Tea is more than a money making business but is about offering something fine, nice and healthy based on honesty, integrity and ethics by following a clear self consciousness.
I always love to talk with people who care about pure taste and quality, but the phone call from the Vice President, Mr. Jean-Pierre Goeseels from ITQI yesterday afternoon was surprising and upsetting when he asked if we sold the ITQI 2016 2 Stars awarded Honey Black to a tea company in Califonia, USA, Sun Bright Tea.
The reason he asked me that question was because they found that company is selling a Honey Black on line by using the ITQI 2 stars award on line as marketing tool (it is a blended tea packed in triangle tea bag).
After checking that web site, I became even more confused and upset and decide to write them an email for basic clarifications:
- Which award they actually have won and with who, is it from Michelin Chef or from ITQI? if it’s from Michelin Chef as they wrote in the information then why using the 2 stars award logo from ITQI?
- Which year they won the award?
- If such award was won by the supplier, then they have to present a copy of letter of authorization.
Two of our teas have indeed won the ITQI 2016 2 stars award, besides Formosa Beauty and the other one is Honey Black. Our ITQI 2016 2 stars awarded Honey Black is fine and natural whole leaf tea but not blended with flowers in triangle tea bag.
Formosa Beauty has Zero pesticide analysis based on EU standards in Europe.
#ITQI is a very serious international organisations for taste and quality, each awarded product is registered in their database. Even though we are small but we are very serious with the principal of Pure, Authentic and Nature Quality in tea, and Business Ethics.
Even though a pesticide analysis report issued by European laboratory according to the EU standards in Europe is not compulsory by ITQI, but it is a standard of procedure (SOP) of Belgium Chinese Tea Arts Centre, because we take our commitment to good tea and consumers seriously for it is the right thing to do that we should do it right.
I am still in the process of working on the new website, now with this confusion experience, I will post more information about our ITQI 2016 2 stars award fine quality tea on our blog site.
Mei Lan Hsiao
OK, there is the update situation :
• Sun Bright Tea Inc. is using the ITQI award certificate from Sun Home Tea Co., Ltd.
• I have requested them to use the same name as Sun Home Tea has actually won the award – Sun Home Formosa Black Tea but not using “Honey Black” as the one we used for our tea. In order to avoid confusion
• On the Sun Home Chinese web site, they also using the word of “Michelin Chef” to highlight the ITQI award. This is a mistake that ITQI should take up the correction actions with Sun Home Tea Co., Ltd.
• On the Sun Home Chinese tea web site, I can only see the packaging but not the content. So ITQI should check if the blended tea shown on Sun Bright’s triangle tea bag same as the sample they presented to ITQI for taste and quality assessment or not.
But as I could recall, all Taiwanese tea companies who participated the ITQI award in 2016 was using the pure leaf but not blended tea.
Now it is clear, it has nothing to do with the Honey Black from Belgium Chinese Tea Arts Centre and ITQI should take up this matter with Sun Home Tea Co., Ltd.