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Old May 1, 2007 | 8:14 pm
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Seeking advice: transporting tea

I will be traveling from Canada to Europe via US. I have to bring to a friend 500gr (about 1 lb.) of premium Earl Grey tea from a local shop.

With the idea of minimizing trouble with customs officers, I am looking for recommendations as to whether I should place a (fairly large) bag of tea leaves in my carry-on or checked luggage.

(I am currently tempted to place this in a Ziploc with my carry-on for easy inspection if required.)
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Old May 1, 2007 | 8:39 pm
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Tea in your carryon is no problem. Declare it when you arrive, carry it on when you connect.

Ironically, should you choose to steep it before you connect, you are a bad person.
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Old May 1, 2007 | 9:43 pm
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I haven't tried carrying my Lapsang Souchong yet, but I bet that anything that looks like tea and smells like smoke isn't going to go over too well.
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Old May 1, 2007 | 9:48 pm
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Before airport "security" went into the crapper, I brought a box of gunpowder tea back from the UK.

I wonder what would happen if that were noticed in my carryon today.
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Old May 1, 2007 | 11:49 pm
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Originally Posted by respectable_man
(I am currently tempted to place this in a Ziploc with my carry-on for easy inspection if required.)
I know it's tough not to feel inordinately proactive these days, but customs and the baggie carnival have nothing to do with one another. Bottom line: you don't need to Ziploc to transport dried tea.

Originally Posted by whirledtraveler
I haven't tried carrying my Lapsang Souchong yet, but I bet that anything that looks like tea and smells like smoke isn't going to go over too well.


I hadn't thought of that! That's my fave kind of tea ...

Last edited by essxjay; May 1, 2007 at 11:55 pm
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Old May 2, 2007 | 2:51 am
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We take tea regularly to the US for family/friends. Never had any problems.
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Old May 2, 2007 | 9:28 am
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Yup, you'll be fine -- just declare it and it can go in either bag. My husband and I brought back at least 10 tins of tea from England a couple of months ago...
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Old May 3, 2007 | 2:46 am
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To be honest, I'm not even sure you need to declare it. I never have and I don't see what part of the customs rules you'd need to declare it under.

Specifically tea is mentioned by the Customs rules:

As a general rule, condiments, vinegars, oils, packaged spices, honey, coffee and tea are admissible.
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Old May 3, 2007 | 7:04 am
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I've never seen any restrictions on tea - if it is tea.
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