Tea Talk

Camellia Senensis
Mother of all true teas*

* True Teas (Green, White, Oolong, Black, and Pu-erh Teas)

True teas are made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, also known as the tea plant. All other teas are made from leaves, roots, and flowers of different plants—those teas are called herbal teas. True teas have been consumed for centuries and their origins can be traced back to China thousands of years ago. They're backed by the most scientific research and are renowned for a wide range of health benefits.

What type of tea do we use, how do we flavor the tea and why do we use natural flavors?

The base:

- The perfect base for our flavored tea comes from the top tea growing regions of Sri Lanka. These high-grown districts produce flavorful teas that have classic 'Ceylon' tea character which is noted by floral bouquet and flavor notes, touches of mild astringency, bright coppery color.

The flavors:

- Our natural flavors come from natural oils and natural herbs and fruits.

- The norm for many making flavored tea is to use overpowering artificial flavors, which can be used to hide lower quality teas. High quality tea tastes good, and natural flavors do not mask the delicate taste of fine base tea.

-True natural flavors do not leave an aftertaste, giving the tea a clean and true character. They tend to be somewhat soft and the flavors slightly muted, which for many this is a refreshing change and one of the desired attributes of our naturally flavored teas.

What is our safe Co2 Natural decaffeination Process?

All of our decafs are processed using the Co2 Process. The advantage of this decaffeination process is that no chemical solvents are used to remove the caffeine. Also, using the naturally occurring Co2 in a circulation process which carefully uses high pressure and temperature to extract the caffeine, the original distinct character of the tea is retained.

The end result is an uncompromising cup of tea with no chemical overtones.

Different teas and their caffeine content

Black Tea

Black tea generally has about 40 to 70 milligrams of caffeine per eight ounce serving while coffee has about 95 to 200 milligrams. If you drink your black tea in a larger cup, you can account for a similar amount of caffeine every morning.

Green Tea

The caffeine content in green tea falls mid-range with 35 to 45 milligrams per eight ounce serving. While it is definitely less than black tea, it is still higher than other types of tea, such as white tea. Green tea is a gentler source of stimulant. If you want to significantly reduce your caffeine intake but don’t want to eliminate it completely, green tea is a good choice for you.

White Tea

This type of tea has the least amount of caffeine out of all teas with only 15 to 30 milligrams per eight ounce serving. White tea is known to be one of the most delicate tea varieties because it is the least processed.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea, a semi fermented tea, falling somewhere between black and a green, is a traditional Chinese tea that offers a more diverse flavor, body, and complexity than any popular tea variants in the U.S. Its caffeine content is in between the amount in black tea and green tea with 37 to 55 milligrams per eight ounce serving.

Pu-erh Tea

Pu’erh tea is very smooth and it's darker than black tea. This is a naturally fermented tea, and the more it's aged, the more flavorful and better it gets. These aged teas are used widely throughout Asia for their medicinal benefits, such as curing hangovers and lowering cholesterol level.

Black Pu’erh teas contain about 60–70 milligrams of caffeine per 8 oz cup, and Green Pu’erh contains about 30–40 milligrams.

Herbal Tea

Herbal teas such as, chamomile, ginger and peppermint contain no caffeine at all. This is because these types of teas are not made from the camellia sinensis plant as most teas. They are made instead from dried flowers, leaves, seeds, or roots that are generally caffeine-free. If you are looking for a tea to drink at night, herbal tea is a good choice.

Go for loose tea and ditch the bags

As much as we take pride in our lovely sachets and believe you have your own legitimate reasons to choose sachets over loose tea, once you get used to brewing from scratch, you would not want to go back. The process is part of the pleasure and ince you do it, it is very easy.

More importantly, no matter how high of a quality your sachets are, they is still a barrier for the full flavor to travel out of them. The taste and strength is mildly or strongly different depending on your filter. Usually it takes longer for the tea bags to get fully brewed.

Pour a scoop of your favorite tea in mesh balls for bigger leaves and the basket infuser for smaller leaves (such as as Rooibos, etc.), place it in your cup or teapot. Pour a cup of boiled filtered water into the cup and youll get yourself a magical cup of tea in a few minutes. Enjoy

Take control of your cuppa

If you want your tea to have more caffeine, or antioxidant, Use 1.5 scoops of tea , and/ or let your tea steep longer. Of course this is only if your type of tea contains these properties.

What are matchas and milled teas?

Once plucked to make matcha, the leaves are steamed and dried. Next, they are stripped of all stems and veins, resulting in a pure leaf that is stone-ground into the fine powder tea lovers are familiar with.

Unlike traditional teas in which the leaves are brewed and discarded, Matcha is powdered and brewed whole. As such, the leaves themselves are actually consumed. In addition to producing incredible mouth feel and a thick, rich cup, this maximizes the antioxidant benefits of the tea, helping it rank amongst the World's most healthful beverages.

Tea definitely offers more choices in terms of the amount of caffeine while still enjoying its many health benefits. You can easily increase or decrease your caffeine intake depending on your tea variant. So go ahead, pour yourself a cup or two and enjoy!