Is white tea in tea bags good?

White tea is one of the most interesting types of tea. Partially because many of them have a very light and delicate flavour, partially because a good one is often difficult to find. This type of tea is not as common as green, oolong or black tea, and is not as often available in traditional tea bags as other tea types.

One reason is that 2 of the most popular types need to have a specific leaf shape. For example, Silver Needle is made purely of tea buds covered in fine white hair. White Peony will have tea buds, stalks and leaves. But what really makes white tea a white tea is the production process. It includes fewer steps than making other types and results in a unique flavour profile.

Now let’s get back to Strawberry and Vanilla white tea from Basilur.

What’s in Strawberry and Vanilla White tea?

Strawberry and Vanilla white tea from Basilur is available as loose leaf and in tea bags. Loose leaf blend contains unbroken leaves, jasmine flowers, rose petals and strawberries. Tea bags are made of white tea and vanilla and strawberry flavourings. Since traditional tea bags contain fannings and dust, they will always brew into a stronger tea, often with bitter notes. That’s why white tea is usually better than loose tea. Usually, but not always.

So, is this tea different?

What does Strawberry and Vanilla white tea taste like?

To make a cup of tea, bring fresh water to a boil and let it cool for a few minutes. Although white tea is gentle, you can still use a slightly hotter water and steep it for 2-3 minutes.

Basilur’s Strawberry and Vanilla tea smells lovely. It’s as close to strawberries and cream as a tea could be. It’s quite a surprise for a tea in a traditional tea bag to taste this light and natural.

Flavour is lighter than scent, with no bitterness or deep hay notes. Strawberry flavour is very light though. The best description would be that this is a delicately flavoured vanilla white tea with hints of strawberry and cream flavour. This tea doesn’t need any condiments, and it’s best served with no milk. It leaves the same lovely light aftertaste. It’s suitable for making an iced tea too.

Strawberry and Vanilla white tea is a perfect choice for daily drinking at home or in the office, as it’s very easy to make and tastes light and lovely. If you love lightly flavoured white teas, this tea is a brilliant choice. Even if you drink only loose tea, there’s a very high chance you’ll like this one too.

Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water.

Day or night? Day.

Hot or iced? Hot or cold.

Sweetened or pure? Pure.

Caffeine? Yes.

What’s the price? Starting from 3.99 GBP.

Where to buy? Get it from the Basilur website: 20 tea bags or loose tea

The post Strawberry and Vanilla White Tea from Basilur appeared first on All That Tea.

What’s in Nearly Nirvana?

Neary Nirvana is blended with green tea, jasmine scented silver needle tea, jasmine blossoms, spearmint and orange blossoms. Mint and jasmine are not a common combination, and it may even sound quite unusual. But spearmint, which is less often used in tea blends than peppermint, has a much lower content of menthol. Menthol is a compound that gives a strong and pungent minty flavour. That’s why spearmint is fresh but milder, so it won’t overpower other flavours.

Another interesting ingredient in this tea are orange blossoms. They are also not too common in tea blends and are mostly present in calming sleepy time teas. Interestingly, both orange blossoms and jasmine may help reduce anxiety.

Lightness, relaxation and delightful scent make Nearly Nirvana worthy of its name for sure. The scent of jasmine is beautiful and dominates over the scent of dry white and green tea leaves. Mint feels like a background base note only, giving freshness without turning this blend into a strong mint tea.

Since this is a blend of white and green tea, it contains caffeine. Both green and white tea may be higher in caffeine than black tea, so keep that in mind if caffeine content is important to you.

Nearly Nirvana is available as loose tea and in pyramid tea bags.

What does Nearly Nirvana taste like?

Nearly Nirvana is a blend of green and white tea, so lower water temperature is recommended. Steep it for 2-3 minutes at 80 degrees Celsius.

This mint and jasmine tea is light and delicate, with no bitterness. Mint and jasmine are perfectly balanced, with mint giving a refreshing lightness and jasmine adding a floral touch. Green tea serves as a wonderful base, giving depth to this blend. There are zero traces of bitterness. It really is light and heavenly and feels more like a white tea blend than green tea.

This is a very, very easy to drink tea. Mint and jasmine are not a common combination, but after trying this blend, you’ll think they definitely should be. They really go well together. You can re-steep the same tea bag at least once, depending on how long you steep it for.

Who would like this tea? This blend is great for tea drinkers that love jasmine teas but don’t like the bitterness that comes with some jasmine blends. It’s great for daily sipping and afternoon tea times.

Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water.

Day or night? Day.

Hot or iced? Hot or cold.

Sweetened or Pure? Pure.

Caffeine? Yes.

What’s the price? Starting from 3.50 GBP.

Where to buy? Get it from the Bird and Blend website.

The post Nearly Nirvana Mint and Jasmine Tea – Bird and Blend appeared first on All That Tea.

What does it taste like?

Keep reading.

What’s in Chocolate Coconut Cream tea?

Chocolate Coconut Cream tea from Tea and the Gang is a blend of Chinese Bai Mu Dan tea (White Peony), desiccated coconut, apple pieces, rose hips, cocoa nibs and cocoa shells and natural flavouring. Being a white tea, it contains caffeine. It doesn’t contain any sweeteners.  

It smells lovely, creamy, with deep cocoa notes and a light coconut scent in the background. A super important thing to mention is that this is a white tea, and nonetheless, Bai Mu Dan (Pai Mu Tan) tea. White peony will naturally be quite light, in both colour and flavour. It has a creamier and more intense flavour than most silver needle teas, but it will never be as strong as black tea. Because of its depth and strong body, black tea rather than white tea is usually used as a base for chocolate teas. 

Just like other blends from this brand, this tea has large unbroken leaves, and all ingredients are equally pretty. Another delicious tea from Tea and the Gang, Strawberry Champagne is made with white tea too, so if you love strawberry teas, check out the review here.

Chocolate Coconut Cream tea smells lovely, like a box of fine chocolate pralines. The scent is quite intense, but also light and airy.

How to brew this tea?

You know how the first rule of brewing a delicious cup of tea is not to over-steep it? With this tea, you can forget this rule. In fact, when you slightly over-steep it, you will intensify the cocoa flavour. It won’t become bitter either. White tea notes are more pronounced in the flavour than in the scent and blend in with the cocoa and coconut notes really well.

Use 2 teaspoons per cup of water and steep for 5 minutes at 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit).

This tea has a light sweetness and unless you add sweeteners to all your teas, you won’t be needing any. If you do, a pure white or light brown sugar may work the best for this tea.

Chocolate Coconut Cream tea is great for tea drinkers that want to enjoy a light dessert tea without an overpowering flavour. It’s a brilliant choice for tea drinkers that are trying to switch from heavily flavoured teas to pure teas too. Perhaps the most beautiful thing about this tea is that it feels so refined and sophisticated. Flavour is strong but light, without artificial notes. It’s a beautiful tea for afternoon tea parties or as a liquid dessert after a meal. If you brew a stronger cup, you can also serve it with a splash of milk. White teas are not usually served with milk, but many will taste delicious.

Chocolate teas may not be the first choice for making a cold brewed tea, but Chocolate Coconut Cream tea blend taste wonderful when cold steeped too. The flavour is refreshing, and while slightly less intense, it’s still beautifully chocolaty. Learn how to cold brew tea here.

Who would love this tea? If you love chocolate flavours and are looking for beautiful and sophisticated flavours, this tea is for you. It’ also a great me-time tea for slow sipping on a lazy Sunday afternoon and it’s very easy to brew.  

Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water or water and a splash of milk.

Day or night? Day.

Hot or iced? Hot or cold.

Sweetened or Pure? Pure.

Caffeine? Yes

What’s the price? Starting from 3.19 GBP.

Where to buy? Get it from the Tea and the Gang website.

Tea and the Gang teas are available from Amazon.co.uk too.

The post Chocolate Coconut Cream tea – white tea blend for chocoholics appeared first on All That Tea.

What’s in Cherry Bakewell Tea?

Cherry Bakewell tea is a tea crafted to pay respect to a famous British treat – heavenly cherry and almond tarts. This pastry has been around for quite some time, and is always a pure joy to enjoy.

Cherry Bakewell tea is, unexpectedly, a white tea blend, not a cherry fruit blend. It contains Chinese white tea, apple pieces, rosehips, hibiscus, sliced almonds, freeze-dried cranberries and LOTS of red cornflowers.

This tea smells delicious, with intense cherry notes and hints of frangipane. But it’s not only the scent that’s inviting. Cherry Bakewell pastries are yummy, but also incredibly pretty. This tea took its mission to offer a Cherry Bakewell experience seriously, and it looks stunning too. Red cornflowers look absolutely beautiful in this blend.

What’s quite surprising is the blending of so many red/purple ingredients with white tea. Any blend containing hibiscus will turn purple, and so does this blend. However, white tea is an absolutely great choice for this liquid dessert, as it’s lighter and more neutral than other tea types, but still offers lighter tea notes and caffeine.

What does it taste like?

Since there are quite a lot of ingredients in this blend and lots of red cornflowers to get the most out of white tea, use two teaspoons rather than one and steep at around 80 degrees Celsius for 2-3 for 3 minutes.

This tea brews into a light tea, with a transparent purple colour. It’s not quite like hibiscus tea, and it’s not like white tea either. This tea has a slight hibiscus zestiness, and a really interesting aroma. White tea is most noticeable from the slightly smoky aroma, rather than the flavour. Cherry notes with hints of almonds wrap the whole blend into a light and refreshing tea that doesn’t need any condiments.

Although this tea is light, don’t overstep it. It contains white tea, and it may get a light bitter note if you leave the tea leaves to infuse for too long. However, regardless of the lightness, it’s flavourful and cheerful. If you like hibiscus and cherry flavour, you will like this tea too. Even though it smells sweet, it’s not a sweet tea, so you can add half a teaspoon of white sugar or some other neutral sweetener.

Who else would like this tea? This blend would be a splendid choice for tea drinkers that enjoy flavoured teas with fruity notes but prefer lighter daily blends that aren’t overpowering and that don’t need any condiments.

Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water.

Day or night? Day.

Hot or iced? Hot or iced.

Sweetened or Pure? Pure or with a teaspoon of white sugar.

Caffeine? Yes

Where to buy? Get it from Bird and Blend website.

The post Cherry Bakewell Tea by Bird & Blend appeared first on All That Tea.

In fact, there are many types that come from many countries.

This type of tea is less common than green or black tea, but it’s far from rare.

These are the 10 things you need to know about white tea.

1. White tea may contain more caffeine than black tea

It’s a common misconception that white tea is the gentlest type of tea in terms of caffeine content. A reason for this is that, when brewed properly, has a very delicate colour and flavour, especially when it contains lots of silver buds.

But studies have shown that white tea may have more caffeine than green tea (1) and even more than black tea.

Another study that compared different types showed that Bai Mu Dan or White Peony may have significantly more caffeine than Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Bai Hao Silver Needle) or Shou Mei teas (2).

2. Some types will never be available in classic tea bags

While there are white tea bags available on the market, not all are suitable for tea bags. That’s because classic tea bags contain tea dust and small leaf particles, rather than whole or even broken leaves.

One of the most popular white teas in the world – Chinese Silver Needle – is a tea made of young tea buds and attached leaves, covered in fine silver hair. This tea would lose all its charm and flavour if it was simply a dust.

However, Silver Needle tea is often available in pyramid tea bags, a type of tea bag suitable for whole leaf teas.

Another reason you won’t find all white teas in tea bags is that teas that are available in classic tea bags are usually the most popular types of teas. That’s why some rare teas will only be available as loose tea.

3. It is produced in many countries

Although the most popular white teas come from China, this tea type is not produced in many other countries as well, including Rwanda, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Japan and Malawi. Many other countries are producing it in small batches too.

The largest producer of white tea is still China, which also has the widest assortment of this tea type, and some of the most exquisite teas in the world. What’s even more interesting is that teas from different countries will have a very different flavour, even if they are produced in the same way. And finally, all this actually makes it not rare as a type, but instead, it’s produced in lower quantities than green or black tea.

4. You can brew white tea with nearly boiling water

This type of tea may look gentle, but it can tolerate high temperatures better than green tea. High quality white teas won’t become bitter when you use nearly boiling water, but don’t over-steep them. Over steeping with boiling water can ruin any tea.

One tea you absolutely can steep in very hot water is Chinese Silver Needle tea. Even at 90 degrees Celsius, it will still brew into a pale and beautifully gentle cup.

5. You CAN drink white tea with milk

Some white teas are suitable for adding milk. Not all are gentle, and in fact, some may have a colour similar to black teas. But it’s not only the colour that tells you if the tea is suitable for adding milk, it’s the flavour too. Choose teas with a stronger flavour and yellow colour, such as Shou Mei Chinese tea or Kenya Rhino white tea.

Read more:

• Can you drink white tea with milk?
• Spiced white tea latte recipe

6. There are many types of silver needle tea

Just like there are many types of sencha green tea, there are many types of silver needle teas. Name silver needle implies a plucking standard and a processing method, rather than just one type of tea.

In fact, many countries are producing silver needle teas, including India, Malawi, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Kenya. The most popular silver needle teas come from China, especially Fujian province and Yunnan.

What does silver needle tea look like? It will contain mostly small buds covered in fine white hair. These buds may be thinner or plumper and bigger, white-green or green-grey. The fewer leaves it contains, the better.

7. It may contain more antioxidants than other tea types

If you want to enjoy the potential benefits of catechins but don’t like the flavour of green tea, this may be a perfect tea type to try. Although the total amount of polyphenols will be different in different white and green tea, they are both a good choice.

This tea type is often called a beauty tea, because it may contain more antioxidants than other types of tea. (3) It’s is rich in polyphenols, and especially catechins – just like green tea.

Studies showed that these two tea types have a very similar total polyphenol content, which may sometimes even be slightly higher in white tea (up to 25.95 grams per 100 grams, compared to up to 24.7 grams in 100 grams of green tea) (4).

8. White tea will have a longer shelf life than green tea

Properly stored white tea will probably taste good even after a year, and some may keep for years. However, to enjoy the best flavour, drink teas that have very green leaves (like Japanese white tea) or silver-green leaves (like high quality Chinese silver needle) within 6-12 months.

9. And, it can be aged

Not only can white tea stay fresh longer than green tea, but it can also be aged. Properly aged tea will keep even longer than unaged tea. White tea leaves are commonly pressed into brick or disk shapes and then aged. They look similar to aged pressed pu’erh tea. Which teas are aged? Beautiful Chinese Yue Guan Bai tea, Bai Mu Dan, Shou Mei and Gong Mei teas.

10. It doesn’t need to look white

Neither the colour of dry white tea leaves nor the brewed tea needs to look bright. In fact, they may come in different colours – white-grey, green-grey, vibrantly green, dark brown, or as a delicious Chinese Yue Guang Bai, white, grey and purplish. And when it comes to brewed tea, a very fine quality silver needle will look almost transparent. White Peony may have a vibrant yellow colour, and some, like Shou Mei and Gong Mei may brew into a darker yellow-brown liquor.

Final thoughts

White tea is an absolutely unique type of tea. Just like other tea types, it comes in a whole range of flavours, colours and shapes and is usually gentler in flavour than green or black tea. Since there’s more than just one type, if you decide to become a white tea drinker, you’re going to have lots of fun tasting unique flavours. Plus, you may even enjoy some really wonderful benefits.  

Sources

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4787341/

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6170294/

(3) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123849373000033

(4) https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/171370/4/Healteas.pdf

The post Is white tea rare? + 9 other white tea facts appeared first on All That Tea.

What is bubble tea with jelly?

These days bubble tea is literally everywhere. It’s available in hundreds of different flavours, textures and colours, and some are truly unique. The most classic type of bubble tea is boba milk tea, a black milk tea with chewy tapioca pearls. More unique but still classic flavours include taro milk tea and wintermelon boba, and if you are looking for something that really stands out, there are cheese and crème brulee boba teas too.  

Not all boba teas are made the same. Some may contain real tea leaves, other may be made with fruit juices and powders and some may not contain milk at all. And then, there’s the choice of a topping, the ingredient that makes boba tea a boba tea. The most common boba tea toppings are boba pearls, popping boba, puddings and jellies.

What makes this bubble tea with chai jelly so delicious and suitable for even the most classic tea drinkers is that it’s actually made with two types of tea – pure white tea and a chai blend that complement each other amazingly well. A chewy ingredient is a homemade jelly rather than tapioca pearls, but as flavourful and delicious, and super easy to make from a scratch. This tea is suitable for vegetarians, and if you want to make it vegan friendly, simply replace a coffee creamer with a dairy free creamer.

Ingredients for making white bubble tea with chai jelly

1. The best tea for making white bubble tea

Choosing the right tea is the most important step in making a proper white bubble tea with milk. White tea is usually delicate and not all types will go well with milk. Add only a splash of milk to a Chinese Silver Needle tea, and the tea flavour will be lost completely. This recipe is made with an unusual and unique white tea – Kenya Rhino white tea. It’s delicate but bold, without the black tea astringency, but with a much deeper colour and stronger flavour than what you’d typically expect from a white tea. A great alternative would be a Shou Mei white tea and Indian teas with a stronger flavour profile.  

Choose teas that have a deeper yellow-brown colour, but delicate and bold flavour.

For making a jelly, you will need a pre-made or homemade chai tea blend. Choose flavourful blends that are not murky or too bitter, with vibrant flavour and colour, especially if you want to avoid using too much sugar or other sweeteners.  

Use more tea leaves to get a more intense flavour, instead of brewing it longer.

2. Agar agar for making a chai jelly

Agar agar is a jellifying agent made from algae. It’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans and great for making jellies, as it will settle super fast. You can literally have your tea ready in 30 minutes. Although the jelly will set fast, you can make it beforehand and store in the fridge for a couple of days. Making boba tea at home will almost always require more time to prep than making a cup of regular tea, regardless of which topping you use. Even a pre-made chewy tapioca pearls need to be cooked before adding them to tea.

3. The best water for white boba tea

When making white tea, water quality plays a more important role than when making a cup of black tea. White tea is gentler than other tea types, so if your water has a distinctive taste, your tea will have that same taste too. If your tap water is not suitable for drinking or has a strong flavour, use bottled natural spring water instead.

4. Coffee creamer

Coffee creamer has a much higher fat percentage than regular whole milk. With around 10% of fat, it’s actually very similar to condensed milk, minus the sugar. It’s also very neutral, compared to condensed milk that may have a slightly acidic flavour, especially if it’s not sweetened.  5-10 grams of coffee creamer will be enough for one serving of boba tea, which equals 1-2 teaspoons.

5. Ice

Not all boba teas are served cold, although most of them are. When using a jelly as a boba tea topping, adding ice is important as the jelly will melt in hot water. Sweeten your tea while it’s still hot. Then, pour it into a glass filled with ice, and wait a couple of minutes before adding jelly and creamer.

How many calories are in this boba tea?

Boba tea may be super high in calories, mostly from sweeteners and toppings. When you are making it at home, you can control not only the flavour, but the calorie content as well. A batch of jelly will contain approximately 50 calories (depending on how much sugar you use) and will be enough to make 2 servings of boba tea. Additional honey and creamer will add about 40-60 calories more. You can make this white boba tea to taste delicious and indulgent and very low in calories. You can even replace all sugars and honey with sugar alternatives.

Print

White Bubble Tea with Chai Jelly Recipe

Flavourful white tea boba with homemade chai jelly recipe

Course Drinks

Keyword Boba Tea, Chai, Jelly, White Tea

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Equipment

• saucepan
• Mould for making a jelly
• cup
• Serving glass
• Precise kitchen scale
• strainer

Ingredients

For Chai Jelly

• 3 heaped teaspoons of chai blend
• 280 ml of freshly boiled water
• 1.3 grams of agar agar powder
• 2-3 teaspoons of brown sugar

For White Boba Tea

• 250 ml of freshly boiled water
• 2 teaspoons of loose leaf white tea
• 1-2 teaspoons of coffee creamer
• 1-2 teaspoons of honey
• ice

Instructions

For Chai Jelly

• Steep chai tea leaves in freshly boiled water for 5-6 minutes.
• Strain into a saucepan and turn on the heat.
• Add sugar and stir until fully dissolved.
• Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and add agar agar. Stir and simmer until it thickens.  
• Pour the chai jelly into a mould and let it set at the room temperature or in the fridge. If you are not using it immediately, store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

To Assemble the Drink

• Fill a large 300 ml glass with ice.
• Bring water to a boil and let it cool down to 85-90 degrees Celsius (185–194°F).
• Steep white tea in water for 5 minutes. Strain, add honey and stir until honey dissolves.
• Pour the tea into a glass filled with ice and stir.
• When the tea is cold enough, add jelly (cut or whole, depending on which mould you used).
• Add creamer and stir.

The post White Bubble Tea with Chai Jelly Recipe appeared first on All That Tea.

What is White Christmas tea?

White Christmas comes from Rosie Lea Tea, a UK tea shop with many unique blends, including a whole range of teas inspired by literature and desserts. This Christmas tea is unique too. White tea holiday blends are far less common than black tea and fruit tea blends. What’s makes white tea especially great for winter blends is that it can offer an amazing opportunity to bring snowy lightness into a cup.

This festive tea blend really smells like white Christmas. Because of cinnamon chips, orange peel and cloves, at first, this tea may look like a blend of common festive ingredients. But then, there are pine needles and sugar stars, and together with other ingredients, they create a festive blend that gives a feeling of strolling through a pine wood forest covered in snow.

Pine needles are still not a common ingredient in tea blends. They can be used together with other ingredients or on its own as an herbal tea.

Clove may be the most prominent scent, but this is not just a typical spiced tea with cloves. Together with pine needles and white tea, it creates a scent that welcoming, warming and reminding of that feeling you get when you bring a Christmas tree into your home.

How to brew this tea?

White Christmas is a white tea blend, keep the water temperature below 80 degrees Celsius. Step 1-2 teaspoon of tea leaves per cup of water at 80-85 degrees Celsius for 3 minutes.

It’s a very delicate, but festive blend with no bitterness and a balanced light flavour. None of the ingredients are overpowering, and together they create a gentle warming hug in a cup with very light sweet notes, rather than a heavily spiced tea.

Orange peel is a wonderful ingredient for blends that require lower water temperatures, as it will give delicate notes without overpowering the blend.

This tea is very easy to drink and is best served with no condiments. You can re-steep the same tea leaves, without losing light and festive flavour.

This tea would be great for tea drinkers that love the scent of Christmas trees, spiced teas and more delicate gentler blends.

The post White Christmas Tea appeared first on All That Tea.

1. Christmas Greetings

When you think about Christmas, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? Is it the Christmas sweets? Gingerbread men? Or maybe it’s spiced drinks? Christmas Greetings tea has it all. It’s made with sweet and earthy red rooibos, caramel and brittle pieces, sugar snowflakes, sugar gingerbread men and pink peppercorn, to greet you with the unmistakable Christmas flavours with every sip.

Price: 6.95 GBP

Type: herbal blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Christmas Greetings from The Tea House website.

2. Nutcracker Christmas tea

Can you imagine Christmas without a nutcracker and a nutcracker without marzipan? This sweet rooibos blends is made with red rooibos tea, almond pieces, candied papaya and silver sugar sprinkles and sugar stars. It’s a pretty and festive marzipan flavoured blend made to set the Christmas mood from the first sip.  

Price: from 4.75 GBP

Type: herbal blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Nutcracker from Tips & Leaves website.

3. Christmas Cuppa

For every tea lover, a Christmas cuppa may mean different flavours, but there’s one flavour that undeniably says it’s Christmas – it’s orange. Christmas Cuppa from BRUU is a tea blended with bold Assam tea and aromatic orange and sprinkled with rose petals. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to the scent of aromatic sweet oranges?

Price: from 2.95 GBP

Type: black tea blend

Caffeine: Yes

Where to buy: Get Christmas Cuppa from BRUU website.

4. Mulled Wine in Vienna

What would Christmas be without mulled wine? While there are many delicious, mulled wine teas out there, what’s super interesting about Mulled Wine in Vienna Christmas tea blend is that it contains mistletoe too. It certainly adds a spark to one of the most popular winter drinks in the world. Other ingredients in this fruity tea are apple pieces, orange pieces, elderberries, hibiscus, rosehip, and spices.

Price: from 3.95 USD

Type: fruit blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Mulled Wine in Vienna from Churchill’s Fine Teas website.

5. Under the Mistletoe

If standing under the mistletoe is what you’re looking forward to the most this holiday season, there’s no need to wait. Under the Mistletoe blend contains mistletoe, pine nuts, eucalyptus, lemongrass and spruce needle oil. Berries and apple pieces accompany these wintery ingredients, to create a very unique, caffeine-free fresh herbal wintery blend.

Price: from 11 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity herbal blend

Where to buy: Get Under the Mistletoe from Umami Tea website.

6. White Christmas

Who doesn’t love a white Christmas? There’s nothing more magical and peaceful than waking up on Christmas day, looking out the window and seeing the landscape covered in snow. White Christmas tea blend is gentle but wintery too – it contains more delicate white tea, a touch of sugary snowflakes, dried pine needles and a selection of warming spices.

Price: 4.95 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: white tea blend

Where to buy: Get White Christmas from Rosie Lea Tea website.

7. Red Christmas

No snow doesn’t mean no Christmas. Red Christmas blend contains South African red rooibos tea and all the warming and sweet ingredients to get you into the festive mood – apple pieces, almonds, cinnamon, rose and holiday flavourings. It contains no caffeine, which makes it great for late night sipping.

Price: 14.70 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal blend

Where to buy: Get Red Christmas from Chado Tea website.

8. Green Christmas

And yet, Christmas is green too. Think of magical Christmas trees, mistletoe and holly. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without evergreen trees and plants. Green Christmas is blended with grassy bancha green tea, orange rind, safflower and sunflower petals, cardamom and pepper. It’s a sweet, fresh and fruity green tea blend with a festive flavour.

Price: 5.90 EUR

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Green Christmas from La Via del Te website.

9. Santea Claus

Afternoon Christmas tea parties deserve a special tea blend. This Ceylon black tea blend with fragrant jasmine flowers, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar Christmas trees is colourful and fun – like a proper Christmas tea blend should be. Colourful Christmas trees and a unique combination of spices and jasmine flowers will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face.

Price: from 1.75 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Santea Claus from Tips & Leaves website.

10. Silent Night

Silent Night tea is a tea to offer a silent, peaceful night. This blend is made with red rooibos tea, which is naturally caffeine-free, warming spices including cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg and valerian. Both valerian and nutmeg may help promote restful sleep, which makes this blend a perfect choice for a late-night treat. Plus, it contains a pumpkin pie flavouring.

Price: from 10.98 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Silent Night from DAVIDsTEA website.

11. Christmas Flake

Christmas flake is a pretty and festive blend that includes an ingredient quite uncommon in winter holiday teas – coconut. It’s blended with Chinese and Ceylon black tea, orange peel, almonds, coconut chips, rose petals and cinnamon. Sounds like a delicious breakfast tea, doesn’t it?

Price: from 3.25 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Flake from Colne Valley Tea Company website.

12. Brewdolph Christmas tea

This smooth and delicious tea is spiced with Christmas spices – cinnamon and cloves, Ceylon and Yunnan black tea, orange peel, and two other interesting ingredients – lime leaves and pomegranate flowers. This snowy Christmas tea makes a brilliant choice for festive afternoon tea parties. Available as loose tea and in pyramid tea bags.

Brewed and tried – read about it here.

Price: from 5.14 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Brewdolph from Twist Teas website.  

13. Christmas Charm

A part of the Christmas Charm is that it blends all delicious and common ingredients into a tea to get you into the festive mood. This blend is crafted with dried apple chunks, oolong tea, raspberry leaf, white mulberry, blackcurrant leaf, cloves, black elderberries, orange peel, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cocoa. Spicy, sweet, zesty and herbal ingredients with an oolong base that sounds incredibly charming.  

Price: from 3.25 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: oolong tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Charm from Camellia Senses website.

14. Carol Singers Christmas tea

Carol Singers is a black tea blend with holiday spices – cinnamon and star anis, orange and chocolate chips for more sweetness, creaminess and joy. Blended to make you take a break and simply enjoy the moment by yourself or with your loved ones.

Price: from 1.54 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Carol Singers from It’s Tea website.

15. Christmas Star

It’s not only the oranges that are related to Christmas. Christmas star is blended with green tea, apple pieces, cardamom, aniseed, star anise, cloves and sugar stars. But this unique blend contains two more ingredients – cooling peppermint and mandarin, a small, sweet, delicious winter citrus fruit. If you want a zesty fruit, that’s not orange, mandarin is a splendid choice.

Price: from 1.55 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Star from It’s Tea website.

16. Sleigh Ride Christmas tea

To blend a proper Sleigh Ride tea, you absolutely need to make it fun. And that’s exactly what DAVIDsTEA did – blended a fun and unique Christmas tea blend with no caffeine and lots of interesting ingredients. This Christmas tea blend contains popped rice, beetroot, hibiscus, candied fruits, roasted almonds, cinnamon, raisins and even coconut. A perfect tea for warming up after an afternoon sleighing.

Price: from 8.98 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity tea blend

Where to buy: Get Sleigh Ride from DAVIDsTEA website.  

17. Elf Help Christmas tea

Elf Help is a tea blended for Santa’s Elves, to keep them happy and smile while making sure all presents will be wrapped and ready in time. Fruitcake inspired flavour in a blend made with sencha green tea, black currants, orange, papaya, apple, cranberries and coconut. Need more reasons to smile? A liquid fruitcake should do the trick.

Price: from 4.99 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Elf Help from DAVIDsTEA website.

18. Christmas Breakfast

Christmas morning for sure deserves a special breakfast blend. This Christmas Breakfast blend is inspired by gingerbread flavours and contains smooth and robust black tea. With sweet and spicy notes, this tea will say it’s Christmas first thing in the morning. You can drink it pure or with a splash of milk, or even make a proper Christmas Breakfast latte.

Price: 12 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Breakfast it from T2 website.

19. Santas Milk and Cookies Christmas tea

If Santa could choose a tea for himself, it would be Santas Milk and Cookies. This black tea blend smells like freshly baked buttery cookies that are truly difficult to resist. It contains three types of flower petals and sumac berries and goes really well with milk, too.

Brewed and tried – read about it here.

Price: from 4.95 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Santas Milk and Cookies from Yawn Brew website.

20. Candy Cane Christmas tea

Candy canes are a sure sign Christmas is just around the corner. This fun Christmas tea blend is made to bring that festive feeling not only with its flavour, but with its appearance as well. Candy Cane is an adorable black tea blended with cornflowers and lots of sweet candy cane sugar sprinkles.

Price: from 9.00 CAD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Candy Cane from Tea at the White House website.

21. Panettone Cake Christmas tea

Panettone Cake is one of the most popular Christmas time desserts. This hand crafted liquified version of classic Panettone cake is made with black tea, orange and lemon peel, vanilla and calendula petals. And it even contains raisins. All the Panettone Cake ingredients are there. You only have to brew it and enjoy.

Price: from 7.00 CAD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea

Where to buy: Get Panettone Cake from Dessert by Deb website.

22. Spirit of Christmas

Spirit of Christmas is an unusual blend of green and black tea, pineapple, berries, coconut and flower petals. It contains cranberries, elderberries and cherries, another delicious fruit related to Christmas. This cheerful blend is great for hot and cold brewing, but it also goes well with milk.

Price: from 2.75 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green and black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Spirit of Christmas from Sisters Tea Company.

23. Red Truck Christmas tea

Red Truck Christmas Chai Rooibos is a personal Christmas blend, crafted from childhood memories of getting a Christmas tree. It’s as unique as a Christmas blend as it is as a Chai blend. Red Truck is made with red rooibos tea and all the spices chai should have – cardamom, star anise, ginger, pink peppercorns and cinnamon, and a handful of others that give a festive and unique charm including cinnamon imperials, vanilla and rosemary.  

Price: from 4 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Red Truck from Sisters Tea Company website.

24. Christmas Cheer

With three types of tea, the Christmas Cheer is more than cheerful. It’s a fun and unique tea that combines oolong, black and rooibos tea, flower petals, almonds and caramel flavour into a holiday blend that looks exactly like a warm fireplace. All ingredients in this blend go well with milk.

Price: 11.95 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: oolong, black and rooibos tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Cheer from Open Door Tea website.

25. Christmas in Love

Christmas in Love is a unique Christmas tea with calming passionflower and lemon verbena, zesty lemon, rose hips, apple and hawthorn, and spicy ginger and cinnamon. It’s a caffeine free and festive blend for late night sipping during a holiday season to get relaxed and ready for another cheerful day.

Price: 5.90 EUR

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas in Love from La Vie del Te website.

The post 25 Festive Christmas tea blends to Try This Christmas appeared first on All That Tea.

Tea Question #1 – Am I choosing the right tea?

The most common question every tea drinker will eventually have is how to choose the right tea. There are thousands of different tea types, and thousands of tisanes to choose from, some similar, some different, but all of them unique.

What to do?

The best way to know if you are choosing the right tea is by defining why you want to drink tea in the first place. To ditch a habit of sipping sugary drinks? To improve your wellbeing? Maybe you want to practice tea meditation? Or simply to explore different flavours?

Once you know what your reason is, it will be easier to choose the right tea. The next step is to read a tea description and to ask more questions. Pure unflavoured teas will be great for tea meditations, pure unflavoured tisanes and real teas are a perfect choice if you want to enjoy the benefits, and flavoured teas and tisanes are flavourful enough to keep you away from sugary drinks. Strong blends and tea powders are great for cooking and aromatic strong teas make delicious tea syrups.

Tea Question #2 – Am I buying high-quality tea?

One of the most complicated questions to answer is how to know your tea is of the high quality. All teas should be of a high quality, regardless of their classification and type. That means, even if you are choosing broken leaf tea, it should be flavourful and stored properly. Some high-quality teas will have a lighter scent and flavour– such as Dragon Well green tea – but that doesn’t mean the quality isn’t high. Some tea contain only small leaves particles or even dust, but they should still be flavourful and tasty.

What to do?

Buy tea from dedicated and specialised tea sources. Learn more about the type you want to buy. Every cup of tea you drink should be a tasty one, cheap or expensive. Tea liquor shouldn’t be murky (unless it contains powders such as matcha tea). Learn the difference between different leaf grades, to know exactly what to expect.

Tea Question #3 – I have a tea I don’t like. What should I do?

Every now and then you will try a tea you don’t like. Maybe you don’t like one of the ingredients, maybe it’s too bitter, and maybe it just doesn’t taste right. If you don’t want to throw it away, there are ways to both use it and enjoy it.

What to do?

If the tea is fresh, try to give it a second chance or find an alternative use. You can try to:

• experiment with steeping time and leaf-water ratio – you could try using less leaves and more water, or try to steep it for only 30-60 seconds.
• add different condiments and try different sweeteners – adding milk or/and sugar will reduce bitterness.
• steep it with fresh fruits – find out which fruits are great for steeping with black tea
• use it for cooking – intense teas are great for making tea sugar syrups and for adding to cakes and cookies.
• add food flavourings such as vanilla, caramel, lemon or orange
• cold brew it in the fridge – cold brewing will reduce bitterness and offer a completely different flavour profile.
• make a milk tea – stronger black teas, darker oolong tea and some white teas are great for making milk teas

Tea Question #4 – I would like to drink tea, but I’m afraid it has too much caffeine. Which tea shoud I choose?

Unless you are highly sensitive to caffeine or need to avoid it altogether, a cup of tea in the morning is unlikely to give you the same energy boost as coffee. In fact, even a cup of tea in the afternoon is unlikely to keep you awake at night. Tea contains caffeine, and some teas may contain more caffeine than the others, but rarely more than coffee. For example, a shot of espresso is likely to have 60 mg of caffeine, while you can expect 10-50 mg of caffeine in a cup of tea. Some may contain more, but on average, expect 20-30 mg per cup.

What to do?

All real teas contain caffeine, regardless of the type. White tea can have more caffeine than green tea, and green tea may have more caffeine than black tea. You can choose to use less tea leaves, steep them for 1-2 minutes, opt for unbroken longer leaves rather than tea dust or teas with broken leaves, and choose teas made from older mature leaves such as bancha, or teas with stems such as kukicha.

Alternatively, choose tisanes – herbal teas with no caffeine such as chamomile, rooibos or peppermint or decaf teas.

Tea Question #5 – How to save money on tea?

You tried it; you liked it, and now you want to have it all. It’s very easy to get hooked on tea. And yes, it may become quite an expensive hobby. But a very fun one too.

What to do?

If you want to try as many types as possible, try subscription boxes. They allow you to test different teas for a fraction of a cost of a full-size packaging. Next thing you could do is swapping teas with other tea drinkers. Homemade tea samples make for a great and thoughtful gift. You can also try to experiment with making your own tea blends using some of the most common teas – Assam, Darjeeling, Sencha or Dark roasted oolong. And last, you can plan your tea purchases in advance and buy it when it’s on offer.

Tea Question #6 – I would love to drink tea, but it’s just too complicated to brew. Is there an easier way to do it?

One of the most common tea questions many new tea drinkers have is how to make a good cup of tea fast. The truth is, different teas will require different brewing techniques, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. Brewing tea may sound easy, but some teas are not so forgiving to brewing mistakes. Dan Cong oolong teas are a great exampe – you over brew them and they may turn very bitter. Regular green tea may also become undrinkable if you steep it in boiling water for 5 minutes.

What to do?

Until you are comfortable brewing different types, choose teas that are good for beginners and will not be bitter or too strong, even if you over-brew them. Flavoured blends are often easier to brew than unflavoured pure teas because they may be more forgiving to brewing mistakes.

Investing in a simple to use teapot will also make brewing much easier. Our recommendation? 300 ml side handled teapot with a removable mesh filter. It’s easy to clean, easy to use, and suitable for all tea types. Alternatively, try novelty blends that don’t require any brewing.

All teas usually come with brewing instructions, so pay attention to temperatures and steeping time to get the best flavour.

Final Thoughts on the Most Common Tea Questions

If you are new to tea, the number of types and flavour may seem overwhelming and you will undoubtedly have many tea related questions. But that’s also what’s great about tea. Even if you try a new type every day, it will still keep surprising you. Each type will offer something different and with every cup you drink, you will learn more about tea and your own preferences.

The post 6 Tea Questions All Tea Beginners Have + Solutions appeared first on All That Tea.

Autumn is a perfect time to get ready for the first snowy days with a few delicious recipes up your sleeve.

What is white tea?

White tea is one of 6 types of Camellia sinensis tea – white, yellow, green, oolong, black and dark. It’s considered the gentlest of all types and it’s rarely served with condiments. But not all white teas are gentle. Some may have a delicate flavour and look almost translucent; others may have a stronger mellow flavour and deep colour. Stronger white teas may have similar flavour notes to black teas, although they will never be as strong or full-bodied. Still, you can use them to make delicious lattes too.

Ingredients for making a white tea latte

To make a spiced white tea latte, you will need a strong white tea, semi-skimmed milk or a milk substitute and spices. This latte is easy to make, and you can adjust the ratio of spices, but don’t add too much. Too many spices will overpower the flavour of white tea. Unless you prefer your drinks super sweet, you won’t be needing any sweetener. The natural sweetness from the tea and milk will be enough. You will also need cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, but less than you would need to make a regular chai.

Which white tea can I use for this recipe?

While most black teas are great for making lattes, for making a good white tea latte, you can only choose from a few types. Your tea should have darker leaves, give a yellow-brown or yellow-orange drink and few or no buds. Tea with broken leaves or tea dust will infuse into a stronger cup. However, tea dust may sometimes have a bitter flavour, so you may want to add some sweetener too. This recipe is made with Chinese Shou Mei white tea, which is a very common tea and often used for white tea blends.

Read more:

• Can you drink white tea with milk?
• 5 milk alternatives for tea tested

Can I substitute dairy milk for a milk substitute?

If you want to avoid dairy milk, you can choose a milk substitute with a flavour similar to dairy milk. Almond, cashew or oat milk will all be a great option, rather than strong flavours like hazelnut or soy milk. White tea is light, so you can use semi-skimmed milk.

Which sweetener can I use?

If your tea is not bitter, you won’t be needing any sweetener. For stronger, more bitter teas, you can add a ½ to 1 teaspoon of honey with a neutral flavour, regular sugar or a flavourless sugar substitute, such as xylitol or silver birch sugar. By avoiding sweeteners and using semi-skimmed milk, you will reduce the total amount of calories, and this really will be a guilt-free treat with up to only 50 kcal per serving. Which is approximately 1/2 of an apple.

Can I use other spices?

Absolutely! You can make your own spice blend but add less than you would typically use for making a chai. Add whole ingredients when brewing tea and mix tea powders into milk. Add only a pinch of spices, and not more than 1-2 cloves, cardamom pods or star anise.

How to make a perfect froth?

The perfect latte is all about the right ratios of tea to milk and the perfect froth. The most indispensable kitchen tool for making homemade lattes is a simple electric frother. It will help you save time, and your latte will be ready in a matter of minutes. Use a small but high saucepan and start frothing immediately when you turn on the heat. Milk is ready once all the big bubbles are gone. Make the tea first and start heating the milk once you strain it. It will take only a few minutes to make the perfect frothed milk and use it immediately.

Lightly Spiced White Tea Latte Recipe

Print

Spiced White Tea Latte

Low-calorie, lightly spiced white tea latte

Course Drinks

Keyword Autumn, Latte, Milk Tea, White Tea

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Calories 50kcal

Equipment

• Kettle
• electric hand frother
• Teaspoon
• 300 ml glass for serving
• Cupfor brewing and a tea filter or a teapot

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons of white tea leaves use 1-2 teaspoons more if your tea has larger leaves
• 150 ml of water boiled and cooled to 90°C/194°F
• 2 cloves
• A pinch of cinnamon
• A pinch of nutmeg
• 100 ml of semi-skimmed milk

Instructions

• Bring water to a boil and wait for a few minutes until it cools down to 90 degrees Celsius.
• Steep tea leaves and cloves for 5-8 minutes.
• Strain the tea into a serving glass.
• Add 100 ml of semi-skimmed milk and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg into a small, tall saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium-low and start frothing it with an electric frother.
• Slowly add milk and froth.

The post Spiced White Tea Latte appeared first on All That Tea.