For most tea drinkers (in this country anyway), tea equals tea bags. Unless you’ve happened upon a bum bag, you may have never seen what’s inside. And if you have had one bust open, you probably think that tea is a dusty mess. If your pursuit of a better cup has led you to loose leaf teas, you know that’s not so. Whole tea leaves are quite a bit larger than anything you will find in a tea bag. Why is this important? The aromatic oils responsible for flavor evaporate quickly when tea leaves are broken. Whole leaves retain their flavor longer and a larger bag, or no bag at all means they are free to fully expand and express themselves (yield flavor and brew a delicious cup).

If you are a loose leaf convert, you probably know how to brew your favorite teas. If you don’t, we tried to make it simple on our Tattle Tea site by providing some general  guidelines as well as specific brewing instructions for each tea, including amount of tea, ideal water temperature and steep time. But that’s per cup, hot. How does that translate to iced, especially if you’re used to throwing a bunch of teabags in a pitcher?

How to Brew Loose Leaf Iced Tea

Green, white, herbal, flavored — if you like it hot, try it iced. The hot water method may be the easiest place to start. This method creates a concentrated shot of hot tea you can then pour over ice and serve immediately. Start by calculating how much tea you would need to brew 16 oz double-strength (our instruction on the site and our packaging are for 8 oz, so double the tea quantity). 8 oz of hot Orange Pekoe, for example, requires 1.5 tsp of tea leaves. 16 oz would be 3 tsp, or 6 tsp for a double strength batch. Now, if you will be pouring this over ice, so you only need about 4 oz of hot water total to account for ice melt. That means you will be brewing 6 tsp in 4 oz of near-boiling water. The steep time and water temperature is the same as for regular hot tea, regardless of strength or quantity. Here’s the recipe:

16 oz. Iced Orange Pekoe

• Place 6 tsp of loose leaf black tea into an infuser or disposable tea bag
• Add 4 oz. of near-boiling water
• Steep for 3.5 minutes
• Remove tea and add sweetener
• Pour over a 16 oz glass of ice and serve

For larger quantities, the same tea: hot water: ice ratio applies, just adjust your amounts accordingly.

1 Gallon Iced Orange Pekoe

• In a 1 gal. pitcher, add 1 dry measuring cup of loose leaf black tea to an infuser or large tea bag (if infuser is not large enough, leave tea loose in the pitcher and pour through a strainer later)
• Add two quarts of near-boiling water
• Steep for 3.5 minutes
• Remove tea and add sweetener
• Add ice until the pitcher is full
• Tea is ready to be served or stored in a refrigerator or freezer and served as needed

Cold Steeping Convenience

As always, a little bit of planning can make life so much easier.  The beauty of cold steeping is that the tea will never over-steep and become bitter, which is often a problem for green teas and anyone forgetful in the kitchen. Also, the ratio of tea:water needed is the same as for hot tea, which makes it the better choice for the math-impaired.*

There are dozens of cold steep jugs available. The Mist Iced Tea Jug works well for loose leaf tea because it has a tea strainer built into the spout, so no infusers or tea bags are necessary. Cold steeping takes time – overnight is best. There is something about cold steeping that makes me want to get creative. Add some herbs or fruit to the jug and allow it all to infuse together.

50 oz Iced Orange Pekoe

• Add 3 heaping tablespoons of black tea to the a 50 oz. iced tea jug
• Fill with water
• Leave in refrigerator overnight or for minimum of 8 hours
• Sweeten if desired. Simple syrup mixes easily with cold tea
• When ready to serve, pour over ice

*Since the tea will already be cold, it is unnecessary to compensate for ice melt with extra tea or with less water.

For a company that has always grown via word of mouth, we get very excited about media attention. We were especially thrilled when Woman’s Day Magazine reached out to us. They wanted to interview Anthony, our resident tea expert for an article titled “Tea & Company.” The goal of the article was to bring back the lost art of the tea party and they needed Anthony’s help to do it.

You probably haven’t met Anthony, but if you have, you know he can talk about tea for hours. This made him a perfect resource for Woman’s Day Senior Editor Taryn Mohrman. They started with the basics – how to steep the perfect cup of tea. After that was a lesson on how one plant can turn into so many different types of tea. What Woman’s Day was really interested in, however, was how to blend teas. Anthony and Taryn started with more than 10 basic teas and Anthony demonstrated all the many combinations that could be created. Earl Grey with rose petals? How about Dragonwell green tea with lemongrass? The best part is that Woman’s Day is giving away all the teas to five lucky winners!

We’re featured in the May issue of Woman’s Day which is on sale now. Check out the article it’s full of DIY instructions for hosting a perfect tea party as well as tasty sounding recipes for sandwiches, cookies and frozen tea drinks.

Here’s the link to the tea giveaway in case you’re feeling lucky:

http://www.womansday.com/sweepstakes/29548

Tea drinking has been linked to a multitude of benefits, from weight loss and improved digestion, to mental clarity and sparkling charisma (I made up that last one but looking around at our staff, it might be true). While we make no specific health claims about our teas, we are certainly encouraged to keep drinking. Our consumption levels around the office are completely out of hand, so I have our customers to thank for having some idea of how much tea the average consumer enjoys on a daily basis. And the answer is usually multiple cups. You all might not drink as much as we do, but you drink a lot. With anything you’re consuming a lot of (especially for health reasons,) it’s generally a good idea to know the ingredients involved and how they’re grown. So, here are some answers to your frequently asked tea questions, and a few new teas (with no artificial ingredients) to try!

How safe are your teas?
Teas cannot be imported without meeting the FDA’s standards. All of our teas are tested for pesticides, allergens, biological contamination, mold and moisture and we keep certificates of analysis on file for each tea. This certification does not provide the specific amount of residue that may or may not have been found in the tea, it simply states that the tea meets the federal government’s requirements for safe consumption. As mentioned earlier, we drink MANY cups a day and stand by the quality and safety of our teas.

Are any of your teas organically grown?
Our facility is in the process of receiving organic certification from the NJDA. Once this process is complete we will be able to label our organically grown products as such and look forward to expanding our line-up of organic teas. Below is a list of the teas we currently offer that are grown organically:

Assam Tonganagaon GFBOP Black Tea
Golden Nepal Black Tea
Pu-Erh Tea
CO2 Decaf Green Tea
Mao Jian Green Tea
Sencha Zhejiang Green Tea
West Lake Dragonwell Lung Ching Green Tea
Bai Mu Dan White Tea
Honeybush Herbal Tea
Hibiscus C/S
Yerba Mate Select Herbal Tea

Do you carry any teas with no artificial flavor or additives?
Yes! The ingredients list for most of our teas is quite simple – one ingredient each. For example, Assam black tea is simply Assam tea from India and Young Hyson green tea is Young Hyson green tea from China. There are no chemicals, flavors, preservatives or other additives. What about our flavored teas? Many of our teas are flavored with natural and artificial ingredients, all of which are FDA approved. While all are considered safe for consumption, we understand that some people choose to avoid these ingredients and so we make it a point to always offer a wide selection of teas with no additives as well. And while we have a good time concocting mad-scientist worthy flavor combinations like Maple Bacon Chai or Blueberry Lemon Cake Rooibos, we know tea purists like to have some fun too. That’s why we have some new teas for spring creatively flavored with herbs, spices, fruit pieces, and no artificial anything. We’re very proud of the results! Here they are with their ingredients:

Barefoot in the Woods: Sencha, Green Rooibos, elderberry, lemongrass, cardamom pods, cracked star anise

Lavender Lemonade: lemon myrtle, hibiscus, lavender, marigold petals

Spring Blossom: Mao Jian Green Tea, blackberry leaves, freeze-dried cherry pieces, dried cherry whole, barberry fruit, hibiscus, rose hips, rose petals

Peppermint Rose: peppermint, rose petals, rose hips, lemon verbena, hibiscus, orange pekoe

We’ve been getting a lot of these questions lately in response to a recent “Food Babe” article about toxins found in popular brands of tea. You can read it here. In the interest of fairness, you might also want to check out this chemistry-heavy (for the average liberal arts type, anyway) response to Food Babe’s blog. These posts might further answer your questions or they might spark a few more. We’d like to hear your thoughts on the subject, so please share your comments below!

Some of the most common questions we get here from customers concern decaf: how our coffee is decaffeinated, how much caffeine is in our decaf, why would a person drink decaf, and the like. We hear from a lot of newly caffeine-free coffee lovers who want a little guidance in navigating this new world and maybe a shoulder to cry on.

There is so much more to love about coffee than caffeine alone, and we certainly do not share the “why bother” attitude about decaf of some coffee enthusiasts. As glorious as caffeine is, there are plenty of sound reasons why you might want to limit your intake. Starting with high-quality beans decaffeinated to preserve flavor, our decafs are given the same fresh roasted treatment as our regular coffees. If you’ve steered clear of decaf since the grim instant-only days, you’re in for a surprise.

Back to those questions.

How much caffeine is in our decaf?

It is impossible to remove all of the caffeine from coffee, but according to the industry standard, 97% or more of the original caffeine has been removed from all of our decaf coffee. Caffeine levels vary not only with the variety of coffee and roast level, but also with the grind level and brewing method. Generally speaking, Arabica coffees are lower in caffeine in Robusta. You’ll find some Robusta in many of our blends, including espressos. All of our single-origin coffees are 100% Arabica. Another general rule of thumb: the lighter the roast, the higher the caffeine content. Dark roast coffees have been exposed to more heat, which breaks down the caffeine molecule. Finally, preparation matters too. With a fine grind, more of the coffee comes in contact with the water during the brewing process (it’s a surface area thing), and more caffeine winds up in your cup. The longer the water is in contact with the grounds, the more caffeine you are getting. Sound complicated? That’s why we can’t answer that question in milligrams per cup, unfortunately. Once you know a little bit about the factors affecting caffeine content however, you might find that you have more options and more control over your caffeine consumption than you thought.

How is your coffee decaffeinated?

We currently offer coffees decaffeinated by three different methods: methylene chloride, carbon dioxide, and Swiss Water Process. Unless otherwise specified, our decafs are decaffeinated using the methylene chloride method. Methylene Chloride is a solvent that targets and removes caffeine more precisely than other methods, leaving more of the bean and more of the flavor behind. The FDA considers a residual amount of 10 parts Methylene Chloride per million safe for consumption, but far less remains prior to roasting, which removes the remaining traces. CO2 Decaffeination employs a similar technique, using carbon dioxide as the caffeine-extracting solvent. Water alone is the solvent in the Swiss Water Process method, which returns water-soluble flavor components to the beans (minus the caffeine) after extraction. SWP Decaf boasts the highest levels of caffeine removal and is a popular chemical-free alternative. Why do we offer all three? Methylene Chloride is considered by many to yield the most flavorful results, while CO2 and Swiss Water Decafs have many fans of their own as more natural alternatives.

Does all decaf coffee have no soul?

As a part of the pregnancy tidal wave that swept CBD in the last year, I had ample opportunity to explore our decaf options and overcome my bad attitude about decaf. Kind of. I still prefer caffeine, but it’s not about flavor. It’s about 1AM, 3AM, and 6AM feedings. For all you reluctant converts out there, it is possible to find a decaf you will look forward to drinking. To get started, try something similar in roast level and origin to what you already love. If you’re not sure what that is, our customer favorites include Decaf Colombian, Decaf Dark Sumatra, Decaf French Roast, and Decaf House Blend. Or try one of our pregnant staff favorites: Decaf Ethiopian on the lighter end, Decaf Dark Costa Rican for the dark drinkers. Still not sure? Give us a call, and we’re happy to point you in the right direction!

Who doesn’t know how to make coffee? Whether you’re interested in brewing the best tasting cup or you just need a stimulant in your system as soon as possible in the morning, most of us figure out how to make drinkable coffee at home. Most of us have also wondered at some point why the same coffee we make at home tastes better when we eat out or at a friend’s house. Or we wonder why whatever we’ve been doing for the last few years suddenly doesn’t do it for us anymore.