Buying Loose Leaf Tea

Video Transcript

"So how do you buy loose leaf tea as opposed to bag tea? Loose leaf tea usually comes with full leaf and you can check the quality as well as ingredients. If someone is telling you they're selling a rose black tea or a masala chai you should be able to see rose petals. If you're buying the masala chai you should be able to see a variety of herbs and spices in there. If you don't see that then you can tell them this isn't the right tea. But when you're buying a bagged tea you have to trust the packaging and the company. When you're buying loose leaf tea you can determine all this on your own. So number 1 thing is to make sure when you buy loose leaf tea to buy smaller quantity and buy often. And make sure you store it properly. If this company that's selling you the loose leaf tea puts it in air tight, light tight bag or container then you're ready to go. But if you buy it and they give it to you in a clear plastic bag or a paper bag go home, put it in an an air tight, light tight container. One other thing to look for is to smell the tea leaves. Make sure it smells fresh and the aroma is there. If you're smelling a cup of tea usually there's a sample, smell that if you smell anything, if you don't and there's no aroma and the leaves are sort of stale that means it's an old tea leaf. Don't buy that. And if you really like what this looks like and you want to purchase it ask the tea merchant to make you a sample cup of tea. That's always a good way. Looking at the leaves and the ingredients and smelling it. But also tasting it. That's a good way to make sure you're getting the cup that you want to before spending all the money on buying two ounces, a pound of tea or so."