Research before writing
For substantive factual changes, we search for evidence and read relevant original pages or documents. Search summaries and old site text are leads, not sufficient verification.
Key factual claims need at least two independent sources, including an appropriate primary or authoritative source. Reprints of the same report do not count twice. The source must fit the claim: a seller can describe its own product, but that does not establish a market-wide price or a rule for every tea.
Keep conditions attached
For brewing, we state the tea form, vessel, actual water amount, leaf amount, temperature and whether leaves remain in the drink. We do not mix isolated numbers from different protocols into a supposedly validated recipe.
A proposal developed by the editor is labelled as an editorial starting point. The current three glass proposals are awaiting hands-on testing. A source-check date is not a tasting date.
For storage, we distinguish packaging, opening, daily use and environment. We do not calculate a packet’s remaining safe life remotely.
Record the evidence and its limits
We maintain internal research records describing the evidence, its use and its limits. Research references are retained in internal records rather than displayed as reading lists. Necessary image credits and licence notices remain visible. We compare differences in conditions and scope instead of assuming the most confident statement is correct.
We exclude unsupported health promises and invented universal grade rankings. Some encyclopedia entries retain descriptive comparisons and price figures from the earlier Chinese edition under the historical-reference policy below. Retaining those records does not make them newly verified facts. Specific product comparisons need product identities, dates and actual evidence; no current page is presented as a comprehensive product test.
Historical prices and grade comparisons
We retain useful material from the earlier Chinese edition while keeping its original scope and evidence limits visible. A retained table is a reference to that edition, not proof of the current market or the contents of your packet. “Historical reference” describes where the material came from; it does not establish an otherwise unknown quotation date or verify that the figures represented a past market average.
Prices: inherited China-price figures remain labelled in Chinese yuan (CNY), with the stated pack weight or weight basis. Where the original brand, batch or quotation date was not recorded, we say so. These figures are not verified current retail prices, market averages or manufacturer-suggested retail prices. An equivalent price per 100 g is arithmetic, not a new product quote; converting currency alone does not establish an equivalent UK or US retail offer.
Grades: retained sensory tables or descriptive tiers are not automatically complete current standard tables. Read the product style, grading system and verification limits stated in the individual entry. A table does not assign a grade to your packet or establish its origin or authenticity. When an old comparison differs from a later source, preserve and explain the distinction rather than silently renaming the old columns as current grades.
Dates and verification: an article update or source-review date is not the original price-quotation date, a confirmation that a standard is current, a product-compliance assessment or a tasting date. Unknown details remain unknown until supported by evidence; a new page date does not refresh an old table.
Before adding a current price sample, record the actual product and seller or maker, access or quotation date, origin and harvest or batch where supplied, style or grade wording, net weight, currency, channel and any included shipping or tax conditions. Do not merge unlike samples into a market average or invent missing fields. Before presenting a grade table as a current standard, check the relevant version, status, scope and full applicable requirements; a standard-information page alone is not a reading of those requirements.
Keeping an explicitly limited legacy reference does not permit new unsupported numbers, invented grades or unsupported health claims. If a retained statement conflicts with checked evidence, explain or correct it and record the change. Keep the distinction between the retained record and the newly checked information clear.
Photographs and assistance
Photographs need a recorded source and permission or licence. Credits identify adaptations and illustrative scope. A representative photograph does not prove a packet’s origin or quality. Our gift-guide label photograph is a museum collection example, not a current label or our own sample.
AI assists drafting and development. It is not treated as a source or a substitute for original reading. We do not invent expert biographies, first-hand visits, reviews or tasting records.
Dates and corrections
A checked date records a substantive review, not continuous monitoring of every external page. Links and product descriptions can change. We revise material when evidence changes or an error is identified, and keep an internal research record describing sources and limitations.
For corrections, email hi@teaplain.com with the page, disputed wording and supporting evidence. We review the report; we cannot promise a response time or adopt a claim simply because it has been submitted.
About TeaPlain explains the current scope and the first-packet guide is the starting point for new readers.