Tea Info

Tea Knowledge

What is tea?

 All tea (green, oolong, black, white) comes from one plant, Camellia sinensis. The many sub-varieties and different processing methods result in a multitude of flavors. 

What is the difference between green and black tea?

Although tea comes from the same plant, the big difference comes in processing. After tea is picked, the leaves turn dark through oxidation. Tea that is not oxidized but is dried right away is green tea, tea that is 100 percent oxidized is black tea, & oolong tea is in between at about 30%.

What is white tea?

Similar to green tea in that it is mostly un-oxidized, white tea has many buds that have a white furry appearance. These buds are loaded with anti-oxidants.

What is oolong tea?

Oolong is in between green and black tea. Oolong teas can range between “green” oolongs like Jade Oolong and “dark” oolongs like Ti Kwan Yin.

How much caffeine is there in tea?

Black tea has about ½ the caffeine of coffee and green tea has half of black tea. Oolong is in between.

What is herbal tea?

Made from various aromatic herbs, herbal tea has no real “tea” (Camellia sinensis), and so there is no caffeine.

Should I use boiling water to make tea?

Use boiling water for black and oolong tea, slightly cooled water for green teas. To cool the water either add a splash of cold water to freshly boiled water or let it stand in the kettle for a minute or two before using. Use filtered and freshly drawn water (it has more oxygen). Softened water is better than hard water.

How many cups of tea can I make with a 4 oz bag? About 30 mugs or 50 cups of tea. A pound of tea makes about 180 cups (6 oz) of tea. By comparison, a pound of coffee makes 35-40 cups (8 oz).

About Flavorings

Natural flavors are one of the ingredients added to our Flavored Teas. The chemical compounds used to create flavors are naturally occurring and on the FDA's list of safe ingredients, but the actual flavoring is a guarded secret of flavoring companies. Most of our flavored teas come from Germany, the world’s leader for flavored teas. In Germany, where artificial flavoring is illegal, they use the word "nature identical." Naturally occurring ingredients are combined to produce the desired final flavor. The actual flavor of mangoes, raspberries or even vanilla is often not used because it is possibly unstable for long-term use, doesn't hold flavor well, or because the actual pure flavor is very expensive. Artificial flavorings would be a chemical compound that are not naturally occurring and are completely man-made. Our flavored teas do not use artificial flavorings. If you have food sensitivities, we suggest you avoid flavored teas and drink unflavored teas instead.