From the time when you were little and would play tea-party to the time when you’re probably grown up to an age where you have to pick out different blends of tea, choosing a teapot and a cup, the relaxing ritual of steeping and brewing, becomes even more interesting, while refreshing your teenage days.

It is very surprising to know that, every person has their own ritual and materials for brewing lose leaf tea , apart the commonly used tea-bag

Think you’re not a tea person? Know you like tea, but want to explore some new blends? Tea enthusiast who want to expand your expertise?

Understanding tea

The real tea comes from a Camellia senensis tea leaf. Black, Green, Oolong, and white tea are different types of tea leaves, those are just prepared differently. Herbal tea doesn’t consist of tea leaf and thus have no caffeine. They are regardless, known as tea but they don’t contain any tea leaves. Rooibos tea is another type of South African red rush tea which is free from caffeine.

The other type of tea is Mate. It is a South American infusion from yerba plant. The level of caffeine present in it is similar to coffee. Gold tea is a dynamic mix of same grade of tea specially blended to give liqueur and strength.

Evolution of bagged tea

Bag tea is a great invention after microwaves for convenience sake and mediocre for the quality purpose of the food. They are cheap in comparison as they are dust and broken down left over pieces from production of full leaf teas. There is certainly such thing as a compromise here — full-leaf tea packaged in a bag. When you see loose-leaf tea, you are seeing full leaves. These leaves have been dried and fermented carefully and what you receive is the entire leaf.
If you don’t want to bother with the whole full-leaf tea burden, try some of the Halmaria tea range which are higher quality but come in bags!

Some Rules before you buy tea

• If tea is too weak, add more tea leaves (or another tea bag), do not steep for longer. More tea, not more time.
• The more room the tea leaves have to steep, the more flavor and the less waste.
• The purer the tea, the more likely it can be reused. Some high-quality teas can be steeped up to five times (and it saves you money!).
• To eliminate 80-85% of the caffeine in tea, steep the leaves for 20-30 seconds, pour out the water, and resteep for the full amount of time.

Health benefits of different tea

• Heart health: Black tea
• Energy: Mate teas, Black tea
• High metabolism: Oolong tea
• Digestive aid: Oolong, Rooibos teas
• Healthy skin: Oolong, White tea
• Healthy teeth: Oolong
• Immune system support: Green tea, Rooibos teas
• Blood sugar stability: Green tea
• EGCG complex: Green tea
• High antioxidants or vitamins: White tea, Rooibos teas, Mate teas
• Suppressed appetite: Mate teas