From the moment you first open your box of loose leaf tea, you know you’re in for an amazing treat. The bright colors and beautiful scents of some tea varieties are enough to draw any tea lover in, but it’s what you don’t see that truly makes loose leaf tea stand out among other beverages. In this blog post, we’ll teach you what makes loose leaf tea so special, and why it should be an everyday part of your routine.
Benefits of Drinking Loose Leaf Tea
Loose leaf tea is often considered the better choice over bagged tea, because it usually has a higher quality flavor. It's also more environmentally friendly, as you don't have to throw away used paper or plastic bags. Plus, loose leaf tea is better for your health because most types offer cancer prevention properties. For a better tea-drinking experience, go for the loose-leaf variety!
Black Tea: Great for digestion, heart health, energy, and immunity.
Green Tea: Memory, dental health, cancer prevention, metabolism.
White Tea: Cholesterol, reproductive health, weight loss, brain health.
Pu-Erh: Blood pressure, stress relief, weight loss, digestion.
Oolong Tea: Diabetes, inflammation, weight loss, brain health.
Herbal Tea: Sleep, immune system, inflammation (varies with herbs).
Types of Teas
Black Tea: The most common tea, black tea, is created with leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. This oxidation makes the leaves brownish black. Standard black tea blends include English Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Chai. Black tea is a popular choice for making iced tea, too. Black tea is full-bodied and loaded with caffeine.
Green Tea: It’s true that green tea comes from the same plant that black tea comes from: Camellia Sinensis. The difference between black tea and green tea is that green tea is only lightly oxidized. Green tea has minimal oxidization. This means that it retains its natural green color, with a taste that's lighter and more vegetal. Popular green tea is known for having a high amount of antioxidants, as well as having plenty of health benefits. Common examples of traditional green tea include Jasmine and Houjicha. Matcha is powdered green tea.
White Tea: White tea is the most minimal form of processed tea out of the other kinds. It is made from the same plant as black and green tea, but the leaves are immediately exposed to high heat to cease the oxidation, yielding a pleasant, delicate flavor. White tea is widely known for its benefits such as lowering blood pressure. This, in turn, means that it's a popular choice for heart health.
Pu-Erh: Despite its origins in Camellia Sinensis leaves, pu-erh tea goes through a complex oxidation and fermentation process. Known for its robust earthy flavor, pu-erh is ideally suited to chai and cocoa blending due to its aging process. Caffeine-rich pu-erh is often substituted for coffee.
Oolong Tea: Oolong tea falls somewhere in the middle of black tea and green tea. Dark oolong is more oxidized, giving it a strong nutty taste. It is rolled into unique shapes. The green oolong has a lighter character and is exceptionally smooth.
How to make your perfect cup
You’ll need 1 - 2 teaspoons for every 8 ounces of tea. Loose leaf tea can be re-steeped up to 3 times!
How to Store Your Tea
The nuanced flavor structure tea masters strive for is lost when tea leaves are exposed to air. Although mason jars keep your tea away from the air, they will allow in light, unless you store them in a cabinet. Amber glass containers can help keep your tea's flavor, aroma and nutrients from being compromised by the effects of light.
At Herban Berry, you can purchase herbs in amber glass jars or you can purchase the amber jars individually for your herbs. When returning to purchase herbs you'll receive a discount for bringing your own jar!
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