How to Choose the Best Loose Leaf Tea Online

Are you ready to take a leap into the loose leaf tea world, but aren’t sure where to start? Choosing what flavors you like is the perfect place to begin. Once you’ve picked your fave flavors, you’ll know what to look for to get the best loose leaf tea online.

Black Tea Basics

Some of the best loose leaf tea online is black tea. Black tea comes in so many flavor profiles there is sure to be one to fit your palate.
If you’re looking for something to stand up to your morning cup o’ joe, breakfast blends will be right up your alley.
A breakfast blend is meant to be strong and malty, and they hold up well to additions such as milk and sugar. For example, the Fog Cutter black tea is a blend of all the exotic favorites: Darjeeling, African, Ceylon, and Assam, along with a hint of Meyer lemon peel to provide brightness.
Another popular black tea is Earl Grey tea. Earl Grey’s are known for their infused flavor of bergamot, an Italian citrus fruit. Bergamot is known for its stress-relieving properties, so a delicious hot cuppa Earl Grey is just the perfect tea to start your morning.
In fact, for a true stay-cation in your mug, you must try the Plum Deluxe Lavender Earl Grey. Fresh lavender adds softness and balance to the astringency of the bergamot, accented by vanilla notes. The lavender and bergamot work together to provide a tonic perfect for unwinding.
Fruity, floral, dessert, and chai (oh my!), black teas offer a wide variety of flavors for some of the best loose leaf tea online. Check out this article to learn even more about the best black tea flavors.

Green Tea to Envy

Loose-leaf green tea is some of my favorite tea. Green tea is more delicate than black tea and requires a bit more attention when brewing. That’s because green tea really only likes to be soaked for a couple of minutes and then it’s done. Longer than that can cause too many tannins to be released and a bitter taste will follow.
Really good green tea is best in the loose-leaf version. You may not find as much variety in flavor profiles as in black teas but you will appreciate their earthiness and rootedness. When you’re feeling frazzled by life, a soothing loose leaf green tea can help restore balance.
For green tea, some of the best loose leaf tea online is found right here at Plum Deluxe! My absolute favorite is the Hope Blend Jasmine green tea, a tea that is soft, sweet, and encouraging.
The Hope Jasmine tea is made from a base of Chinese green tea, lightly dried with fresh jasmine flowers. Extra jasmine buds are added to the blend and then a pop of blue cornflower for color.
Keep your steep for green tea low and quick for the best flavor, and try multiple (short) steeps for more tea out of the same leaves. A cold brew method delivers a refreshing ice tea from this blend as well.

Loose Leaf or Tea Bag?

As we consider the best loose leaf tea online, we can compare loose leaf and bagged tea. If you’re traveling with your tea, a tea bag is very convenient and there are a lot of great options for when you need a grab-and-go.
Bagged tea is often made up of tea dust or fannings. These are the leftover bits from machine-processed tea leaves. Because the tea leaf bits are so small, it’s less likely to deliver a full flavor profile when infused.
Loose leaf tea is made of whole, dried tea leaves. As hot water infuses with the dried leaves, they unfurl and release their flavor. Other delightful ingredients that may be blended in with the tea leaves, such as spices or fruit pieces, also impart their scintillating scents to the infusion.
Whole tea leaves like to have some space to stretch out while infusing. Loose leaf tea really benefits from its hot water bath when allowed to swim freely instead of cooped up in a bag.
If you can carve out some time to savor a relaxing tea moment, even just a few minutes each day, then you will really appreciate the superior quality of loose leaf tea.
This article has some thoughtful comparisons between bagged and loose leaf teas.
Now you have some ideas about where to begin your journey to discover the best loose leaf tea online! Whatever flavor profile you choose, look for high-quality, responsibly sourced ingredients, made by companies with passion and heart for the history and community of tea, and you will be successful in discovering the best loose leaf teas online.