Premium vs Commercial

Premium Tea

Premium teas account for about 5% of the current world's tea. Only the best top leaves and buds are hand-picked. Under the direction of the Tea Estate Master, the leaves are hand-processed and graded. Full leaf teas retain freshness and brew much better flavors.

Commercial Tea

Commercial teas account for about 95% of the current world's tea – the vast majority of which go into teabags. Mixed leaves are machine-picked along with some stems and twigs, then machine-processed by the CTC (cut, tear, curl) method into small particles. Small particles go stale faster and brew strong, but don't have nearly the flavor of premium teas.

Brewing Tea

For each 6 oz. cup of tea use a rounded teaspoon of loose leaves. Use boiling water for Black Teas, just under boiling for Oolong, and hot (about 150 degree) water for Green Tea. We've tried all of our teas at varying brewing times and have put our recommendations on the package in order to get the best flavor. Sometimes even a 15-30 second difference in brewing time makes a big change in how the tea tastes. Of course, it's all a matter of your taste... So have fun and enjoy!