October 2026 edition

The Loose Leaf Index

$0.30median per gram

4,652 in-stock loose-leaf teas from 39 online vendors. Middle half: $0.19/g to $0.51/g.

Prices listed on . A dated snapshot, not live prices.

A gram of specialty loose-leaf tea had a median listed price of $0.30/g on October 1, 2026. Matcha is the costliest type at $1.13/g; rooibos is the cheapest at $0.15/g. Each tea counts once, at the pack closest to 100 g. In-stock teas sold in packs of 20 g or more with a known weight; GBP and CAD prices converted to USD at the dated ECB rate. Groups with fewer than 15 teas (10 for brands) are not published. Exchange rates dated September 30, 2026.

Numbers worth quoting

$0.30/g
Median listed price per gram across 4,652 in-stock loose-leaf teas from 39 online vendors in the Loose Leaf Index on October 1, 2026. Half the teas sit between $0.19/g and $0.51/g.
$1.13/g
Matcha has the highest median of any tea type (145 teas), 3.8 times the all-tea median. Rooibos is lowest at $0.15/g (28 teas).
$0.54/g
Median for teas from Japan (319 teas), against $0.33/g for China, the largest origin in the index (3,195 teas).
49.3%
Share of the indexed teas priced $0.15–$0.40 per gram (2,294 teas, tier median $0.25/g).
15.9x
Gap between the highest brand median, Tea Drunk at $2.10/g (44 teas), and the lowest, Harney & Sons at $0.13/g (316 teas).

Price per gram by tea type

The band covers the middle half of each type; the tick is the median. Matcha costs 3.8 times the all-tea median per gram, the widest gap of any type. Only 6 of 14 types sit above the all-tea median.

Price per gram by tea type

Median and interquartile range of price per gram for 14 tea types. Matcha $1.13/g, Yellow $0.47/g, Oolong $0.44/g, Sheng (raw) puer $0.40/g, White $0.32/g, Green $0.30/g, Black $0.26/g, Shou (ripe) puer $0.21/g, Herbal $0.18/g, Chai $0.18/g, Flavored $0.17/g, Dark (hei cha) $0.17/g, Blend $0.15/g, Rooibos $0.15/g.00.511.52Listed price (US dollars per gram)MatchaMatcha1.13n=145YellowYellow0.47n=19OolongOolong0.44n=490Sheng (raw) puerSheng (raw) puer0.4n=1,409WhiteWhite0.32n=276GreenGreen0.3n=380BlackBlack0.26n=552Shou (ripe) puerShou (ripe) puer0.22n=601HerbalHerbal0.19n=228ChaiChai0.18n=63FlavoredFlavored0.17n=269Dark (hei cha)Dark (hei cha)0.17n=134BlendBlend0.15n=58RooibosRooibos0.15n=28all teas
  • Middle half of teas (25th to 75th percentile)
  • Median
  • All-tea median ($0.30/g)
n = teas in the group. Source: My Tea Explorer Loose Leaf Index, October 2026.
Gongfu tea set on a dark wooden tray: two clay teapots and six small cups of amber tea
Six cups from one gongfu session. Splitting the leaf cost across infusions is why gongfu often works out cheaper per cup.

Cost per cup calculator

Leaf weight times price per gram, split across the cups that leaf makes. Re-steeping the same leaf is the biggest lever: six gongfu infusions from 6 g cost less per cup than one mug from 3 g.

Cost per cup$1.32at $0.440/g, Oolong typical (median)
Cost per session$1.323 g of leaf
Sessions from 100 g33.333 cups
Index prices per gram by tea type, listed on October 1, 2026 (pack closest to 100 g, at least 20 g). These are snapshot medians, not live prices.
Tea type25th pctMedian75th pctTeas
Black$0.175$0.260$0.421552
Blend$0.115$0.153$0.19958
Chai$0.140$0.176$0.25063
Dark (hei cha)$0.128$0.165$0.269134
Flavored$0.118$0.167$0.235269
Green$0.200$0.301$0.560380
Herbal$0.122$0.185$0.259228
Matcha$0.600$1.125$1.600145
Oolong$0.293$0.440$0.738490
Rooibos$0.106$0.146$0.23828
Sheng (raw) puer$0.275$0.400$0.6401,409
Shou (ripe) puer$0.151$0.215$0.300601
White$0.193$0.316$0.442276
Yellow$0.240$0.470$1.08119
Shelves of plain kraft tea bags and steel tins, each with a small dish of dry leaf

Where most teas are priced

2,743 of 4,652 teas cost $0.15 to $0.50 per gram. 148 teas cost $2 per gram or more.

How many teas sit at each price per gram

Count of teas by price per gram bucket. Under $0.05/g: 5, $0.05–$0.10/g: 179, $0.10–$0.15/g: 516, $0.15–$0.20/g: 595, $0.20–$0.30/g: 993, $0.30–$0.50/g: 1155, $0.50–$1.00/g: 722, $1.00–$2.00/g: 339, $2.00–$5.00/g: 113, $5.00/g and up: 35.05001,0001,500Number of teasUnder $0.05/gUnder $0.05/g5 (0.1%)$0.05–$0.10/g$0.05–$0.10/g179 (3.8%)$0.10–$0.15/g$0.10–$0.15/g516 (11.1%)$0.15–$0.20/g$0.15–$0.20/g595 (12.8%)$0.20–$0.30/g$0.20–$0.30/g993 (21.3%)$0.30–$0.50/g$0.30–$0.50/g1,155 (24.8%)$0.50–$1.00/g$0.50–$1.00/g722 (15.5%)$1.00–$2.00/g$1.00–$2.00/g339 (7.3%)$2.00–$5.00/g$2.00–$5.00/g113 (2.4%)$5.00/g and up$5.00/g and up35 (0.8%)
  • Teas in the bucket (share of all indexed teas)
4,652 teas in total. Source: My Tea Explorer Loose Leaf Index, October 2026.

Price tiers

Everyday

Under $0.15/g

700 teas (15.0%), median $0.12/g

A 3 g cup: $0.35

Mid-range

$0.15–$0.40/g

2,294 teas (49.3%), median $0.25/g

A 3 g cup: $0.74

Premium

$0.40–$1.00/g

1,171 teas (25.2%), median $0.55/g

A 3 g cup: $1.65

Rare

$1.00/g and up

487 teas (10.5%), median $1.60/g

A 3 g cup: $4.79

Ten white dishes of different dry teas arranged on dark slate

Price per gram by origin and region

Origin is the country the tea was grown in, read from the product name, tags and description. Teas with no stated origin are left out of this breakdown, so the counts add up to less than the total.

Median price per gram by origin

Median price per gram for teas from 9 origins. Japan $0.54/g, Vietnam $0.40/g, Taiwan $0.35/g, China $0.33/g, Nepal $0.29/g, Thailand $0.29/g, Sri Lanka $0.23/g, India $0.21/g, South Africa $0.16/g.00.511.5Median listed price (US dollars per gram)Japan (319)Japan (319)$0.54/gVietnam (27)Vietnam (27)$0.40/gTaiwan (197)Taiwan (197)$0.35/gChina (3,195)China (3,195)$0.33/gNepal (27)Nepal (27)$0.29/gThailand (19)Thailand (19)$0.29/gSri Lanka (41)Sri Lanka (41)$0.23/gIndia (143)India (143)$0.21/gSouth Africa (28)South Africa(28)$0.16/gall teas
  • Median
  • 25th to 75th percentile
  • All-tea median
Number of teas in brackets. Source: My Tea Explorer Loose Leaf Index, October 2026.
YunnanChina2,200$0.319/g$0.205/g$0.504/g
FujianChina324$0.364/g$0.220/g$0.617/g
GuangdongChina182$0.489/g$0.302/g$1.200/g
HunanChina86$0.155/g$0.128/g$0.238/g
UjiJapan79$1.140/g$0.480/g$1.930/g
DarjeelingIndia60$0.254/g$0.190/g$0.395/g
GuangxiChina49$0.452/g$0.198/g$1.340/g
AnhuiChina45$0.340/g$0.210/g$0.491/g
AssamIndia40$0.173/g$0.140/g$0.235/g
ZhejiangChina38$0.415/g$0.253/g$0.765/g
NantouTaiwan37$0.300/g$0.250/g$0.410/g
SichuanChina26$0.566/g$0.285/g$1.040/g
KagoshimaJapan16$0.925/g$0.263/g$1.900/g
FukuokaJapan15$0.458/g$0.340/g$0.950/g

Brands at each end of the index

A brand median says what a vendor's list costs per gram, not whether it is good value. The highest brand median (Tea Drunk) is 15.9 times the lowest (Harney & Sons). Brands need at least 10 indexed teas to appear.

Brand medians: the top and bottom of the index

Median price per gram for the 10 highest and 10 lowest priced brands.00.511.522.5Median listed price (US dollars per gram)Tea Drunk (44)Tea Drunk (44)$2.10/gTea Habitat (124)Tea Habitat (124)$1.57/gKettl (58)Kettl (58)$1.06/gGlobal Tea Hut (24)Global Tea Hut (24)$0.88/gSong Tea & Ceramics (39)Song Tea & Ceramics (39)$0.87/gThe Essence of Tea (133)The Essence of Tea (133)$0.76/gBellocq (73)Bellocq (73)$0.56/gRare Tea Company (41)Rare Tea Company (41)$0.56/gIppodo Tea (34)Ippodo Tea (34)$0.48/gWuyi Origin (67)Wuyi Origin (67)$0.44/gBlue Lotus Chai (13)Blue Lotus Chai (13)$0.26/gThe Steeping Room (244)The Steeping Room (244)$0.25/gRishi Tea (138)Rishi Tea (138)$0.25/gPlum Deluxe (13)Plum Deluxe (13)$0.25/gSmith Teamaker (40)Smith Teamaker (40)$0.24/gDAVIDsTEA (49)DAVIDsTEA (49)$0.22/gNepal Tea Collective (26)Nepal Tea Collective (26)$0.20/gTeabox (83)Teabox (83)$0.18/gGolden Moon Tea (26)Golden Moon Tea (26)$0.17/gHarney & Sons (316)Harney & Sons (316)$0.13/g
  • 10 highest brand medians
  • 10 lowest brand medians
Teas per brand in brackets; brands need at least 10 indexed teas. Source: My Tea Explorer Loose Leaf Index, October 2026.

Highest medians

  1. Tea Drunk44 teas, $1.50/g to $5.68/g
    $2.10/g
  2. Tea Habitat124 teas, $0.41/g to $20.95/g
    $1.57/g
  3. Kettl58 teas, $0.12/g to $7.50/g
    $1.06/g
  4. Global Tea Hut24 teas, $0.33/g to $12.00/g
    $0.88/g
  5. Song Tea & Ceramics39 teas, $0.12/g to $3.40/g
    $0.87/g
  6. The Essence of Tea133 teas, $0.14/g to $11.00/g
    $0.76/g
  7. Bellocq73 teas, $0.14/g to $1.95/g
    $0.56/g
  8. Rare Tea Company41 teas, $0.11/g to $1.86/g
    $0.56/g
  9. Ippodo Tea34 teas, $0.07/g to $5.20/g
    $0.48/g
  10. Wuyi Origin67 teas, $0.22/g to $1.12/g
    $0.44/g

Lowest medians

  1. Harney & Sons316 teas, $0.05/g to $2.20/g
    $0.13/g
  2. Golden Moon Tea26 teas, $0.10/g to $0.30/g
    $0.17/g
  3. Teabox83 teas, $0.08/g to $1.26/g
    $0.18/g
  4. Nepal Tea Collective26 teas, $0.05/g to $0.30/g
    $0.20/g
  5. DAVIDsTEA49 teas, $0.07/g to $1.25/g
    $0.22/g
  6. Smith Teamaker40 teas, $0.15/g to $1.43/g
    $0.24/g
  7. Plum Deluxe13 teas, $0.06/g to $0.25/g
    $0.25/g
  8. Rishi Tea138 teas, $0.05/g to $2.83/g
    $0.25/g
  9. The Steeping Room244 teas, $0.08/g to $1.63/g
    $0.25/g
  10. Blue Lotus Chai13 teas, $0.18/g to $0.44/g
    $0.26/g

Price movers

First edition; movers start with the next snapshot. Tracking began on October 1, 2026. A price change only counts when the same tea, in the same pack size, is priced in two snapshots, so there is nothing to compare against yet. We do not estimate a trend from one reading.

Baseline: 4,652 teas, median $0.30/g, read on October 1, 2026.

Catalog snapshots in the index
SnapshotTeasMedian per gram
October 1, 20264,652$0.30/g
Terraced tea slopes under low clouds, with a tin-roof tea factory on the ridge

Cheapest teas by type and origin

The same snapshot, sorted tea by tea with pack sizes and vendor links.

Questions about tea prices

On October 1, 2026 the median across 4,652 in-stock teas from 39 online vendors was $0.30/g. Half of them cost between $0.19/g and $0.51/g. Each tea is counted once, at the pack size closest to 100 g (at least 20 g).

Matcha at a median of $1.13/g (145 teas), then yellow at $0.47/g and oolong at $0.44/g. The lowest median is rooibos at $0.15/g.

Per gram, yes: Japanese teas have a median of $0.54/g (319 teas) against $0.33/g for Chinese teas (3,195 teas). Uji, where most of the matcha in the index comes from, has a median of $1.14/g.

At the all-tea median of $0.30/g, a 3 g Western mug costs about $0.90 in leaf. Steep the same leaf twice and each cup costs half that. The calculator on this page does the sum for any tea type or for a pack you already own.

We cannot say yet. Tracking began on October 1, 2026 and this is the first snapshot. Price changes need the same product at the same pack size in two snapshots, so movers start with the next catalog refresh.

Vendors sell 25 g pouches, 100 g tins and 357 g puer cakes. A pack price compares none of them fairly; a price per gram compares all of them. It does not measure quality, and the methodology page lists what else it leaves out.

Download the tables

  • Snapshot historySnapshot date, teas in the Loose Leaf Index, and the median listed price per gram in USD.
  • Origin price statisticsTeas counted and listed price per gram (median, 25th and 75th percentile) by origin country.
  • Price tiersTeas counted, share of the index, and listed price per gram by price tier.

Cite this data

Prices read from vendor stores on . The figures are a dated snapshot, not live prices: put the date next to any number you quote.

Short credit (chart caption)

Source: My Tea Explorer Loose Leaf Index, October 2026

APA 7 reference

My Tea Explorer. (2026, October 1). The Loose Leaf Index: Median price per gram of specialty loose-leaf tea [Data set]. https://myteaexplorer.com/tea-price-index

License: CC BY 4.0. You may reuse and chart these medians, commercial use included, if you credit My Tea Explorer and link to the Loose Leaf Index. How each figure is built: methodology.

Monthly editions (frozen once the month closes)
EditionSnapshot dateMedian per gramTeasVendorsFiles
October 2026$0.30/g4,65239

Which products count, how teas are typed and what the median leaves out: read the Loose Leaf Index methodology.