A new kind of oriental rug emerged from India in the late 1990s, the so-called tea-wash carpet. In the final step of the finishing process, carpets like this are washed in tea and sometimes henna — two natural dyes, after all — to soften their colors.
9/9 Jaipurs, as they are known to those in the oriental rug industry, have become immensely popular in the U.S. market. The name refers not just to the knot count (9 x 9 = 81 knots per square inch) but the Indian city where they are manufactured. Canny marketeers — or perhaps hundreds of retailers on their own initiative — have succeeded in making them known to the public as tea-dyed or tea-washed rugs.At first, retailers were told by manufacturers that tea-washed carpets were made with natural dyes, and that is the impression these carpets give. But many of us became skeptical, and now it is apparent that all but a very few 9/9 Jaipurs are made with synthetic dyes. These synthetically dyed rugs, however, are washed with natural dyes (including tea) in the finishing proces