Editorial Policy
Encyclopedia Tea is a reference site about tea. This page explains how its content is researched, written, checked and corrected. It is written to be checkable rather than reassuring: if something described here is not what you observe on the site, that is worth reporting.
What this site is, and what it is not
This is an independent reference covering tea types, processing, origins, brewing and health evidence. It is not a shop, an affiliate catalogue, a medical resource, or a news outlet. There is a separate commercial activity selling loose-leaf tea and teaware; it is kept operationally distinct from editorial decisions and has no influence over what the articles say.
| This site is | This site is not |
|---|---|
| A reference for identifying and understanding tea | A source of medical advice |
| Honest about where evidence is thin | A place that repeats marketing claims |
| Written in plain English for international readers | A translation of a Chinese source site |
| Corrected when wrong | Frozen at publication |
How sources are chosen
Sources are preferred in this order. A lower tier is not automatically wrong, but it cannot be the only support for an important claim.
| Tier | Source type | Example use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standards and primary research | ISO tea standards, GB national standards, peer-reviewed trials |
| 2 | Academic reviews and institutional publications | Cochrane reviews, EFSA opinions, university tea research |
| 3 | Producer and regional primary sources | Named growing region associations, identified as interested parties |
| 4 | Established specialist references | Long-standing tea reference works |
| 5 | Trade publications | Current industry context, never for health claims |
Blogs, forums, marketing copy and AI-generated summaries may point toward a lead but are not treated as support for a factual claim.
How disagreement between sources is handled
Tea sources disagree often, usually because they describe different things: different cultivars, grades, decades, or a regional convention presented as universal. When sources conflict, the article says so rather than silently picking one. Where a figure varies by region or method, the article gives the range and states what it depends on instead of presenting a single number as fact.
Health claims
Health content follows three rules.
- Evidence strength is stated. Where human trial evidence is absent, the article says it is absent. Where a finding comes from cells or animals, the article says so.
- Effect sizes are given, not implied. A claim that a tea helps with weight is qualified by how much, over what period, and in which population.
- No treatment claims. Nothing here is presented as a treatment for a disease. If a claim would need a doctor to act on it, it belongs in a clinic, not on this site.
Where traditional frameworks such as Chinese medicine are described, they are presented as frameworks with their own internal logic, not as physiological findings. The distinction between traditional classification and clinical evidence is kept visible.
How AI is used
This site uses AI assistance in drafting and in structuring research. This is stated plainly because pretending otherwise would itself be misleading.
What AI does: drafts prose from source material, proposes article structure, generates the schematic diagrams.
What AI does not do: it is never treated as a source. Every factual claim, figure, standard reference and health statement is checked against a primary or secondary source before publication. AI output that cannot be traced to a checkable source is removed rather than softened.
AI is also the reason this page exists. Content produced at scale is exactly where unverified claims accumulate, so the checking process has to be visible.
Editorial process
- Topic is checked against existing coverage so two pages do not compete for the same question.
- Sources are collected and the claims that need support are identified.
- A draft is produced.
- Every figure and every claim about evidence is checked against the collected sources.
- Structure is checked: does the article answer the question it claims to answer, and only that question.
- Publication, followed by indexing checks.
Corrections
Errors are corrected rather than quietly edited. If you find a factual error, a broken source link, or a claim that overstates its evidence, please report it.
Contact: chenbei0595@gmail.com, or use the contact page.
What happens with a report: the claim is checked against the cited source; if the source does not support it, the claim is corrected or removed; if the source itself is wrong, both are addressed. Substantive corrections change the article's updated date. Minor wording changes do not.
Advertising and commercial disclosure
This site displays advertising through Google AdSense. Ad placement is controlled by Google and is not influenced by editorial content. Advertisers have no input into article content and cannot purchase a favourable mention.
The site also sells tea and teaware. This is disclosed here and on the contact page. Products sold are not presented as health products, and no article on this site exists to support a product listing.
Content that is deliberately omitted
Some things common on tea sites are not published here, by choice.
- Brewing parameters presented as universal rules. Water temperature and ratio vary by tea, grade and taste; where numbers are given they are stated as a starting range with the variables named.
- Origin and authenticity claims that cannot be checked. A region name on a package is not evidence of provenance.
- Superlatives such as the finest, the oldest, the healthiest. These are marketing language, not information.
Review and update policy
Articles are updated when the underlying evidence changes, when an error is reported, or when a better source becomes available. Dates shown on an article reflect actual changes. They are not moved forward to appear fresh.
Language
The site is written in English for an international readership. Where a Chinese tea name has an established English form, the English form is used, with the Chinese name and pinyin given where it helps identification. Literal translation of tea terminology is avoided where it would create a name no English reader uses.