New Website to Rate and Review Teas: RateTea.net

Nov. 20, 2009 - PRLog -- RateTea.net is a website and online community where anyone can rate and review teas.  The website was launched on Sep. 18, 2009 and now lists over 1300 teas from over 50 different brands.  RateTea.net was designed by Alex Zorach and is owned and managed through Merit Exchange LLC.  Alex Zorach has an M.A. in Statistics from Yale University, and is active as a statistical consultant and in the development of interactive websites.  RateTea.net was inspired in part by RateBeer.com, an online community centering around rating beer.  The purpose of the RateTea.net is to encourage people to develop their understanding and appreciation of tea, and to promote sustainability and variety in tea drinking and production.

Visit the website: http://ratetea.net/

In addition to teas made from the tea plant Camellia sinensis, RateTea.net also lists herbal teas, flavored teas, rooibos and honeybush, yerba mate, and blends involving any or all of these.  RateTea.net lists loose teas and teas available in tea bags, but does not currently list bottled teas.  Major categories of tea on the website include green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, and pu-erh tea.

Commitment to Sustainability: RateTea.net is committed to sustainability, highlighting practices of tea companies and tea consumption that actively promote sustainability.  These facets of sustainability include, but are not limited to, fair trade, organic agriculture and other issues pertaining to sustainable agriculture, composting of tea leaves, and biodegradable and/or recyclable packaging.

Custom Recommendations: Rather than ranking teas in the interest of determining which teas are "best" in an average sense, RateTea.net gathers and analyzes data in order to make personalized recommendations unique to each user.  This approach recognizes the subjectivity of taste and encourages tea drinkers to develop their own preferences independently of what other people prefer.  The goal of this approach is to preserve and promote variety in the production of teas.

Health Information: RateTea.net researches and provides critical commentary of claims about health benefits and health effects of tea and herbal teas, summarizing scientific articles in peer-reviewed publications to provide tea drinkers with accurate information independent of any tea company.

Database of Teas: RateTea.net has a database of teas classified by style, brand, and region of production.  In addition, the website has detailed information on each style of tea, including history, origin, production, flavor, aroma, appearance, and in some cases health effects.

Resources for Tea Companies: RateTea.net provides a free way for tea companies to gain visibility for their products.  Tea companies wishing to have their teas listed can check the listing of brands and tea companies (http://ratetea.net/brand.php) and if not already listed, either create an account and use the suggestion forms, or use the contact form on the website.  Currently, RateTea.net only lists companies that have their own brand(s) of tea.

Resources for Bloggers and Webmasters: RateTea.net provides a free means for bloggers and webmasters of tea-related websites to promote their blogs and websites.  RateTea.net encourages users to link their profiles to their tea blogs and/or websites.  By rating teas and writing brief reviews on RateTea.net, people can provide a teaser to draw readers in to read or view more detailed reviews or articles on another website.

Further information: http://ratetea.net/about.php

# # #

RateTea.net is an online community where anyone can rate and review teas. RateTea.net lists loose and teabag teas, and has a database of teas and articles about different styles and varieties of tea, tea-producing regions, and other tea-related topics.