For many years the quality of black tea was determined either by expert tasters or by the price commanded at market. Expert tasters continue to play a very important role, in determining quality and suitability of individual lots of tea, in ensuring consistency of existing blends and in formulating new blends. Training of expert tasters is, however, a lengthy and expensive procedure and, inevi. tably, a greater or lesser degree of subjectivity becomes involved The price commanded at market also continues to be regarded as a measure of quality, but is at best a comparative measure, since the major determinant of price is likely to be the balance between supply and demand