From September 2 to 4, the 32nd Plenary Meeting of the Tea Sub-Committee of the ISO Technical Committee on Food (ISO/TC34/SC8) was held in Berlin, Germany, in a combined online and offline format. More than 30 experts from China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and other countries attended the meeting. The project manager of the ISO Central Secretariat, the Chair and the Secretary of SC8 attended the meeting.

The Chinese delegation was composed of 10 experts from the laboratory, the Hangzhou Tea Research Institute of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives and other institutions. Professor Wan Xiaochun, Director of the laboratory, served as head of the delegation, and Researcher Yang Xiufang of the Hangzhou Tea Research Institute served as deputy head.

Professor Wan Xiaochun chaired the discussion of Working Group 6 (WG6) on Tea Classification and Jasmine Tea, and together with Professor Li Daxiang reported to the plenary on the revision of the technical specification ISO/TS 5617 Tea — Chemical Classification and on the progress in developing the international standard Definition and Basic Requirements for Jasmine Tea, both of which they lead. Experts at the meeting held in-depth exchanges on sample representativeness, model discrimination performance, the scope of application of the standards and follow-up work arrangements. The jasmine tea project was discussed by the working group and a resolution was adopted at the plenary, advancing it to the Preliminary Work Item (PWI) stage and setting a clear direction for the subsequent development of the standard.

The meeting reported on the annual key work of ISO/TC34/SC8 and the latest changes to ISO rules. The conveners of each working group reported on the latest progress and future plans.

The meeting further clarified the technical key points and development paths of several international standards. The laboratory will continue to give play to its advantages as a national-level platform, join hands with domestic and international experts to advance sample sharing, technical verification and standard development, promote the deep integration of research results with international standardization work, and continuously enhance China's voice in the field of international tea standards.

In recent years, with a strong sense of responsibility and deep academic accumulation, the laboratory's tea research team has contributed wisdom and strength to enhancing China's voice in international tea standardization, leading the development and publication of a series of important international standards. In September 2025, the international standard ISO/TS 5617:2025 Tea — Chemical Classification, led by Professor Wan Xiaochun's team, was officially published. In March 2023, the international standard ISO 20715:2023 Tea — Classification, also led by Professor Wan Xiaochun's team, was officially published. The two standards establish a complete tea classification system from the perspectives of chemical composition and processing technology respectively, marking international recognition of China's scientific tea classification system and effectively reversing China's long-standing passive position of lacking leadership in this field.

(Text: Li Tiehan; Photos: Li Tiehan; First review: Song Chuankui; Second review: Zheng Xuelin; Third review: Cao Lei)