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Tea (What & Where To Buy) - Top Recommendations
Below you'll find all our top recommendations when searching for tea or tea related products.
We go through what products we recommend, why we recommend them and also provide you links to where you can purchase them.
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Table of Contents
What To Look For When Buying Tea
Here’s the general criterias we use when we select the best tea to buy of the many hundreds of brands available. These are all used regardless of the type of tea we recommend.
The tea has to be organic
The tea bushes should be organically grown. We use the entire leaf to make our tea so which means that any pesticide residue etc on or in the leaves would be ingested by us. This is especially important in teas where the entire leaves are ground and consumed (Matcha).
Processing methods
We want the tea to be processed using methods that preserve as much of the nutrients and beneficial compounds of the tea leaves as possible. The level of processing is of course dependent on the type of tea. For instance, there’s a big difference in the level of processing of black tea compared to white.
Elevation matters
Many high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to 1,500 m or 4,900 ft above sea level. At these heights the bushes grow more slowly. Slow growth means higher quality and also more flavor.
Where To Buy Black Tea
Black tea contains caffeine and is processed quite heavily.
Here we want a tea that’s organic as the leaves used for making black tea are the most mature leaves.
They’ve had the most time to be affected by their growing environment.
True black tea #ad contains several beneficial substances.
Among other things, the tea leaves contain antioxidants called flavonoids.
Antioxidants exert their beneficial effect by preventing harmful radicals from attacking and destroying our cells.
Where To Buy Green Tea
Green tea #ad is based on the same leaves as regular black tea, but the difference is that the tea leaves are picked earlier and are not oxidized.
This means that the tea tastes differently and retains large parts of the leaves healthy nutrients.
Green tea can be perceived as a bit bitter, this can be avoided if you use lukewarm water instead of boiling hot.
Green tea contains some caffeine.
Where to Buy Matcha Tea
The leaves for matcha tea #ad are the same as the ones used for green tea but there’s a big difference between the two.
When you drink matcha tea you’re consuming all of the leaves.
Because of this it's very important to find an organic brand, so that you don’t get pesticides or other things you don’t want.
The leaves are ground to a powder which you then through a special method prepare for your tea.
You can use this special set when preparing your matcha tea #ad
With the set you'll be able to prepare your matcha tea the traditional way.
Matcha contains a lot of caffeine and can have up to 10 times more nutrients than regular green tea.
A cup of matcha can have as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.
Where To Buy Oolong Tea
The leaves for Oolong tea #ad are picked almost at the same maturity as the leaves used for green tea but before the leaves that are used for black tea.
Oolong can be described as a cross between green and black tea because it is semi-oxidized.
That makes it more processed than green but much less processed than black tea.
Oolong tea has a fuller and a more round flavor than green tea but is milder and healthier than black teas.
Oolong also contains caffeine at the same level as green tea but less than black tea.
Where To Buy White Tea
White tea #ad comes from the same shrub as the black and green teas.
The difference is that the white tea leaves are picked very early; the very first buds.
This makes white tea quite expensive when compared to the other teas.
The fragile leaves are not processed, which means that they retain all of the beneficial nutrients of the tea leaves that are otherwise lost during processing.
White tea contains none or very, very low levels of caffeine and we regard it as the healthiest tea of all the true varieties.
Where To Buy A Traditional Japanese Tea Kettle
A nice tea kettle is important if you want to drink tea not only with style but also it's really convenient.
You can brew your tea directly in the kettle which makes it so easy to make a cup of tea for you and a friend.
We've chosen to recommend this beautiful Japanese iron cast tea kettle #ad
In this little kettle you can brew your tea directly and it will hold it hot for a long time.
When you got a good tea kettle which holds your tea hot for a longer time you get to experiment with the time you let the leaves brew.
It's perfect for getting all of the flavors out of the leaves.
Where To Buy Tea Infusers
If you're just brewing a cup or two, or if your guest prefers a different flavour, it's quite handy to have individual tea infusers.
This pack of 4 tea infusers #ad enables you to serve each tea perfectly blended for each guest/tea drinker.
We have these infusers at home and use them frequently together with loose leaf tea.
They are easy to handle and easy to clean.
Try blending your own tea by using different loose leaf tea blends together. You're bound to find a flavor to fall in love with!
Please don't hesitate to Contact Us if you have any questions or comments about our recommendations.
