Frequently asked questions
How do I store the tea?
● The resealable rice paper pouch that your loose leaf tea arrives in is an especially great way to store your tea until the last cup. Once you have opened your pouch, you can reseal the package to maintain the freshness of your tea or transfer the leaves to another airtight container. Store tea in a cool, dark place away from excessive heat, light, oxygen, moisture and strong aromas, such as coffee and spices to protect the quality of your tea and to avoid other flavors from seeping into it.
How do I steep the tea?
● For an optimal steep use fresh filtered water when brewing your tea. Spring water is a great option. Water with a neutral pH of 7 is ideal.
● Follow the instructions on your pouch for how to steep your tea. It will let you know how many teaspoons to use per 6-8 oz cup (1-2 teaspoons is the standard), at what temperature to steep your tea and for how long. If your label says to steep at 212 degrees F that is a full boil.
● As a general rule of thumb, black tea and herbal teas can typically steep at higher temperatures. Oolong, Green and White teas are more delicate and should not be steeped at a full boil. If you do not have a temperature controlled tea kettle, you can take the temperature of your water with a thermometer or just let the water sit a few minutes after boiling to ensure it is not too hot, which could scorch your tea.
● While steeping your tea it is best to keep your pot or cup covered to trap the heat.
● Be mindful not to over steep your tea! Follow the instructions on the label for recommended steeping time. Black teas & Herbal teas can typically steep longer 3-5 minutes (or even longer for some tisanes), whereas other teas like green tea do not need to steep as long. Oversteeping could affect the taste of your tea making it too bitter or astringent. Taste your tea after the recommended steeping time, and if you like a stronger cup feel free to steep it a bit longer.
How do you recommend I prepare my tea for drinking?
● Once your tea is done steeping, let your tea “relax” a moment before you take your first sip. You do not want to drink tea while it is piping hot, because you will not be able to fully enjoy the unique & sometimes subtle flavors of each cup.
● Once your tea has cooled off just a tad, we strongly suggest you taste your tea before adding anything to it. If you are new to the wonderful world of tea, you may have the impulse to add sweetener right away! Try to resist this urge so that you can experience the beautiful notes that each tea has to offer. Some teas, such as many white and green teas are not intended to be sweetened, because they are so delicate and you could mask the flavor of the tea with sweetener. After you have taken the first couple of sips, then decide if you want to add any garnishments to your tea. It is nice to occasionally garnish your tea with a little honey, lemon or mint, which can sometimes help to enliven the flavor.
● For many of the teas we have offered suggestions on ways to prepare and enjoy your tea, such as with milk & sweetener, iced etc., but always, always have fun with your tea & drink it how you best enjoy!
● If you are drinking tea for wellness purposes, we recommend consuming at least 1 cup daily. Consistency in your practice will help you reap more of the benefits of your tea. Try to avoid or lessen use of sugars and artificial sweeteners that could counter some of the benefits of your tea. The beauty of all teas, whether green or herbal, is that it’s going to give your body a natural boost of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to support your overall wellbeing, but setting a wellness intention to accompany your tea practice doesn’t hurt either ;)!
How long will the tea stay fresh?
● In general, your tea can last up to two years when stored properly, and is generally safe to consume even past that time. However, we encourage you to follow our storing tips to help prevent your tea from becoming stale. Here's to keeping your tea as fresh as possible, for every cup!
How do you prepare a latte using tea?
● In order to prepare a yummy tea latte, you'll need your choice of milk or non-dairy substitute and preferred sweetener (e.g. sugar, agave, honey etc.).
● To prepare the perfect latte, we recommend brewing a stronger cup of tea than normal, since it will need to be strong enough to take milk and sweetener, without masking the flavors of the tea. So, if you'd typically use 1-2 teaspoons of tea per cup, try doubling that or using tablespoons instead.
● Once you've brewed a strong cup, then sweeten to taste and add milk. Ultimately the proportion of milk to tea will be up to you, but we suggest 1 part milk to 2 parts tea for a more pronounced tea taste, or equal parts tea and milk if you prefer.
● Many of our black teas make delicious lattes, because the tea is bold enough to stand up to milk and sweetener, but other varieties of tea work as well!
● We love tea lattes and encourage you to give them a try! They are so much fun and can be enjoyed hot, iced, with whip, swirls, crumbles and other tasty toppings!
How do you use loose leaf tea?
● First, it's not rocket science...it's just tea! Now to what you'll need to prepare a delicious pot or cup of your new favorite tea!
● You'll need your tea (of course!), a pot or kettle for heating the water, a tea infuser/ball/strainer, and a cup for drinking.
● Follow these simple steps and you'll be on your way to sipping slow and enjoying your tea. First, heat your water (in an electronic kettle or the good ol' fashioned way on the stove). Second, add loose tea to your infuser basket/ball or directly into a cup. Third, once your water is at the proper temperature, infuse your filled tea ball/basket directly into the water or pour water directly over the leaves in a cup (we personally LOVE seeing the leaves float, but this method requires an extra step). Once the tea is done stepping, remove the infuser and enjoy your tea! Or, if you have unfurled leaves floating around in your cup, you'lll need to use a strainer to strain the tea liquor into another cup. The strainer will capture the leaves and you'll be left with a delicious cup of tea!
What are the benefits of loose leaf tea?
● Tea bags are cool, but we prefer loose leaf tea for a few simple reasons: Quality, Flavor, Benefit & Sustainability!
● With loose leaf tea you are getting whole tea leaves and other ingredients such as whole spices and real fruit pieces, instead of just tea sediment or "dust" which is what you often get with commercial bagged teas. With loose teas, you're able to extract more flavor from the full leaf, and benefit from the wellness properties offered by the different parts of the plant, such as the leaf, stems, root, bark etc. Also, you can see, touch, smell and taste exactly what you'll be drinking, so there's no guessing as to what is going in your cup!
● Loose tea is also a more sustainable choice! There's no need for bags and excessive paper or plastic isn't utilized in the production and packaging of our products. Just simple reusable/recyclable rice paper pouches and your tea!
● Plus, loose leaf tea is extremely economical! It stretches far and you control how much tea you use per serving. To learn more, read about how many servings you get in our standard 2 oz pouches.
How many servings are in each pouch of tea?
● Our standard 2 oz pouches of loose tea yield approximately 30-45 cups of prepared tea (that's roughly .30 cents per cup).
● The exact number of servings may vary, and is determined by the size of the leaf and how much loose tea you use when preparing your tea.
● Some loose teas are bulkier than others and may produce fewer cups, whereas others are much finer/lighter weight, and thus may yield more cups (even up to 60 cups per pouch in some instances).
● Follow the instructions on your tea pouch (typically just 1-2 tsp of loose tea is needed per cup) for an optimal steep, and for your loose tea to stretch farther.
