When introducing someone to the world of loose-leaf tea, I often describe oolong as being sort of in-between green tea and black tea. If a slightly longer explanation is appropriate, I describe the process of making black tea as oxidation (AKA enzymatic browning), where chemicals in the leaves turn brown after the leaves are crushed, and that green tea has been heated to prevent this chemical reaction from happening.  Oolong has been allowed to experience a little bit of oxidation before heating, so it’s in-between. But in reality, this is a gross oversimplification. The differences between oolong and black tea processing are much greater than simply the amount of time oxidation happens, and there’s a lot of different things going on physiologically and chemically with the tea leaves.

Wedding bells are ringing and tea kettles are singing! With less than a month to go until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot, the one question on my mind is what tea shall I steep to celebrate this occasion? If you’re asking yourself the same thing, luckily, there are some Royal Wedding tea blends created for it. For this special day, I think of a blend that is light, floral and maybe even a touch of sweetness. After researching teas available for the royal wedding, it’s safe to say some tea companies were clearly thinking the same thing.

Most of us are prepared to pay a little extra for a nice bottle of wine or a good coffee, and 97% of​ ​our drinkers told us they’d pay extra for better tea, so why do so many places serving tea have a problem with charging more?

A lot of shops and restaurants reckon that tea is just tea, it isn’t something to write home about. It’s a bit like when people thought instant coffee was the be-all and end-all​ ​of coffee, it was quick and easy and because they didn’t know different, they thought it tasted alright too…

An awesome cup of tea doesn’t have to cost the world, but it is going to be a little more expensive than what we’re used to paying. We thought it might be a good idea to explain what exactly goes into making that cup of tea, and why it costs slightly more.