Guide to buying loose leaf tea

The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea

What to Look For
When Buying Loose Leaf Teas

Smaller pieces of leaf brew faster than larger, so all tea leaves should be of a uniform size and
quality.

Another step you might want to take before heading out, is to research the average price of the
teas you're planning to buy. Go online and compare several different sources, and you should
be able to get a good average ballpark price, for the same size and type of tea you're shopping
for.

With so many teas available today, the problem becomes choosing what you want to buy.
I always advise buying small amounts of any new tea. Some companies even offer small
sample packets so you can do a taste test on several different teas inexpensively.

New advances in technology such as vacuum packaging, and air freight, have given us access
to a cornucopia of teas we didn't have a decade ago. We now can sample from teas produced
in small batches, from small, local tea farmers, from some of the best tea producing countries
in the world, such as China, Japan, and India, delivered fresh to our doorstep.

So don't be afraid to try new teas often, or you'll be missing out on so many delightful, flavorful,
and healthy teas that are now available to us. As always, enjoy.

Cleanliness - Next to Godliness

For more information or to learn more about tea, visit our other pages:

How do I choose the right tea for me?
Buying loose leaf tea for the first time can be confusing, but we've taken the work out of it for you.
With lots of helpful tips and information, we've turned confusing into confident.

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If you want to give your taste buds a unique treat, try one of the many specialty or gourmet teas
available. With a range of flavors from smoky to sweet, and everything in-between, you'll never be
bored by your beverage.

Learn the story behind the creation of this smoke infused, black tea.
For over 300 years the Chinese government kept the production method and location in China's
northern Fujian Province, deep in the Wuyi Shan Mountain forests, a closely guarded secret.

Tea bags - versatility, quality, and convenience, all in one.
Learn the history behind the handy, versatile tea bag, and why it's no longer considered to be the poor
cousin of loose leaf tea.

Blooming Teas - A Delightful Feast For The Eyes
Watch as these special hand-wrapped teas transform into beautiful shapes right before your eyes, and
then enjoy drinking the freshly brewed tea.

Learn how and where the beloved teapot began.
Nearly every home as a teapot - some that are used daily and some decorative. Learn where and how
the beloved teapot of today began its journey, centuries ago.

Flavored teas - everyone has a favorite!
Satisfy your favorite cravings with a healthy, low calorie cup of tea. Whether it's berries, citrus, or even
chocolate (how does chocolate with chocolate chips tea sound?), or caramel, your favorite flavor of tea is
just waiting for you.

What is Fair Trade and how does it work?
The origins of the early Fair Trade program and the organizations that helped to develop it and are
considered to be the founding fathers of Fair Trade.

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For years buying tea meant grabbing a box of Lipton black tea bags from the shelf of your local
supermarket.

But today it's a different story. We have nearly unlimited choice of not only loose leaf teas, but
a variety of styles and flavors of bagged tea as well, all available from specialty tea shops,
online tea sellers, and by mail order.

Unfortunately with the myriad of choices, comes
the dilemma of what to buy and how to know
what you're getting is good, fresh, quality tea.

Although there's no surefire 100% guarantee, I
have a few tips and suggestions on what to do
and look for, both in person and online, or by mail
order, to help you get the best teas possible.

One of the first things you should do before
setting out, is to familiarize yourself with the types
of tea you're interested in buying.

Get an idea of what the tea should look like. Is it
round, shaped like a small pellet, like Gunpowder
tea, one of China's oldest tumble dried green teas?

Or are you searching for Bai Hao Yin Zhen or Silver Needle, one of
China's white teas, that gets its name because it is covered with soft
silvery hairs and rolled needle thin.

You may also want to check on what the tea's growing cycles are, for
example, is it a spring or fall harvested tea. You also shouldn't see
stems or debris in the tea, (with the exception of kukicha tea) and the
leaves should all be of a similar size and shape.

If shopping in person, take note of the cleanliness, assortment, and staff. Are you greeted with
a smile, and does the staff seem eager to help you? At first glance, is the store clean and does
the merchandise pop, or does it look tired, and dusty?

Is there a smaller assortment of well tended teas...or a huge assortment of musty looking
packages that look as though they've seen better days? A large assortment of teas in which to
choose from is nice, but if it's not turning over and current and selling well, with steady buyers,
it's just a big waste for everyone.

And, while we're on the topic of freshness, as a rule of thumb, proprietary brands - tea bought
in bulk by independent tea merchants and packaged under their name in tins, foil sacks, and tie
bags, is generally fresher than branded teas, packaged by the big tea companies.

Now, moving on to mail order and online tea merchants. One of the first things you should do
is to check out their catalog or website. Is the information easy to understand and are the
prices clearly marked? Or, is their catalog or website a cluttered mess, filled with marketing
lingo and self-promotion and hype, rather than useful information about their products?

Whenever I order online or by mail order, I like to call and talk to a "live" person the first time
ordering. You can learn a lot about a company by talking to them in person.

First off, is the staff friendly and seem genuinely interested in helping you, rather than just
pushing for a sale? Secondly, they should be able to answer any questions you have and be
knowledgeable about all their products (I usually ask a few general questions I already know
the answer to, just as a little test).

But you should feel free to ask about anything and get a clear answer. Ask about the growing
cycles and when a new crop of fresh tea will be available. If you don't understand the grading
terms, or markings on tins and packaging, ask about it. You've heard the saying - the only
stupid question is the one not asked. So true.

Another useful way to check out an online tea vendor, is by reading their customer testimonials.
If they have plenty of positive customer testimonials backing up the products and seller,
chances are they're a good choice. Testimonials are given voluntarily, so if someone takes the
time to praise a product or seller, it's pretty safe to say you can trust that.

And conversely, if a tea seller has few or no testimonials, well, that kind of speaks for itself, too,
don't you think? (Unless, of course, they're a brand new company).

For a great selection of quality teas, gifts, and
accessories, visit:
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