Choosing tea around your everyday habits
A tea list can be full of unfamiliar names and numbers. To begin, think about the next time you will drink tea. Where will you be? How much time will you have? How would you like to brew it?
Questions about everyday life make choosing easier. You can explore the regions and methods once a tea has caught your interest.
Start with how you will brew
If you usually make tea at your desk, choose a format that is easy to handle and works with your cup or bottle. Loose-leaf tea and tea bags suit this well. If you enjoy sitting down with a pot and cups, a tea cake gives you more to explore and adjust.
Tea cakes need to be broken into portions before brewing. If you are new to this, THEN offers tea already broken from the cake, sold by weight in 30 g pouches.
Put your preferences into your own words
You do not need a tea specialist’s vocabulary. “I like a gentle aroma”, “I prefer less astringency” or “I want a stronger flavour” all help. If you remember a tea you enjoyed, tell us about it when you ask for a suggestion.
You may not know what you like yet. A small pouch lets you try a tea before buying more. Afterwards, note a few simple things: did you enjoy the aroma and flavour, was it easy to make, and would you like to drink it again?
Read the price alongside the size
When comparing teas, look at the amount of tea and the packaging included. A whole cake and a small portion serve different needs. A sensible budget is an amount you feel comfortable spending on this purchase.
If you want to try a tea, start with enough to get to know it. Once you know what you like, choose a size that suits how often you drink and the space you have for keeping tea at home.
Let the first cup help you choose the next
With a new tea, begin with the instructions on its product page. Then change one thing at a time and remember what works for you. A specific comment such as “I would like a lighter flavour” helps us suggest a tea far more usefully than “I did not like it”.
THEN’s tea finder narrows the options using what you tell us. The result is a starting point. Your experience of drinking the tea will help make the next choice a better fit.