Calling it an anachronism that should have been done away with decades ago, Congress has voted to take the Government out of the tea tasting business.

The Senate, by a voice vote and with no debate, approved a House-passed measure today that disbands the seven-member Board of Tea Examiners, which was created 99 years ago. President Clinton was expected to sign the bill.

In a ritual dating back to 1897, the board has met two days each year in a Brooklyn warehouse to sniff, touch and taste tea from the world over to see if it is good enough to be sold in the United States.

Lawmakers tried several times previously to abolish the board -- which costs taxpayers $200,000 a year -- but failed to do so as part of a broader Food and Drug Administration spending bill last year.