Loose Leaf Tea, Explained Without the Snobbery

I'm a certified tea sommelier and I still keep tea bags in the cupboard. Nothing in here is meant to make you feel behind. Most people who think they don't like tea have only ever had it brewed wrong: water too hot, leaves left in too long, or a tin that's been open since 2019. Every month I feature 1 blend and tell you what it actually is, and in between I answer what comes in through the shop. Caffeine, storage, brewing, and why yours tastes like regret. Everything I write about is in the tea shop.

Cup of chai tea with milk swirling in, beside cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods and cloves
Know Your Tea

What Is Chai Tea? September's Featured Tea, Explained

Chai is September's featured tea. Where it comes from, what actually makes a chai a chai, whether it will keep you up, and how I brew mine.

Know Your Tea

What Is Chai Tea? September's Featured Tea, Explained

Chai is September's featured tea. Where it comes from, what actually makes a chai a chai, whether it will keep you up, and how I brew mine.

Caffeine-free loose leaf tea sachets and tea gifts from A Tea Party In A Box
Know Your Tea

Caffeine-Free Teas for Guests, Kids, and Late Nights

Somebody at your table cannot have caffeine. Here are the six herbal blends I pour, who each one is for, and how to brew them so they taste like more than hot water.

Know Your Tea

Caffeine-Free Teas for Guests, Kids, and Late Nights

Somebody at your table cannot have caffeine. Here are the six herbal blends I pour, who each one is for, and how to brew them so they taste like more than hot water.

Pitcher of ruby agua de jamaica hibiscus tea with lime and cinnamon on a Texas table
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Jamaica, Canela and Manzanilla: Tea Traditions From Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America

Jamaica, canela, manzanilla and mate: 4 drinks that live in kitchens across Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America, and one hibiscus iced tea to pour this weekend.

Know Your Tea

Jamaica, Canela and Manzanilla: Tea Traditions From Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America

Jamaica, canela, manzanilla and mate: 4 drinks that live in kitchens across Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America, and one hibiscus iced tea to pour this weekend.

A glass of green tea with fresh lemon slices, one easy way to drink green tea daily
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Does Green Tea Still Work If You Add Lemon, Milk, or Sweetener?

My daughter asked if mixing green tea with juice cancels out the good stuff. I had no idea, so I found out, and here is what the research says about milk, lemon, sweetener, and ice.

Know Your Tea

Does Green Tea Still Work If You Add Lemon, Milk, or Sweetener?

My daughter asked if mixing green tea with juice cancels out the good stuff. I had no idea, so I found out, and here is what the research says about milk, lemon, sweetener, and ice.

A cup of green tea poured for a daily habit, not a diet
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Green Tea and Weight Loss. It's NOT A Diet

Diets are temporary. Habits are life. Here is how green tea became part of my everyday rhythm, and what it actually does for energy, stress, and cravings.

Know Your Tea

Green Tea and Weight Loss. It's NOT A Diet

Diets are temporary. Habits are life. Here is how green tea became part of my everyday rhythm, and what it actually does for energy, stress, and cravings.

Cup of green tea in a teacup and saucer, brewed smooth instead of bitter
Know Your Tea

It's Not Bitter, You're Just Brewing It Wrong. The Truth About Green Tea

Bitter green tea is nearly always a brewing problem, not a tea problem. Cooler water, a shorter steep, and better leaves turn the same cup sweet.

Know Your Tea

It's Not Bitter, You're Just Brewing It Wrong. The Truth About Green Tea

Bitter green tea is nearly always a brewing problem, not a tea problem. Cooler water, a shorter steep, and better leaves turn the same cup sweet.

Tea questions I get asked

How do I brew loose leaf tea properly?

1 heaping teaspoon of leaves per cup, water off the boil rather than at a rolling boil for anything green or white, and a timer. Black teas want 3 to 5 minutes, greens 2 to 3, herbals 5 or more. Then take the leaves out. Leaving them in is what turns a good cup into a murky mess.

Is loose leaf tea better than tea bags?

Usually, and here is why. A lot of bags hold the broken dust left over once the good leaf has been sorted out, and a flat bag gives the leaf no room to open up. Loose leaf gives you whole leaf and space to expand, and that is where the flavor is. A good sachet splits the difference, which is what I reach for when I am in a hurry.

Which teas are Caffeine-Free?

Black, green, white and oolong all have caffeine in them, because they all come from the same plant. Anything truly Caffeine-Free is an herbal infusion: rooibos, chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, ginger, fruit blends. And decaffeinated is not the same thing as Caffeine-Free. It still carries a trace.

How long does loose leaf tea stay good?

6 months to a year for most blends if you keep it airtight, dark, dry and away from the stove. Tea does not spoil, it fades. If it smells like nothing when you open the tin, it is going to taste like nothing in the cup.

How much tea do I need for a party?

Figure 2 to 3 cups per guest across the afternoon, and always put out at least 1 Caffeine-Free option. For a table of 8, 1 or 2 ounces of a blend is plenty. Brew by the pot instead of by the cup, or you will spend your own party standing at the kettle.

Send Someone a Tea Party

I started packing these boxes so I could send my kitchen table to people I could not get to in person. Every one holds loose leaf tea and something to do while it steeps, because the part that matters is the hour you sit down for. Pick the one that sounds like the person you are sending it to.

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