Tony Preece

So, counterfeit tea is big business according to news sources....

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:51:49 +0000

So, counterfeit tea is big business according to news sources. It doesn’t get mentioned much. A google search found a BBC News article from 2006 and I tracked down a mention in the Guardian in 2006, but other than that it’s a silent industry.

Why did I decide to look at this now?

Yesterday I bought a box of Typhoo tea bags from a national frozen food chain, when I got home and opened the box I was a little surprised. The foil packs were plain silver - no print on them like those on this photo. I thought no more about it and opened a pack to make a cup of tea.

Then it struck me that the actual tea bags were not branded (again see the photo) with the Typhoo logo. How strange I thought. Could they be fake? Surely not, they’re tea bags! Sure a £20 note without the branding featrues would be a fake - but that’s because they’re security features. Could it be that Typhoo use branding as a security feature on their bags?

So, how else could I check. It had to be the sniff test. You see, a Typhoo tea bag has a really vivid scent. In a blind smell test I could tell them apart from other brands easily. The very last bag from my previous packet - about a fortnight old - still had that scent. The new tea bags - hardly a scent at all and what was there wasn’t Typhoo.

Those news reports say that counterfeit tea bags have been known to contain anything from tea to the dust swept up off the floor. So, for now at least, those bags are back in the box at the back of a cupboard and will stay there. I’ll buy some real one’s from another store later. I wonder what reply I’ll get from Trading Standards?

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-3-7)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:53:42 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-3-7): Red Hot Chili Peppers (17) Aerosmith (9) HIM (7)...

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-2-28)

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:47:22 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-2-28): Bon Jovi (8) Aerosmith (5) Def Leppard (4) Guns...

Is your job worthwhile?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:32:56 +0000

Most people go out to work each day during their adult life. Most of them because they need the...

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-2-14)

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:19:50 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-2-14): Red Hot Chili Peppers (28) The Red Hot Chili Peppers...

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-2-7)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:24:59 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-2-7): HIM (114) Iron Maiden (46) Whitesnake (14) The Who...

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-31)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:08:13 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-31): Nirvana (6) Green Day (6) The Offspring (6) K.T....

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-24)

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:18:43 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-24): Guns N’ Roses (53) HIM (49) Green Day (35)...

Offensive words...

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:17:35 +0000

Which of these words is more offensive? “Fuck” or “Finger”? Let me add some...

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-17)

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:20:50 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-17): Aerosmith (29) The Red Hot Chili Peppers (14) Green...

listening to "Lit -

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:21:14 +0000

listening to "Lit - : I didn’t mean to call you that

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-10)

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:49:13 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-10): Green Day (75) Aerosmith (31) Red Hot Chili Peppers...

This morning’s sunrise looking down our back garden.

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:56:16 +0000

This morning’s sunrise looking down our back garden.

Not sure where I’m going with this one!

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:54:07 +0000

Not sure where I’m going with this one!

What is it with Twitter?

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:43:01 +0000

What is it with Twitter?

Photo

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:40:07 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-3)

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:23:31 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-3): Red Hot Chili Peppers (68) Shakira (13) Queen (10)...

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-27)

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:27:49 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-27): Rage Against the Machine (3) KoЯn (2) Limp Bizkit...

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-6)

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:55:22 +0000

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-6): Paramore (1) Lindsay Lohan (1) Red Hot Chili Peppers...

Lady Manson? Marilyn's Gone GaGa!

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:34:37 +0000

Who’s ever seen them together?For years, 40 year old Brian Warner has called himself Marilyn...