History of Canned Tea

Canned tea is a relatively recent method of marketing tea which has been sold traditionally as leaf tea and also, for the last 100 years, in tea bag form. It utilises the canning process to produce a ready made drink. Perceived advantages are ease of use (minimal or no preparation time) and the possibility of additives (such as flavours or sugar); the disadvantages are the cost of shipment (and therefore the price of the product) and a lack of freshness.^[1]

Tea has been consumed in China for around 5,000 years.

Oolong (Chinese: 烏龍; pinyin: wūlóng) is a traditional Chinese type of tea somewhere between green and black in oxidation.^[7] Although it has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea, it does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea. The best Oolong has a nuanced flavor profile. It is commonly brewed to be strong and bitter, yet leaving a faintly sweet aftertaste. The first commercially canned Oolong tea was available in Japan in 1981.^[2]

Green tea (simplified Chinese: 绿茶; traditional Chinese: 綠茶; pinyin: lǜchá) has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. It is popular in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East. Recently it has become more widespread in the West.

The first commercially canned green tea was available in Japan in 1985.^[2] Subsequently, other brands have been launched in many countries due mainly to the claimed health and diet benefits of green tea.

^{History: 
ITO EN Ltd (Japan) [2]}

• 1981 - First canned tea (oolong) launched
• 1985 - First canned green tea launched.