For those of us just beginning to enjoy tea or even those who are looking for something different finding the right tea can be quite a challenge. However, we here at the Phoenix Tea Blending House have a few simple questions you can ask to help you find that tea that is right for you.
What Style of tea?
Tea comes in a variety of styles from White tea to Black tea and everything in-between. We have a separate blog all about the different styles but here we are focusing on picking between them.
White Tea.
This is a light, floral tea. This tea is easily recognisable by its white coloured leaves and brew.
Counter intuitively this tea tends to be the highest in caffeine so if your looking for a burst of energy this maybe for you. But if you want something a little sweet and light this is a must pick.
Green Tea.
This tea has a strong taste and depending on the country of origin can be very different. Chinese Green teas tend to have a more subtle fruity flavour compared to its Japanese equivalent. Japanese Green tea tends to be more savoury opting for a more vegetation or seaweed flavour. This tea is also bursting with high levels of caffeine to kick start your day. So if your looking for something strong to wake you up this maybe for you.
Oolong Tea.
This tea has by far the largest variety due to its very open ended definition. This leads to a large variety of flavours and styles within itself. So if your looking for tea with high mineral content, dark fruit or perhaps both this maybe for you.
Black Tea.
This is the most common style of tea in the west. This tea is a rich dark flavour, strong, powerful, perfect to mix with milk and spice for a Chai tea. If your not feeling too adventurous and looking for an old faithful there is no better place to start.
Pu-Erh Tea.
This is a unique style of tea that is similar to a black tea but taken in the complete other direction. This tea is much more gentle than a black tea and comes in two varieties, Raw and Ripe.
Raw Pu-erh is the best place to start as this a gentle complex tea that is often aged for 10's of years. Ripe however, is a different beast. This tea is fermented opening up a whole other world of flavours, tread carefully.
How to pick a tea.
Now that you have picked a style of tea it's time to choose that one to buy. This can be broken down into 4 simple questions.
1. Where?
2. What?
3. Taste?
4. Cost?
Where the tea comes from will give you a better idea of what style the tea maybe. Is it a strong Assam or a sweet Darjeeling? With only a small bit of experience you will soon pick up which areas produce the teas for you.
What is in the tea? Is it a blend with lemon and ginger, is it just pure tea? Here at the Phoenix Tea Blending House we leave that decision up to you. You can decide what you want in your tea which is important to us.
Taste is incredibly subjective. Some people love fish others can not stand it, it's the same in tea. My favourite maybe your least favourite and if you know if you don't like or love a curtain flavour checking the tasting notes before hand is a must.
Cost is a big factor. There is no point looking at a super expensive tea if your never going to buy it. It's important to keep your budget in mind because I can guarantee that you can find a bargain at any price point.
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