Buying Tea - buying tips for first time buyers

The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea

Buying Tea - Tips For First Time Shoppers

Visit The Tea Detective sitemap for a listing of all site pages

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.

Make brewing tea a breeze with a few useful tools
Brewing tea is an easy task, but with a few choice tools and accessories, you can make it easier and
even more enjoyable.

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

Brewing Loose Leaf Tea
Easy step by step instructions for brewing loose leaf tea, will have you brewing the perfect cup or pot of
tea the first time, every time.

Organic teas aren't just good for you, but Mother Earth, too.
Learn more about how organic teas are grown, and how to ensure the tea you're buying is certified
organic.

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

Oolong tea-nature and a careful manufacturing process make the difference.
Nature provides the perfect growing conditions, while a long, careful manufacturing process gives oolong
teas a wide spectrum of flavors, some light and sweet, others robust and hearty. Find your favorite!

Learn how tea helps you lose weight the healthy, natural way.
Drinking just three cups of tea a day not only helps you take off those unwanted pounds, but also
provides a powerhouse of other healthy benefits as well. (Try SLT Weight Loss Tea from Silver Leaf Tea
for a great to lose weight the healthy way).

Do you feel a cold or the flu coming on? Quick...read this!
It may be hard to believe, but by just drinking a few cups of tea each day, you're boosting your immune
system and warding off illness. Learn how tea helps stop the virus responsible for colds and flu, dead in
its tracks.

How should tea be stored?
Save money by never having to throw away spoiled tea again! Learn how to keep your tea fresh,
preserving quality and flavor with plenty of great tips and information.

What is the difference between China's pan fired green tea and basket fired green tea?
Learn how the processing method for China's artisan style basket fired and pan fired green teas differ,
and the secret to their unique qualities and flavor profile. (Try Ti Kwan Yin Oolong #3 Tea from Silver
Leaf Tea - a very special oolong tea from China's Fujian Province. An aromatic tea w/traditional taste,
good w/light savory meals, spicy foods, fish, and poultry.

For a great selection of quality teas, gifts, and
accessories, visit:
The Tea Detective's Gift of Tea Store

Like anything, shopping for tea for the first time can end up being a frustrating experience if you
don't know anything about it. If you're like most of us (me included), your first tea purchase
came from the shelves of your local supermarket.

And that's okay. I'm in no way a "tea snob".
Some of my favorite teas (Lipton Black Tea with
Lemon, and Snapple ready-to-drink bottled iced
tea) come from the supermarket shelves.

But if you want to experience the fullness, flavor,
and subtleties of tea, you'll have to eventually
take a step up and try loose leaf tea.

I can already hear you asking - with so many
different kinds of teas out there to choose from,
how do you know what kind to buy? Well,
hopefully I can help make that decision easier for
you with a few tips, and some helpful information.

I know how confusing it can be in the beginning,
with hundreds of names flying at you, and not

understanding what in the world it all means. That's one of the reasons I created The Tea
Detective - to help you understand and embrace all that tea has to offer.

Choosing the Right Brew For You

Since there are so many different kinds of tea to choose from, the
best way to decide is to rely on your own personal tastes, what
you like, and dislike. Think of tea as wine. Each different kind has
its own unique personality--some are light and sweet, some dry
and heavy. Like wine, each tea has its own unique flavor,
depending on where it was grown, the soil, climate, type of
processing, etc..

So how do you choose the right tea for you? Depend on your palate. Do you like light, sweet
flavors, or do you go for bolder, more intense, in-your-face kind of flavors? Do you want
something stimulating, or would you rather something relaxing?

If you want a mild tea, very light and low in caffeine (although at about 20 - 50 mg per cup, tea
is naturally low in caffeine compared to coffee and soda), you might start out with a white, or
oolong tea. If you want tea that is still light, but with a bit more flavor, one that's fresh and
aromatic, go for a green tea.

If you want stronger, bolder flavors go with black, whole leaf teas from China. And, if you go for
the really bold flavors, you might want to try pu-erh tea, with a dark, smoky, earthy flavor.

Or if your palate goes more to the spicy side of things, then chai tea is just the ticket. This spicy
black tea of India is boiled with cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, and ginger, then
sweetened with honey and vanilla to create a spicy, sweet, and satisfying concoction.

Do you have a favorite fruit? Maybe peach, or strawberry? Hot or
cold, day or night, flavored teas are wonderfully satisfying. They
come in nearly every flavor imaginable, from kiwi to coconut.

But if you're yearning for something light and relaxing at the end
of a long day, a nice scented tea will definitely fit the bill, maybe a
cup of chamomile or jasmine tea.

The great thing about buying tea is that it's relatively inexpensive. For under ten bucks (that's
about equal to the cost of two medium cups of coffee from a franchise or boutique coffee shop),
you can get about 20--30 servings of tea. So if you end up not liking one of your choices, you're
not out much. Give it to a friend, or leave it in the office lunch room, and it'll get snapped up
faster than you can say "it's not my cup of tea."

                                           The good news is that with all the choices of tea available today,
                                            from the basic black tea, green tea, oolong, white or pu-erh teas,
                                            to blended, flavored, scented, herbal, chai and spiced teas, it's
                                            certain that you'll find a favorite tea. And I'm not a betting
                                            person, but this is one time I'll bet you, that there's more than
                                            one tea out there that you'll end up falling in love with. Enjoy.

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

Receive A Guide To Tea, an 88-page book on the history and enjoyment of tea free with your first Adagio Teas order of $19 or more.

An easy-to-use ingenuiTEA teapot, whose ingenious design has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine and HGTV.