The quality and price of tea produced in different regions varies greatly, and this research investigated whether elemental content determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy can indicate origin of commercial teas. A total of 75 tea samples from tea producing countries throughout the world were analysed for their elemental content, and 18 elements were selected for analysis based on their repeatability performance. Tea origin was determined by multivariate classification of the tea into 5 major geographical regions then two regions, Asian and non-Asian. The Asian vs non-Asian classification of the teas reached an 85% correct prediction rate.
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