Hello,
My son, who resides in China, and I are interested in importing specialty teas into the US but are not familiar with rules & regulations and the import process.
Could anyone provide some basic information? I have read the info on the US Customs and Border Protection and FDA websites but practical tips form someone who has already done it would be very much appreciated.
thank you in advance
Jean T.
Re: Tea import from China
I ordered my jasmine green tea from PureChineseTea and send it to a freight forwarder that primarily deals with shipping to the US. They handled the whole process for me.Jean wrote: Hello,
My son, who resides in China, and I are interested in importing specialty teas into the US but are not familiar with rules & regulations and the import process.
Could anyone provide some basic information? I have read the info on the US Customs and Border Protection and FDA websites but practical tips form someone who has already done it would be very much appreciated.
thank you in advance
Jean T.
Jun 27th, '20, 02:15
Posts: 151
Joined: Oct 24th, '17, 12:41
Location: Amsterdam
Re: Tea import from China
Why not consider local sourcing?
My opinion is, when you're just starting out, you may want to consider local suppliers in your own country first.
When you do start importing, small quantities up to 5 kg, can be shipped with EMS services. There's generally no paperwork needed, besides an invoice. However, for larger quantities, you'll need to find a good shipping company, or a vendor based in China, e.g. Teasenz, to do the import documentation for you. A good logistics company is familiar with the import regulation, and can guide you through the process or take care of everything for you.
Third party testing lab
When you want to really do everything yourself (relevant when you start importing large quantities), you need to find a third party testing lab. For example, you can have the vendor send a testing sample to that lab, who can do the residual testing based on your local FDA requirements. Then you can end this over to
Prepare well
I can also recommend to read the starting a tea business guides by Helloteacup.
My opinion is, when you're just starting out, you may want to consider local suppliers in your own country first.
- Importing small quantities isn't necessary cheaper than importing yourself.
- Also all the paperwork can be a hassle in the beginning.
- At last, the tasting and curating process will become very long with shipping time involved.
When you do start importing, small quantities up to 5 kg, can be shipped with EMS services. There's generally no paperwork needed, besides an invoice. However, for larger quantities, you'll need to find a good shipping company, or a vendor based in China, e.g. Teasenz, to do the import documentation for you. A good logistics company is familiar with the import regulation, and can guide you through the process or take care of everything for you.
Third party testing lab
When you want to really do everything yourself (relevant when you start importing large quantities), you need to find a third party testing lab. For example, you can have the vendor send a testing sample to that lab, who can do the residual testing based on your local FDA requirements. Then you can end this over to
Prepare well
I can also recommend to read the starting a tea business guides by Helloteacup.