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In This Issue
Spring Sincha Arriving Soon
Cool New Cups
New Spring Tea Needs Name
Tea & Health: USDA report on NOP Program
Early Spring Sincha Houryoku arriving soon
0108 Front page
This special offering is the very first picking of the early spring.  It has a wonderful light, sweet flavor.

 If you enjoy high quality Japanese green teas, this is one you will want to experience

 RESERVE some of this limited quantity offering at a special 10% off regular price.
This offer is good until April 18th.  Later orders will be at regular price, and subject to availability

ENTER SINCHA2010 for PROMO CODE at checkout

Your credit card will not be charged until it is shipped!

Cool New Cups
Article
Take away Cups
Stop tossing away paper cups when you use these great new ceramic cups to enjoy your favorite tea.  Plus they do a better job of keeping it hot.  3 fun styles.  Pick up one for yourself and one for a friend!
 
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Tea Basics video - owner Tim Smith talks about tea processing
It's Just Tea - fun video about finding the perfect cup of tea
The Tea Smith Press - Opportunities for tea in the beverage industry
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Greetings!

It is early Spring in the tea producing areas, so we are awaiting the new crops. The 1st flush Darjeeling is being harvested, and we are awaiting our first samples.  At the first part of May, the new Sincha from Japan will be produced.  Spring Oolongs from Taiwan and China are coming soon as well.

But that does not mean there aren't new things at The Tea Smith.  So grab your favorite cuppa and read on.
As always, if you have an idea for a topic or a question, please let us know.

NEW Spring Flavor Arrives at The Tea Smith

We are quite excited about our new green tea.  This fresh new blend is based on a suggestion by one of our customers.  It adds another flavorful green tea to our selection. 

The sweet orange citrus is highlighted with a bit of ginger.  It is a perfect tea for this time of the year, since it makes a smooth hot tea, and a refreshing iced drink.

The only problem is that we have not been able to come up with a catchy name that reflects the character of this tasty selection.  So we are asking for your help.

Online or in the store try some of No Name Spring Green Tea, and see what name it suggests to you.   We will collect the suggestions from our customers and Tea Smithies. 

Whoever suggests the name that we select will win a fun gift pack from The Tea Smith worth $50, and the fame and notoriety that goes along with creating a name for a soon to be World Famous Blend.

Come in, try some out and help us name our New tea before April 19th.


Tea & Health
USDA Reports Findings on the National Organic Program



Many of us have decided to improve our health by choosing organic foods and drinks.  As a result sales of organic products have increase between 14% and 21 % annually over the last decade, and in 2008 reached over $24 billion according to the report.

In this country, establishment of standards and compliance to those standards are overseen by the National Organic Program of the USDA.  In March the Office of the Inspector General issued
the Oversight of the National Organic Program.

This 49 page audit provides some interesting information as to how the program is doing, along with recommendations to improve their processes.

By way of a disclaimer, I am not a scientist or a government bureaucrat so reading through this, I can pick up a small part of the contents.
One area that really bothered me was Finding #4 that discusses the fact that the NOP only does residue testing when they think there is a potential violation.
IMHO that approach opens the door to product regularly entering the market with a level of pesticides. Given the large growth in the amount of product and numbers of producers in the last several years, it would seem that needs to increase.
As I review the report, I am reminded that it is important to learn as much as you can about where your food and drinks come from and under what conditions they were produced.

All of us at The Tea Smith would like to sincerely thank you for supporting us. We appreciate your patronage.

We love to hear from you about what you like best or what we can do to improve your experience. Please feel free to call or email me at [email protected]
 
Sincerely,
 
Tim Smith, Chief Leaf
The Tea Smith, L.L.C.
Be a considerate friend. If you know someone who may enjoy tea, please pass this newsletter along to them. They will be forever grateful, and so will we!