Are you a "tea newbie?"

Where to begin? My suggestion is to start with teas of similar types to the commercial teas you've been drinking, and then branch out.

For example, if you drink iced teas made with black tea, try hot black teas. If you prefer fruit-flavoured teas, try hot fruit-flavoured teas. Do you sweeten your iced tea? Try sweetening your hot teas.

But don't stop (or even linger :-) there. Next you'll want to sample unsweetened and unflavoured hot teas.

If you're drinking black tea made from commercial teabags, move up to better quality teas. Again, look for similar teas in loose leaf form. If you drink green tea from teabags, step up to a light green loose leaf tea that's friendly to the palate.

But, you ask, how to choose from the seemingly endless variety of loose leaf teas on the market? Many drinkers of black tea find that the flavour and aroma of Ceylon teas most closely approximates the teas they are comfortable drinking. Or sample an English or Irish breakfast blend -- these mixtures of mostly India teas produce a heartier cup that stands up to milk, lemon, or sweetener. The taste and aroma of a loose-leaf tea will invariably be superior to that of commercial teabag teas, while at the same time there is some familiarity when you choose loose leaf tea that's a variety similar to your teabag tea. 

There are two teas we'd recommend for new drinkers of loose leaf green tea. One is genmaicha, a Japanese blend of light green tea and roasted rice. The warm toasty flavour and aroma generally appeal to newly-developing tea palates. Another "newbie-friendly" green tea is Gunpowder Green, which may be sourced from Taiwan or China. The dry leaf is rolled up in a tight ball that opens into a full leaf when hot water is added. The gentle flavour and aroma won't overpower your palate. 

These recommended "beginner" teas are widely available and reasonably priced. 

When you're ready to move on from these "comfort" teas, go ahead and try more exotic black teas, oolong teas, other green teas, and white teas. Maybe even a pouchong or a pu-erh. Try one type, see if it appeals to you, then try another. Continue drinking the teas you like. Move on as quickly or as slowly as you like when sampling new teas. There's no rush, and there will always be good teas available when you're ready for them.

How do you find high-quality teas? If you are lucky enough to have a good tea room or tea shop nearby, stop in and talk to the people who work there. Ask for their recommendations. See if you can taste samples before you buy. (For a comprehensive list of tea rooms and tea shops see TeaGuide). 

You can also shop online. A list of links to some of the best tea vendors' websites can be found on our Tea Links page.

Don't be shy about calling tea companies on the telephone. Good tea sellers will always be willing to chat with you about what types of teas you might enjoy so they can steer you in the right direction.

Another tip: Whenever possible, start by ordering sampler packages. Sample sizes are a good choice because they allow you to try a number of teas before making a big monetary investment. When you find the teas you like, order them in larger sizes. And if you don't care for a particular tea, you won't feel badly about not using the remaining leaves if you haven't spent much money. Most tea sellers offer sample sizes at very low prices, so you can choose several. Some merchants even offer sampler-sized "variety packages" of their best teas at reasonable prices. 

When you talk to tea sellers, either in person or by telephone, be sure to ask them for their suggestions on how to prepare the teas you purchase. Although everyone's taste is different, they should be able to give you a few guidelines and thereby save you from too much trial and error -- which often results in simply giving up in frustration.

If a vendor says "use three teaspoonsful and steep for 2-1/2 minutes in water just under a full boil," remember it's a recommendation, a jumping-off point, not engraved in stone. Start with their suggestion, then if necessary adjust the "recipe" to suit your own taste. Add more leaf to the pot, or maybe use less; increase or decrease steeping time or water temperature according to your own taste. 

Use your teas up as quickly as possible, especially sample sizes that may not be packed in airtight containers. Nothing turns a potential tea lover off teas as quickly as a pot of stale tea. Keep in mind the four "enemies" of good tea: light, heat, moisture, and time. Store your teas in an opaque, airtight container, or in a glass jar in a closed cupboard. Keep them far away from the stove or other heat sources. And again, use them up as soon as you can -- preferably within a few months for most teas.

Don't feel that you have to like every tea, or that there's something wrong if you don't like a tea that someone else recommends. Taste is a very personal issue. Whatever tea you enjoy is the right tea for you. Drink your teas English style, Asian style, Russian style, or invent your own style!

The equipment you use to prepare your teas is just as import as the tea itself. Be sure to get yourself at least one good teapot, preferably with a built-in filtering system. (The most common complaint among newcomers to loose leaf tea is that it's such a nuisance to clean out the teapot.) There are a number of teapot styles available that come with built-in filter baskets. I personally prefer Chatsford teapots because the filter baskets are large enough for the tea leaves to move around and infuse properly, but you may prefer a Beehouse, Stump, or other type of teapot with a filter basket. (The photo above shows a Chatsford teapot; that red thing sticking out under the lid on the right is the handle for the filter basket. Teapot, lid, and filter all fit together perfectly.)

You can also purchase reusable tea basket filters that fit in the teapots you already own. The beauty of any basket filter is that after the tea is steeped, you simply lift the filter out of the teapot, dump the leaves in the garbage (or the garden), and rinse it off. Many types of tea filter baskets are dishwasher safe. (See our Tea Links for vendors who offer a variety of teapots and filters.)

Whatever you do, don't use one of those little dangly infusers on the end of a chain or shaped like a spoon. These are too small for loose leaf teas. Tea needs room to swirl around in the water in order to steep properly. Save these devices for herbal infusions or to hold a bouquet garni for cooking purposes.

Never prepare tea in any type of plastic teapot or mug unless you're absolutely desperate; plastic does not hold heat well enough to maintain the temperature required to steep tea. And depending on the type of plastic, it may leach out into your tea, causing an odd, "off" taste (or worse). Porcelain, china, and stoneware are the best materials for teapots. Iron, glass, and ceramic teapots are next on the list. If you want to serve tea from your beautiful silver tea set, steep the tea in another teapot, then decant into the silver pot.

I recommend that you invest in at least two china teapots of different sizes -- perhaps a two-cup and a four-cup to start -- and use each one when you want to prepare at least the specific quantity of tea it holds. Don't use a four-cup teapot, for example, to prepare only two cups of tea; the extra air in the teapot cools the water down too quickly so the tea doesn't steep properly. Always choose the right size teapot and fill it up. You can always make more, and you can always ice any leftovers. 

Invest in a nice, thick tea cozy, and use it! Choose a cozy that matches your teapot, your linens, or your mood. A good cozy will keep your tea hot for at least a half hour -- plenty of time to finish the potful. But never use a cozy while there are tea leaves in the pot, because they'll cook and stew, getting very bitter. Remove all tea leaves before placing the cozy on your teapot. 

Or keep your tea hot with a tea light teapot warmer. These devices, made of decorative metal, china, or glass, hold the teapot over a tea light candle. The flame is just enough to keep your tea hot without singeing the bottom of the teapot. (Our Tea Links list vendors of tea cozies, warmers, and other tea accessories.)

As you get more comfortable with different types of teas, you may find yourself wanting to try all kinds of interesting teapots and teacups: Japanese tetsubin or kyusu; Chinese Yixing; gaiwan or ceibei. Maybe a glass teapot, a samovar, or a Russian tea glass. And all different types of teas -- not only from China, India, Taiwan, and Japan, but from Nepal, Republic of Georgia, Kenya, Vietnam, or Korea. Be warned that you may find yourself spending a lot of time (and money!) shopping for new teas and "tea things."

Once you get "into" fine, loose leaf tea you will discover that there is an almost unlimited variety of teas and many, many ways to prepare and drink them. Your journey has just begun, and it will last a lifetime. Enjoy it! 

If you have more questions about tea, or would like to chat about tea with other tea lovers, we invite you to join us at Teamail™.

©Copyright 2005 by Janis Badarau. All rights reserved. Janis Badarau is Editor and Publisher of Tea Digest™, TeaGuide™, and The Cat-Tea Corner™.