2007-01-23 08:06:55 · 6 answers · asked by Miss Moe 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Ethnic Cuisine
All plants are automatically kosher unless they are infested with bugs. (Although they are obviously rules about plants known to be poisonous.) It is the way in which they are processed and packaged which can make them unkosher. Kosher tea has nothing to do with a blessing said by a rabbi. Kosher certification of tea means that the production process and the equipment used has been inspected and insured that the process is kosher in nature. This includes the packaging material that the tea is packaged into.
That is to say that the equipment used to dice the tea leaves hasn't been used to cut pork products for example. The certification authority will inspect the entire process from the time the tea leaves enter the factory until the time they leave. They will inspect the material used to make the tea-bags, the boxes and the plastic wrap that goes over the box for any possibility of contamination as well. Blessings and prayers don't enter into the process at all.
For tea the process should be fairly straightforward. If the equipment is only being used for tea and if the plant products are not being contaminated between the field and the tea packing plant, then the operation can be certified as being kosher.
Obviously there is a concern about insects that might be on the leaves or might enter the packing operation. The FDA already has some rules about that, kosher certification is just a bit more picky about such things than even the FDA is.
You can learn more about the kosher certification process for tea by reading this article:
http://www.learn-about-tea.com/kosher-tea.html
2007-01-23 12:31:07 · answer #1 · answered by Daniel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not the tea plant. Plant material, in and of itself, can't be not kosher.
However, tea does not come to us directly from the. After the leaves a plucked, they are dried, packaged, etc. For a package of tea to be certified as kosher, every part of the process from plucking the leaves to wrapping the box in plastic has to inspected so that nothing that is not kosher is included in the contents of the box or in any part of the wrapping.
2007-01-24 02:48:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Anything that grows from the ground is automatically kosher.
2007-01-24 08:53:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Kosher foods have been blessed by a Rabbi and follow Jewish dietary restrictions (no pork, etc).
2007-01-23 08:12:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its been blessed by a jewish man, rabi, whatever they are called.
2007-01-23 08:14:06 · answer #5 · answered by echc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It got blessed.
2007-01-23 11:11:46 · answer #6 · answered by buster 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋