Choosing the Best Teas

Whether you're shopping for the highest quality possible, or looking for the best value, loose-leaf tea is the way to go. When you buy tea bags, you're paying for the packaging and the material- and energy-intensive process of packing. When you buy loose tea, you're paying primarily for the quality of the tea itself. Many of the best teas are only available in loose-leaf form.

To read more about the reasons for buying loose-leaf tea, you can visit the lens why loose tea?

Intimidated at the prospect of brewing loose tea? Learn how to brew loose tea.

Tea comes in many different varieties. One of the most basic questions to ask when considering which tea to buy is which broad class of teas to look at. The main categories of tea are green, black, white, oolong, and Pu-erh. Black tea is the standard tea that is consumed in most western countries, whereas green tea is the mainstay of China and Japan, and has grown in popularity in the west lately. Oolong tea is popular in China and Taiwan, and is in some respects intermediate between black and green teas. White tea is the least processed of teas. Pu-erh is a tea that is typically aged, much like some wines.

Each of these broad classes of teas comes in countless named varieties. Knowing a little bit about some of these varieties can help you locate ones that you or a friend might be likely to enjoy. You can visit the lens on varieties of tea if you want to learn more about the individual varieties of tea.

Some tea companies are better than others in terms of pricing and quality, but even among the leaders, you will find that each company has a distinct areas of focus. Some tea companies orient more towards British-style teas, such as black teas and familiar blends like Earl Grey, whereas others focus on Chinese or Japanese teas. Some companies are further specialized, focusing on one region, like the Darjeeling district of India or Yunnan province of China.

1. A good rule of thumb is to buy from a company's strengths, not their weaknesses. If you want to buy Earl Grey, buy from a company that specializes in British-style teas. If you want to buy oolong tea, buy from a company that really knows oolong.

2. In general, the best companies to buy from are those that sell at least some single-region teas, and clearly identify the region of origin of each of their teas.

3. The best tea companies often offer small sample sizes, as they are confident that their teas will stand up to the test of quality and taste, and they know that by making their teas more available in smaller sizes, they will attract more customers in the long-term

4. Only buy from companies that clearly state the weight of tea being sold. Shop around, and compare prices by weight!

• Tie Guan Yin traditional charcoal roast Master Grade from Life in Teacup. This tea is a high-grade Tie Guan Yin oolong tea, from Anxi County of China. Life in Teacup is one of my favorite small tea companies to order from.


• Royal Tajiri Tea from Royal Tea of Kenya - This is without a doubt the best black tea I've ever tasted, at least to someone with my tastes. It is surprisingly smooth and has Darjeeling-like qualities, but is stronger and maltier than most Darjeeling teas.


• TD37: Makaibari Estate Long Leaf Green (DJ-456) from Upton Tea Imports - This is the best green tea I've ever tried. I like everything to come out of Makaibari estate, a Darjeeling tea garden that is a leader in sustainability, organic, and biodynamic farming practices. But this tea is my favorite tea from this garden.