German Tea & Herbal Tea Association
The German tea and herbal tea association (in-house spelling without Coupling : German Tea & Herbal Association , short tee ) is the association of the tea trade in Germany with headquarters in Hamburg . Its members are importers , manufacturers , packers and sellers of tea plant tea , herbal tea and fruit tea . The association was created in 2020 from the merger of the German Tea Association with the Herbal and Fruit Tea Association .
history
The German Tea Association , with a focus on real tea from the tea plant ( Camellia sinensis ), was founded in 1917. In 1997, the Herbal and Fruit Tea Association was founded , with a focus on tea-like products and infusions made from herbs and fruits. In 2020, both associations were merged to form the new German Tea & Herbal Tea Association .
Members
According to the association, the membership consists mainly of medium-sized companies that together represent over 90 percent of the tea industry in Germany. Around 5,000 people are employed in the industry, with a total annual turnover of 950 million euros.
The estimated total turnover of the member companies is over 1 billion euros, around half of which is achieved with tea ( black and green tea ).
The association is entered in the public list for associations that represent interests vis-à-vis the Bundestag or the federal government ( lobby list ).
The association is itself a member of the European tea association Tea & Herbal Infusions Europe (THIE) , of the Hamburg Wholesale and Foreign Trade Association (WGA) and of the German Food Association .
tasks
The statutes prescribe the following as the main areas of work :
- Food law issues
- Food labeling
- Ingredients of tea
- Flavors and extracts
- Requirements for organically grown food and
- the principles of the German Food Book for tea, tea-like products, their extracts and preparations
- Quality assurance issues
- nutritional issues with regard to tea.