All About The Tea
Tea 101
Brewing An Amazing Cup of tea:
- If you’re using an 8 oz cup, put 1 perfect teaspoon of loose tea into your infuser (tea ball, mesh basket, etc.) If you’re using a teapot, use 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces of water. If you find that the tea comes out too mild for your taste, use a bit more tea next time. Or steep tea longer.
- Pour hot water over the leaves. Use boiling water for black teas and herbals, and slightly cooler water (around 175°) for green, white and oolong teas.
- Steep for the appropriate amount of time for your tea. About 5 minutes for black teas, 3 minutes for green, 5 minutes for oolong, white and 7 minutes for herbal.
Types of Tea:
White Tea: The lightest in flavour, it is comprised of the youngest tea leaves; the unopened leaf buds. They are simply picked and then air-dried. Shop White tea here
Green Tea: Stronger in flavour than white tea, this tea is made with the older opened leaves as well as the leaf buds. It is steamed or pan-fired to give it a rich, vegetal flavour. Shop Green tea here
Oolong Tea: Oolong is between green and black tea. The leaves are partially oxidized, giving it a unique flavour. Oolongs can be very green or very dark, roasted or unroasted, rolled or straight-leaf. Because of this, they are the broadest category of teas. Shop Oolong tea here
Black Tea: A fully oxidized tea. The leaves are withered, then rolled or crushed to bruise the leaf and allow air to oxidize the leaf. The process is the same as when a piece of fruit is cut and turns brown. When the leaves have fully oxidized, they are lightly roasted to dry them. Shop Black tea here
Herbal Blends: Herbal blends include things like mint, chamomile, and rooibos. Even though they are brewed like tea, they technically aren’t “tea”, since they contain nothing from the tea plant. Shop Herbal tea here
Rooibos Tea: Rooibos tea, also known as red tea or red bush tea, is made using leaves from a shrub called Aspalathus linearis. It is traditionally grown on the western coast of South Africa. Rooibos is considered a herbal tea and is not related to green or black tea. Traditional rooibos is created by fermenting the leaves, which turns them a red-brown color. Green rooibos, which is not fermented, is also available. It tends to be more expensive and grassier in flavor than the traditional version of the tea and boast more antioxidants. Shop Rooibos tea here
Matcha Tea: Native to Japan, Matcha tea is by far the best green tea. It is valued for its many benefits. The production process involves, picking the leaves, steaming, stemming and deveining them before grinding them; to enhance the beneficial effects of the tea. Aside from it's high antioxidant content and calming effects, it is delicious. We recommend you add it to your daily regime and experience life changing effects. Shop Matcha tea here