Learn About Tea Tea is one of the world's oldest and most widely enjoyed drinks, yet there is an extraordinary amount to discover beyond the everyday cup. From the rolling tea gardens of Assam and Darjeeling to the highlands of Kenya, the mountains of Nepal and the tea fields of Japan, where tea is grown, when it is harvested and how the leaves are produced can all influence the character of the finished cup. Our Learn About Tea guides are here to make the world of tea easier to understand. Whether you're discovering loose leaf tea for the first time, looking for the best way to brew your favourite leaves or simply curious about where your tea comes from, you'll find practical guides and in-depth articles covering tea origins, varieties, grades, harvesting and brewing. Discover Loose Leaf Tea Loose leaf tea allows the leaves more room to open and infuse, revealing the individual characteristics of the tea. From bold, malty black teas to delicate green teas and naturally caffeine-free herbal infusions, there is an enormous variety of flavours to explore. Our loose leaf tea guides explore the different types of tea, how they are produced and what makes one tea taste different from another. You'll also discover how factors such as altitude, climate, soil, tea variety, harvesting season and processing can influence the flavour in your cup. If you're new to loose leaf tea, we'll help you understand the basics without making tea unnecessarily complicated. Choosing good tea and brewing it well doesn't need to be difficult. Learn How to Brew Loose Leaf Tea Even exceptional tea can be disappointing when it isn't brewed correctly. Water temperature, the amount of leaf and brewing time can all have a noticeable effect on flavour. Our how to brew loose leaf tea guides explain the simple techniques you can use to get more from your tea. Discover how much loose leaf tea to use per cup, the best water temperature for different types of tea and how long black, green, white and herbal teas should be infused. Different leaves require different treatment. A robust Assam black tea can generally withstand hotter water and a longer infusion, while a delicate green tea often benefits from cooler water and a shorter brewing time. Understanding these small differences can transform the way your tea tastes. Explore the Different Types of Tea Black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong and pu-erh all begin with leaves from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. The enormous differences between them are created through the tea variety, growing conditions, harvesting and, importantly, how the leaves are processed after picking. Our guides explore the different types of tea and explain what makes each one distinctive. Discover rich and full-bodied black tea, fresh and delicate green tea, carefully produced single origin teas, traditional pu-erh and finely milled Japanese matcha. Alongside true teas, we also explore the world of herbal tea and herbal infusions, including peppermint, chamomile, hibiscus, rooibos, ginger, fennel and many other plants that have been infused and enjoyed for generations. Understanding these differences makes it easier to find the teas and flavours you genuinely enjoy. Discover Where Tea Comes From Like wine, the character of tea can be closely connected to where it is grown. Climate, rainfall, elevation, soil and harvesting season can all influence how a tea develops. Even gardens within the same region can produce noticeably different teas. Our tea origin guides explore some of the world's most fascinating tea-growing regions, including Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Ceylon, Kenya, Nepal, China and Japan. We also explore less familiar origins and the individual tea estates behind exceptional teas. Learning about origin helps explain why an Assam can taste deep and malty while a high-grown tea from another region may be lighter, brighter or naturally sweeter. For anyone interested in single origin tea, understanding where the leaves were grown is an important part of understanding what's in the cup. Understand Tea Grades OP, FOP, TGFOP, FTGFOP and SFTGFOP1 can make choosing tea seem considerably more complicated than it needs to be. Our tea grade guides explain the terminology commonly used within the tea industry and what different tea grades can – and cannot – tell you about the leaves you're buying. You'll learn about Orange Pekoe, whole-leaf grades, golden tips, broken-leaf teas and the terminology traditionally associated with teas from regions such as India and Sri Lanka. Tea grading isn't a universal measure of flavour or quality, but understanding the terminology can give you a much clearer idea of the style and appearance of a particular tea. From Tea Garden to Cup Behind every cup of tea is a surprisingly long journey. Leaves must first be grown and harvested before undergoing processes that can include withering, rolling, oxidation, firing and drying. Small differences at each stage can have a considerable effect on the finished tea. Season is important too. Terms such as first flush and second flush refer to particular harvesting periods, with each harvest capable of producing its own distinctive character. Our guides take you beyond the finished packet to explore how tea is grown, picked, processed and prepared, helping you understand why genuinely good loose leaf tea can vary so much from one origin, estate and harvest to another. A Better Understanding of Your Cup You don't need to become a tea expert to appreciate better tea. Sometimes simply knowing where your tea was grown, how it was produced and how best to brew it is enough to make every cup a little more interesting. At R-tea, we're passionate about real tea and real ingredients. We seek out quality loose leaf teas with a focus on provenance, choosing single garden teas where possible and at least single origin wherever practical. Our blends are created using real ingredients rather than relying on added flavourings or oils. This Learn About Tea collection brings that philosophy together in one place. Explore our guides, discover new tea origins, learn how to brew loose leaf tea properly and uncover the remarkable journey from the tea garden to your cup.