Tea Time with Teasmith Scott Svihula

China Mist Brands’ Japanese – Style Teas Safe

On May 11, 2011 the world watched in amazement and empathy for the Japanese as one of the largest earthquakes struck Japan. The immense devastation and destruction was beyond comprehension. Unfortunately, this earthquake and its aftershocks impacted the safety of Japan’s nuclear power plants; which resulted in a huge release of radiation into the atmosphere.

At first the Japan Tea Exporter’s Association was reporting that there was no fear of radiation affecting this year’s tea crop. Back at China Mist Brands we met with our suppliers and industry contacts who had feet on the ground in Japan. They, too, were reporting not to worry. Against what we were hearing, China Mist Brands made the decision to invest in a one year supply of Japanese and Japanese-style teas. We were successful in securing this supply from pre-earthquake crops that had already arrived into the US.

As you may have seen in the last few weeks the Japan Tea Exporter’s Association and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare was forced to stop tea production in several prefectures due to positive readings of radiation above international trade regulations. This has created a shortage of tea for the local population and almost no tea for exportation.

Due to this announcement several surrounding countries have diverted tea production to produce Japanese style teas. This has driven prices up for these style teas and finding a reliable source for these teas has also become an issue. This will not be an issue for China Mist Brands as we have an adequate supply of these teas and we continue working to secure reliable and safe teas at reasonable prices for future production.

You and your customers can be assured that ALL Japanese and Japanese style teas from China Mist Brands were sourced from crops that were in the US before the earthquakes. We will keep you posted as more information develops.

Affected teas:

· Tea Bags
Best Organic China Green (this is because it is a steamed China tea which is similar in style to Japanese teas and people are purchasing this type of tea as a replacement; although this tea does not come from Japan.)
Organic Genmaicha
Organic Lemon Ginger Green

· Sachet
Organic Genmaicha

· Loose
Hojicha
Court Sencha (Take Sencha)
Organic Genmaicha

If you would like to help out with the relief effort, we recommend the Japanese Red Cross. Please click here to visit the Japanese Red Cross. The tea industry collectively believes this is the best organization since they are well respected and already have the infrastructure in Japan to take effective action.

LASTEST UPDATE FROM THE WORLD TEA EXPO LAST WEEK: The Japanese Government is now starting to test all teas and certifying there radiation levels before they can be exported. This stamp of approval will signify that the tea was tested and has radiation readings that are at least 65% lower than that of the FDA requirements.

If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Scott@chinamist.com.