Are your teas fresh?

After the tea leaves are plucked and processed in the tea growing regions, the fresh leaves are packed into sack/chest lots for auction. Our network of international tea brokers buy at the auction houses and export to us within months of plucking. 

As a supplier of specialty and gourmet teas we must ensure our tea stocks are always fresh. This is why we import eighteen shipments each year.

This process ensures our teas arrive fresh, move quickly into the market and are replaced by fresh tea shipments. So, you can be assured our teas are always fresh with full flavour, particularly our best sellers.

Are your teas chemical free?

All teas are sampled, laboratory tested and certified chemically free of arsenic, cyanide and pesticide residues before they leave the country of origin. The certificates are prepared by the testing laboratory and presented to the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) when each tea shipment arrives in Australia.

Are your organic teas certified?

Each organic tea shipment arrives in Australia with a Certificate of Compliance with organic production methods, issued by the controling body responsible for monitoring tea production from the plantation or estate of origin.

What flavours do you use?

We only use natural flavours.

Natural flavours
Natural flavours originate from natural vegetable raw materials such as fruit, spices, herbs or roasted coffee. They may only be produced by using physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes, for example squeezing, distilling, warming, filtration, grinding, blending, fermenting or crushing.

Nature-identical Flavours (Artificial Flavours)
Artificial Flavours originate from chemical synthesis of substances called esters or acetates. Materials used do not have to be of natural origin. We do not use artificial flavours.

How much caffeine is in tea and coffee?

Caffeine is an important component of tea. It acts as a mild stimulant and increases the activity of your digestive juices. All teas come from the leaves of the camellia sinensis and contain caffeine in different quantities due to the different production methods. Green tea has less than oolong an oolong less than black. 

It is generally estimated that a cup of White tea contains minimal caffeine, the lowest of all teas

• Green tea contains 8.36mg caffeine
• Oolong tea contains 12.5mg caffeine
• Black tea contains an average of 50mg caffeine. (Varies 25-75mg)

Therefore, if you are trying to reduce your caffeine intake, we recommend you should drink the paler, lighter brews from green and oolong teas. By comparison, filtered coffee contains 190mg per cup (6.5 fl.oz.)

Herbal and fruit infusions contain no caffeine.

What are the health benefits of tea?

Tea drinking aids digestion, stimulates alertness and performance, combats tiredness and reduces the effect of age related diseases by cleansing the body of built-up toxins.

How should I store tea?

Humidity, air and light are the enemies of tea. When your tea arrives home it is always best to transfer the tea from the clear packaging into an air-tight tin or caddy. Sealed glass jars should be kept in a dark cupboard. 

Do not store opened packets in a refrigerator because water vapour will get into the packet and never put a wet spoon into a caddy.

Be extra careful to separate flavoured teas because the aromas are very pwerful and will easily taint nearby teas.

How long will tea last?

Tea is a dried leaf product and can be stored for 2 years in an air-tight container, away from sunlight, before its flavour and aroma will degrade noticably.

Loose leaf tea or tea bags - which is better?

Loose leaf tea is generally higher quality, has a larger leaf and therefore requires longer brewing, achieves a brighter flavour and has fewer impurities giving a clearer liquor and has fewer chemical addatives reducing toxic residues.

Gourmet teas are high-grade loose leaf teas with no impurities, no chemical preservatives, no artificial colours or flavours, some use added natural flavours.

Gourmet tea bags are becoming popular in the hospitality industry because they combine the benefits of quality loose leaf tea with ease of leaf disposal.

Some commercial mass market tea bags contain a high percentage of low quality tea dust, many impurities, added artificial colours and flavours and brew almost instantly to achieve an inferior flavour. Some tea bag materials contain bleaching chemical residues. When brewed, these tea bags are the tea equivalent to cask wine.

Can I add milk?

Milk and sugar can be added to Black teas and Classic Blends if you wish. Milk may also enhance some Flavoured Back teas eg Vanilla, Peach or Cream. 

At the risk of fueling the debate, we always recommend pouring the 'milk in first' because it mixes better with the hot tea and it is also the best way to avoid globules of milk fat floating to the surface. However, since it is your cuppa, you decide!

Green tea, herb and fruit infusions do not require milk, but honey may be added as a sweetener.

What are blended teas?

Teas from different estates can benefit from blending. eg the flavour of a medium strength Ceylon tea can be enhance by adding a small portion of a powerful Assam tea.

English Breakfast (Classic Blend) is a famous example of a blended tea, Earl Grey another. To produce English Breakfast we use an original Ceylonese recipe which has been in continuous use for over 150 years. Our large leaf high-grown India and Ceylon tea ingredients are carefully measured and mixed thoroughly in blending drums. Our complete range of Classic Blends and Herb Blends are blended at Tea Leaves.

Tea blending, like wine blending, requires expertise but you can trial your own tea blends. Some tea lovers like to add a hint of Earl Grey to their favorite Ceylon or Assam, others like the smokiness of Lapsang Souchong added to their English Breakfast.

Teas can also be flavoured at home by adding a few dried flower petals or pieces of a favourite spice or dried herb.

What are the tea leaf grades?

Abbreviations used to describe grades of tea leaf:

SFTGFOP......S(Super) F(Finest) T(Tippy) G(Golden) F(Flowery) O(Orange) P(Pekoe)
FP................F(Flowery P(Pekoe)
GFBOP.........G(Golden) F(Flowery) B(Broken) O(Orange) P(Pekoe)
BOPF............B(Broken) O(Orange) P(Pekoe) F(Fannings)
CTC.............C(Crush) T(Tear) C(Curl)
Leaf sizes associated with tea grades, and %age of total tea production
Big leaf................SFTGFOP1, FTGFOP1, TGFOP1, GFOP, FOP.........6%
Small leaf.............FP, PEKOE..........................................................15%
Rough broken.......FBOP..................................................................20%
Fine broken..........GFBOP, GBOP......................................................20%
Fannings..............BOPF, OF + Dust PD............................................39%

At Tea Leaves we import mostly big leaf grades. Some small and broken leaves are used for blending. No fannings are used.

Which are the main black tea producing countries?

Most famous black tea producing countries are:

China
Mild strength teas from the regions of Yunnan and Keemun (China Black)
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Medium strength teas from the regions of Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva.
India
Strong teas from the regions of Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri.