Is Green Tea Kosher?

by Stanley

I would like to clarify if the green teas meet the kosher standards.

From what I am learning from your website, the leaves are either steamed or roasted or both. What type of utensils are used for these processes.

Can these utensils be used for anything else but these teas which would render them not kosher, or are they specialized utensils just used for the tea process?

Thanks
Stanley

Answer:

Stanley, tea is regarded as the most spritual of all beverages, and there is a reason for it.

In the past, many famous Chinese teas were planted and processed by monks. In some parts of China, elaborate religious ceremony accompanies the plucking of the tea leaves, as the plant is regarded as holy.

Now fast forward to modern time, do tea processing meets kosher standard?

In HQ's Dragon Well green tea's farm, tea leaves are plucked and roasted using traditional method. All the equipment are strictly reserved for tea making only.

Roasting requires a small amount of oil, and the oil used is strictly vegetarian and not tainted by animal product.

Yes, there is something spritual about these teas that call for a pure vegetarian approach - it commands respect. Tea is spritual.

Now you are going to ask: How about the other green tea manufacturers?

I can't speak for all the manufacturers, but I suspect most of the high grade makers will follow the traditional approach and uses vegetarian products.

(High grade tea garden tends to use hand harvesting, which for green tea takes place perhaps only once a year. They also use hand roasting.)

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In reality, whether a product meets Kosher standard or not is hard to tell.

Most of them probably do. But there is nothing stopping unscrupulous tea sellers from claiming the tea to be Kosher, when it is not.

Most teas pass through a long chain of middle-men - nobody really know for sure.

For tea buyers, it really is a matter of trust i.e. buying from somebody you can trust.
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If there is any aspect of Kosher which you want to further clarify, please let me know.

I hope this helps.

Julian