Ch'a Ching or "Tea Classic" of Lu Yu was
written.
The first tea regulation passed in the English-
speaking world was the Statute of Tenures
1660 (12 Car. II, c. 24). Although famous as
the final act abolishing feudalism, it was likely
also the first statute to impose an excise tax on
tea. Later, the Tea Act 1773 (13 Geo. III,
c. 44) would allow the East India Company to
export directly to American colonies, but to pay
a duty, rather than forcing the Company to
export the same tea via London. Tea
legislation in Britain and its effect on duties and
taxation in North America also gave rise to the
eventual American Revolution in the New
England colonies.
The Sale of Food & Drugs Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict., c. 63), perhaps the earliest of the modern food and
drug regulatory statutes in the English-speaking world, contained specific provisions for the inspection
of tea imports into Britain. For many years in the United States, the Tea Importation Act of 1897
required the FDA’s Tea Board of Experts to test and approve all imported tea. Tea's importance in the
United States was quite clear, given that the more general Food & Drug Act ("Wiley Act") did not come
into existence until 1906. Yet, with the passage of the Federal Tea Tasters Repeal Act of 1996, the
FDA now regulates tea importation along the same lines as other imported foods. U.S. Customs
regulations, however, continue to impose specific requirements for tea imports into the United States.
From the 1930’s until the 1950’s, several tea producing countries maintained a Registration Scheme
under the International Tea Committee, which placed limits on tea exports. Today, the International Tea
Committee provides tea statistics to the tea industry. Regulation of tea production and distribution falls
largely to the authorities of the tea producing countries, with the Tea Boards of India, Sri Lanka, and
Kenya enjoying a high profile in the international tea trade. With the privatization of the China National
Native Produce & Animal Byproducts Import & Export Corporation (CNNP) in the 1980’s and 90’s, direct
regulation of Chinese tea production and export is shared between that country’s ministries of
agriculture and commerce.
In 1978, the tea-producing countries of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Tanzania formed the International Tea Promotion Association
(ITPA), with its headquarters in Rotterdam. However, the organization closed its operations in the 1980’
s. Since that time the only major intergovernmental organization to monitor tea production,
consumption, and regulation has been the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), whose
Committee on Commodity Problems has recently taken steps in the direction of promoting tea
consumption.
TEA REGULATION
HISTORIC REGULATION
HISTORIC REGULATION
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