On Apr. 9, 1996, the Federal Tea Tasters Repeal Act of 1996 eliminated the Board of Tea Experts by repealing the Tea Importation Act of 1897, one year shy of its 100th anniversary. At the time of the repeal, the entire regulatory program cost taxpayers less than $200,000 per year, and was supported by industry user fees.

The 1897 act aimed to protect consumers from imported tea judged at the time to be “little better than hay or catnip.” Tea tasters, working in FDA offices around the country, examined every lot of imported tea, using standard teas selected by the Board for comparison.