There is a dramatic lack of respect for quality and tradition in both the worlds of tea trading and tea consumption like they have had for wine. This self-respect and culture were instrumental for the evolvement of the trade-consumer structure we see in wine today. Western powers in the tea trade are trying to obscure facts and quality so as to continue to maximize their margins in using poor grades and maintaining their control of low cost labour. On the other side of the world there is obscenely insane in-fights within tea production regions, all trying to either be the big brother, or to take advantage of the present state of confusion. Those who are not in this fight are either too busy to survive or too lazy/short-sighted to change the status quo.
Re: Artjom: Tea compared to wine: classification
Even if there were a strong influence to systematically manage labeling, I think it would be dramatically different from that of wine. The nature of the products themselves and the respective market behaviour are totally different.
