Person finding the tea crate broken (9)
I believe the answer is:
character
'person' is the definition.
(character is a kind of person)
'the tea crate broken' is the wordplay.
'the tea' becomes 'char' (I've seen this before).
'broken' indicates anagramming the letters.
'crate' is an anagram of 'acter'.
'char'+'acter'='CHARACTER'
'finding' is the link.
(Other definitions for character that I've seen before include "Someone in play" , "Quality" , "Make-up" , "Person in a novel or play" , "Distinctive nature" .)