Enjoying tea is easy and that's all it takes to begin to learn. Simply learn by experiencing. Though tea is a tangible substance to be enjoyed by seeing, touching and tasting, there is so much to learn and experience through literature, instruction, and research. Tea Embassy offers instructional videos, fun and informative blog posts and helpful recommendations from each Tea Ambassador.

The starter kit includes: 

1. Strainer - our favorite tea infuser that works for all types of teas and comes with a lid that doubles as a drip tray.

2. Teaspoon - using the right measurement makes a difference, so we will set you up with our favorite stainless steel teaspoon that says "One Perfect Cup of Tea"

3. Teas - we will select three of our best selling teas for you to sample; one black tea, one green tea and one caffeine free herbal tea

The temperature and quality of the water is very important. We encourage infusers so you can control the steeping time. Your personal tastes and the type of tea determine the temperature and time:

Black Tea—boiling water (212°F) 3-5 minutes
Green Tea—below boiling (165-190°F) 2 minutes
Oolong Tea—boiling or below (190-212°F) 3-7 minutes
White Tea—below boiling (190-208°F) 5-7 minutes (try boiling & below boiling)
Puerh Tea—boiling water (212°F) 3-5 minutes
Rooibos—Boiling water (212°F) 4-10 minutes
Herbal Tisanes (Teas—Boiling water (212°F) 5 minutes

Preheat your teapot and cup by filling them with hot water, then discard water. Place one teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup into infuser. With the best water available, heat to appropriate temperature and pour over tea leaves. Steep for 2-5 minutes and remove infuser from teapot. Enjoy multiple infusions by re-steeping the same tea leaves.

Keys to Making the Perfect Pot of Tea

Good water
Use the best water available as it will dramatically affect the taste of your tea. Recommended types of filters: reverse osmosis filtration, purified water, carbon filter (Britta or Pur). If you are traveling, use bottled water, as it's probably the best water available.

Temperature
Black tea needs boiling water, 212°F
Green tea needs below boiling water, about 180°F
Oolong tea ranges from 185°F to 208°F
White tea needs below boiling water, about 185°F
Herbal teas need boiling water, 212°F

Time
Steeping time determines how much of the elements of the tea infuse into the cup. Generally black tea is best steeped for 3-5 minutes, whereas green tea should only steep for 2 minutes.

Weight/Measurement
Use the appropriate measurements, about one teaspoon per 6 oz. of water
Larger leaf teas require more leaf in the water, about one Tablespoon per cup of water; ex. White teas, fluffy leaf Georgian teas, & most herbal teas

Infuser/Strainer
Loose leaf tea is best steeped with plenty of room to open up and move around, infusers are the best for allowing space for the leaves and making it easy to remove them from the water when the time is up.

Best Tea Online
You're probably a bit overwhelmed at this point with all the information. That's ok. Rest assured that you'll get the best tea online from us. There are many online tea stores to choose from to buy loose leaf teas, but few that offer the kind of quality and service that we provide. We give you the same experience that we do to customers in our store as we do in our tea stores online. Thanks for reading and enjoy the shopping and don't forget: Tea takes time. Relax and enjoy.