US Tea Tariffs 2025–2026: Rates by Country and What Changed
Plain tea has paid no reciprocal US tariff since Nov 13, 2025. Chinese tea pays 7.5% under Section 301, down from 152.5% in April 2025. Rates and data.
Tea Blog: Brewing, Origins and Teaware
50 articles on brewing each tea type, where tea comes from and the teaware worth buying
Latest Articles
Data
US Tea Tariffs 2025–2026: Rates by Country and What Changed
Brewing
Cold Brew Tea Ratios: Grams per Liter and Fridge Times by Type
Origins
Darjeeling Flushes Explained: First, Second, Monsoon and Autumn
Education
Oolong Oxidation Explained: From Baozhong to Wuyi Rock Tea
Brewing
Why Green Tea Tastes Bitter: Temperature, Time and Water Fixes
Data
Caffeine in Tea vs Coffee: Measured mg per Cup by Tea Type
Cold Brew Tea Ratios: Grams per Liter and Fridge Times by Type
Cold brew tea uses 8-12 g of leaf per liter: 4-6 h in the fridge for sencha, 6-8 h for white and oolong, 8-12 h for black. Drink it within 3 days.
Darjeeling Flushes Explained: First, Second, Monsoon and Autumn
Darjeeling has four flushes: first (Mar-Apr) floral, second (May-Jun) muscatel, monsoon (Jul-Sep) plain, autumn (Oct-Nov) coppery. Output: 5.6M kg in 2025.
Oolong Oxidation Explained: From Baozhong to Wuyi Rock Tea
Oolong runs from about 8% to 85% oxidation: Baozhong 8-15%, Ali Shan 15-25%, Dong Ding 25-30%, Oriental Beauty 50-70%. Roasting is a separate later step.
Why Green Tea Tastes Bitter: Temperature, Time and Water Fixes
Green tea turns bitter when catechins and caffeine over-extract. Brew sencha at 70-80 °C for about 30 seconds and gyokuro at 50 °C, and use soft water.
Caffeine in Tea vs Coffee: Measured mg per Cup by Tea Type
Brewed black tea has about 47 mg of caffeine per 8 oz and green tea about 28 mg, vs 95 mg for coffee. Steep time moves tea caffeine more than tea type does.
Gongfu Tea Brewing: Gaiwan Ratios, Temperatures and Steep Times
Gongfu brewing uses 3 to 6.7 g of leaf per 100 ml, water at 80 to 100°C and 5 to 25 second first steeps. Timings for 7 tea types from 5 vendor guides.
Best Water for Tea: Hardness, TDS and Bottled Waters Compared
Brew tea with soft water at 30–80 mg/L hardness. Volvic (~70) and Crystal Geyser (38) fit; Evian (~307) is very hard; pure water gives more bitter green tea.
Taiwan High-Mountain Oolong Prices: Ali Shan, Li Shan, Da Yu Ling
Gaoshan oolong grows above 1,000 m. Our catalog medians: Ali Shan $0.39/g, Li Shan $0.60/g, Da Yu Ling $0.78/g; a 7 g Li Shan session costs $4.20.
Masala Chai From Scratch: Ratios, Spices and Simmer Times
Six recipes compared: 2 parts water to 1 part milk, 1.5 tsp black tea and 2 cardamom pods per cup. Homemade costs $0.33 to $0.64 a cup with Assam.
L-Theanine and Caffeine: Trial Doses, Results and Cups of Tea
Trials gave 50-250 mg theanine with 40-160 mg caffeine and found short attention gains. A cup of bagged black tea holds about 24 mg, so 100 mg is about 4 cups.
How to Read a Tea Label: Grade Codes, Harvest Year and Origin
Grade codes like FTGFOP describe leaf size, not flavor. Check harvest year, origin and seals: 55% of 7,306 catalog teas print a year, 26 print a grade.
Japanese Green Tea Types: Sencha, Gyokuro, Kabusecha, Hojicha
Sencha grows in sun, kabusecha is shaded about 7 days, gyokuro about 20, and hojicha is roasted. Brew temps from 50 to 100 °C and catalog prices per gram.
How to Store Tea: Shelf Life by Type, Fridge Rules, Puer Humidity
Store tea airtight, dark, dry and below 25 °C. Green tea lasts 6–12 months, black 12–24; freeze only sealed bags; keep puer at 60–70% humidity.
How Many Grams of Tea per Cup: One Ratio Table for Every Method
Use about 1 g of tea per 100 ml for a Western mug (2.5 g per 8 oz), 2 g for ISO tasting, 3-7 g for gongfu, 3.3 g for usucha matcha and 1 g for cold brew.
Lapsang Souchong: How Pine Smoking Works, PAHs, and What It Costs
Lapsang souchong is Wuyi black tea smoked over pine. Our catalog: 46 listings, median $0.34/g vs $0.26/g for all black tea. Brewed tea tested low in PAHs.
Tea and Iron Absorption: What the Studies Measured
Black tea cut non-heme iron absorption from a meal by 79-94% in isotope studies. Tea 1 hour after eating halved the effect. No link to stores in healthy adults.
Thai Iced Tea and Hong Kong Milk Tea: Recipes, Ratios and Sugar
Thai iced tea uses about 6 g of dyed tea mix per 100 ml plus condensed milk. Hong Kong milk tea uses 2 g per 100 ml, simmered, pulled, with evaporated milk.
Jasmine Tea Scenting: How It Works, Pearls vs Loose, Prices
Jasmine tea is dry tea piled with fresh jasmine buds overnight, then sifted and dried; vendors repeat it 5-10 times. Hengxian grows over 80% of China's jasmine.
Hojicha and Genmaicha: Roasting, Rice, Caffeine and Price
Hojicha is green tea roasted at 160-180 °C: it keeps most caffeine (26 vs 28 mg) but loses 60% of catechins. Genmaicha is about half roasted rice.
Assam vs Ceylon vs Kenyan Black Tea: Origins, Output and Prices
Assam is lowland, malty and mostly CTC; Ceylon is orthodox and graded by elevation; Kenya is highland CTC and exported 653 million kg in 2025.
Decaf Tea: CO2 vs Ethyl Acetate and the 30-Second Rinse Myth
Decaf tea keeps about 2 mg caffeine per cup. CO2 removed 98% of caffeine and 87% of green tea catechins in one study. A 30-second home rinse does not decaf.
China's Ten Famous Teas: Which Lists, Which Teas, What They Cost
China has no official ten famous teas list. Four published lists name 15 teas; 5 appear on all four. Catalog medians run $0.21–$1.22 per gram.
Tea Bag Materials and Microplastics: What the Studies Measured
Paper, nylon, PET and PLA tea bags compared. Studies report 106 to 15 billion plastic particles per bag; regulators find no proven health risk.
US Tea Consumption and Import Statistics, 2015 to 2025
US tea imports hit $620.4M in 2025 (111,950 t), up 32% in value since 2015 on Japanese green tea. Americans drink about 86 billion servings a year.
Dancong Oolong Aroma Types: The 10 Fragrances and What They Cost
Dancong oolong is sold under 10 signature aroma names plus cultivar names. Our catalog lists 196 at a median $0.62 per gram, 1.4x the oolong median.
Yerba Mate vs Green Tea: Caffeine, Preparation and Safety
A 350 mL chimarrão gourd has about 91 mg of caffeine, a 200 mL cup of green tea about 40 mg. Per 100 mL they are close; mate uses about 50 g of leaf.
Rooibos vs Honeybush: Where They Grow, Red vs Green, How to Brew
Rooibos grows only in South Africa's Cederberg and is EU-protected; honeybush (Cyclopia) is mostly wild-picked. Both are caffeine-free herbal teas.
How to Taste Tea: A Cupping Protocol, Score Sheet and Flavor Wheel
Brew each tea at the same weight, water and time, then judge leaf, aroma, liquor, taste and wet leaf on a 0-15 scale. A 3-tea flight costs $3.00.
Tea Caffeine by Steep Time: What Extraction Studies Measured
Broken tea leaf gives up about 95% of its caffeine in 3 minutes at 80 °C; whole leaf needs about 20 minutes. Second infusions keep a median 83% of the first.
Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Anji Bai Cha, Lu'an Guapian Compared
Pan-fired Biluochun, baked Huangshan Maofeng and Anji Bai Cha, charcoal-roasted Lu'an Guapian: how each is made, its chemistry and catalog price.
Korean Tea Guide: Hadong, Boseong, Jeju, Grades and Balhyocha
Korean law grades green tea by picking date from Gogu (about April 20): ujeon, gogu, sejak, jungjak, daejak. Hadong, Boseong and Jeju compared, plus balhyocha.
Tea Tasting Flights: Four Themed Flights From Real Catalog Prices
Four tasting flights from in-stock teas: oxidation, country, roast and puer age. At 3 g per cup one session costs $1.01 to $3.30 in leaf as of October 1, 2026.
GABA Tea Explained: Oxygen-Free Processing and What Studies Show
GABA tea is fresh leaf held without oxygen so glutamate turns into GABA, about 150 mg/100 g. Human studies are small. 12 GABA oolongs in our catalog.
Best Tea for Iced Tea: Flash-Chill Math, Ice Ratios and Clarity
Brew black tea at 21 g per liter and pour it over its own weight in ice. Assam, Ceylon and Nilgiri suit iced tea; a 2 L pitcher costs $4.05-$7.77 in leaf.
Shincha and the Japanese Tea Harvest Calendar: Flushes and Prices
Shincha is the first tea of the spring crop. In 2025 first-flush sencha sold for ¥2,278/kg crude, second flush ¥1,321. Dates, flush shares and US prices.
How Tea Auctions Set Prices: Mombasa, Kolkata and Colombo
Brokers taste and value each lot, then buyers bid. Mombasa averaged $2.15/kg in 2025; Colombo sold 239 million kg in 2025 at a weighted Rs 1,184/kg.
Why Black Tea Is Red: Theaflavins, Thearubigins and Tea Color
Black tea color comes from theaflavins (about 0.3-2.3%, orange-red) and thearubigins (9-19%, red-brown). A TF:TR ratio near 1:10 is the classic quality target.
Matcha Latte at Home: Ratios, Milk Foam and Cost per Cup
Use 3 g matcha whisked into 100 ml of 80 °C water, then 100 ml milk. Oat milk foams longest; latte-grade matcha costs $0.39/g, about $1.28 a cup.
Tea and Sleep: Caffeine Half-Life and What to Drink After 3 pm
Caffeine's half-life is 3–7 h in adults. A 47 mg mug of black tea at 3 pm leaves about 16 mg at 11 pm at 5 h. Decaf and herbal options, with the sleep studies.