The Best Teas You Can Buy Online

WDC NEWS 6 STAFF May 29, 2024

7 12 minutes read

Before my mom was my mom, she biked around Saigon making deliveries for her parents’ tea roasting business. They specialized in jasmine tea and after my parents and I immigrated to the United States, they sent us carefully packaged bags of jasmine tea that would fill our tiny apartment with the most delicate floral aroma. While my grandparents’ tea business has since closed, tea is still a huge part of my life. Every day starts with Bellocq Breakfast with milk and honey and ends with Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime—bless that little bear!

When I started building out my tea collection at home, I discovered the tea world can be just as nuanced as the coffee world with its variety of water temperatures and brew times—not to mention the seemingly infinite array of blends and flavors. While this list is by no means exhaustive, we spoke to staff and experts to get 18 picks that would make worthy additions to your tea cabinet. We have flavorful bagged blends for the emerging tea enthusiast and strong, complex offerings for the aficionados in the crowd— in other words, a little bit of something for everyone.

Some of Our Favorite Teas, at a Glance

Black Teas

Herbal Teas

Green Teas

Other Teas

What We Learned

What Is Tea?

While most of us may hear “tea” and think “anything you can soak in hot water,” tea is traditionally understood to come from the plant Camellia sinensis. The many varieties of this plant provide us with our beloved white, green, oolong, and black teas. When the leaves are picked, they undergo an oxidation process, deepening their aroma, flavor, and strength. The degree of oxidation depends on the type of tea and its intended flavor profile. For example, white teas aren’t allowed to oxidize too much since the flavor is meant to be more delicate and floral. Conversely, black teas are often fully oxidized, which results in a rich, bold flavor.

What about herbal teas, you ask? Those are technically tisanes—that is, herbs, spices, or other plants, such as mint, chamomile, rooibos, honeybush, or hibiscus (to name a few!) that can be brewed to impart their flavors and fragrances.

When picking out high-quality teas, Rishi Tea president Jeffrey Champeau says, “Tea is very much like wine. It has a character and a sense of place. I would seek out brands that can articulate that direct trade, that sense of place, and what that does for the flavor profile of the tea.”

What is Pu’Er Tea?

In Chinese tea tradition, Pu’er is “true” black tea, and what Western tea drinkers know as black tea (English Breakfast, Assam, or Keemun) is actually red tea. For our guide, we’ll use black tea and Pu’er, respectively. Pu’er is a tea that undergoes fermentation, further intensifying its earth flavor. These teas often come pressed into a brick or cake, and change in flavor over time as you chip away bits of tea for each brew. Since the process is more time and labor intensive than creating a sachet, good quality pu’er is often quite pricey.

What You Need to Brew a Good Cup of Tea

The joy of tea is that it can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere, with nearly any flavor preference. All you really need are these four critical components: hot water, a vessel, a strainer, and the tea of your choice. Whether sitting at a ceremonial tea table or balancing a thermos mountainside, tea is best enjoyed in whatever vessel works best for you.

But the number one tip that all tea experts we spoke to agree on? Getting water temperature right. Amber Jackson, owner of The Black Leaf Tea & Culture Shop in Providence, RI, puts it best: “Temperature! If the blend is mostly tea leaves, you want to be sure that you’re steeping at the right temperature. Scorching the tea leaves can cause the tea to be bitter.” For tea drinkers looking to get more technical about the tea brewing process, there’s an entire world of tools and gadgets (both new and traditional) that you can explore to bring out the best flavors from your teas. Here are a few we recommend:

Breville

Different teas require different brewing temperatures (more on that later). The Breville Smart Kettle Luxe topped our electric kettle review because of its accurate preset temperatures and for its speedy heating times.

Amazon

I’m a big fan of basket tea infusers, which steep tea leaves while keeping them contained. When we tested tea infusers, the Fenshine Stainless Steel Tea Infuser was our top basket infuser pick. Its fine mesh contained even the smallest tea bits, and the folding handles make it a drawer-friendly model.

Seattle Coffee Gear

While this mug is a top contender in our coffee mug review, there’s no reason not to recommend it for tea drinking. Sometimes, you want a giant mug full of your favorite tea, and this stylish update to the classic diner mug hits the mark. It has a flat handle for your thumb, a sturdy base that keeps your brew warm, and a thinner lip for smooth sipping.

Tokoname Japanese Teapot, 11.8 Fluid Ounces Fusen L161

Amazon

Amazon

In Chinese tea traditions, slowing down to enjoy the complexities of a tea happens through gong fu, a layered process designed to bring out the full range of flavors in a tea. This method utilizes a gaiwan: a vessel consisting of a cup, a lid, and a saucer. You brew the tea directly in the cup, then use the lid to hold back the leaves as you serve the tea. In our tea gear essentials guide, we recommend the Moyishi Chinese Gaiwan, which is simple, easy to use, and affordable. “It’s like a stick-shift car vs. an automatic car,” says Shunan Teng, owner of Tea Drunk, where tea-experts-to-be can learn every nuance about ceremonial tea experiences. “How fast we can separate water and tea is crucial to managing the finesse of time in brewing tea. For a skilled brewer, there’s no better way to control the separation of water and tea than with a gaiwan.”

Amazon

While I tend to eyeball a spoonful of tea leaves for my morning brews, for best results weigh your tea leaves. While you might think to reach for your standard kitchen scale, it likely won’t be able to register the featherlight weights of a few scoops of tea leaves. In this instance (and when measuring coffee, too), we recommend this precision OXO model; it’s fast, accurate, and easy to use.

Do Different Teas Need to Be Brewed Differently?

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Just like wines and coffee, there are a myriad of different methods to brew a great cup of tea. The beauty of tea is that it’s very forgiving, but there are nuances in flavor and fragrance that are easily missed if a tea is over-steeped or over-brewed. Some teas, such as delicate white or green varietals, steeping for too long or in water that’s too hot often leads to a brew that’s overpowered by the bitter tannins in the leaves. However, other teas, such as herbals, need piping hot boiling water to really unlock their flavors.

While most loose leaf tea brands include directions in their instructions, we’ve put together a handy little table as a general guide.

Serengeti Kenyan Safari Breakfast Black Tea — Serengeti

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Tea Brewing Temperatures
Tea Type	Water Temperature	Steep Time
White Teas	175° F	3 minutes
Green Teas	175° F	1–3 minutes
Oolong Teas	180°–212° F	1–5 minutes
Black Teas	212° F	5 minutes
Herbals	212° F	5 minutes

Some of Our Favorite Teas, at a Glance

Black Teas

Herbal Teas

Green Teas

Other Teas

What We Learned

What Is Tea?

What is Pu’Er Tea?

What You Need to Brew a Good Cup of Tea

Do Different Teas Need to Be Brewed Differently?

Our Favorite Teas

Boisterous Black Teas

Key Specs

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Delectable Herbal Teas

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Green Teas

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Other Teas

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FAQs

What temperature is best for brewing tea?

Is loose-leaf tea better than bagged tea?

What is the best tea I can buy?

Are bagged teas bad?

What are the benefits of tea?

Why We’re the Experts

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