Although we may have been faked out by a couple of sixty degree days, (as is typical of Ohio weather) we’re back with more inches of snow and dropping temperatures again. This just means that there’s more time to enjoy a warm cup of tea all cozied up in bed! Not that you can’t have tea year-round, but my favorite time to have a cup is when it’s freezing and there’s snow falling silently outside. While you may be able to pick up a brand name box of tea bags from CVS on Court St, there’s nothing like tasting each individual flavor note in a handcrafted loose leaf tea from a small business.
While browsing around on the Shop app, I noticed a bunch of tea businesses that popped up on my recommended tab. I haven’t tried all of these businesses myself, but researching on their websites made me want to add everything to my cart and immediately check out. I compiled a list of small tea businesses that I think are worth checking out, whether you’re a long-time tea fan or even just someone who wants to give it a try!
1. Plum Deluxe
Plum Deluxe is a brand I’ve purchased from a couple of times. My experience with their tea and products has always been delicious. I’ve never had a tea from them that I disliked because they’re always so flavorful! When a brand’s House Blend Black Tea is one of my favorites, I know everything they make is bound to be delectable.
Average price?
- $8-9 for 1 oz which = about 16 cups, according to their website
- This price is pretty standard for loose leaf tea, and pretty fair for the quality you receive, in my opinion
Types of tea?
- A lot of black tea options: No Obligations Decaf Black Tea (Hazelnut – Cinnamon – Almond), Blackberry Mojito Black Tea (Lime – Maple – Spearmint)
- A lot of herbal tea options: Pineapple Pop Herbal Tea, Evening in the Garden Herbal Tea (Elderflower – Lemon – Rose)
- Some white/green tea options: Lavender Daydream White Tea (Mango – Peach – Floral) (I have this one and it’s SO tasty!!), Garden Grove Green Tea (Jasmine – Cherry)
- Unique chai options: Portland Rose City Chai (Blackberry – Rose) (I also have this one and it’s very different, but VERY delicious), Full Moon Chai (Vanilla Butternut Masala Chai)
- Bundles: Copycat Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea Bundle, Patisserie Dessert Tea Variety Pack, Hug-in-a-Mug Winter Tea Variety Pack
- Samplers: Best Sellers Sampler Set (comes with seven samples and one 1 oz bag of their House Blend Black Tea). This is the first thing I bought from them and there’s a lot of variety with the teas they select! It’s a great cheap ($14) way to sample their tea that I strongly recommend if you’re interested in buying from them.
Website features?
- A lot of How-To guides: How to Sweeten Tea, free five-day email series intro to tea, How to Make Iced Tea, How to Make Tea Lattes, steep times and temperatures in relation to type of tea
- A blog full of recipes: ‘Dirty’ Chai Caramel Macchiato Recipe, Cookie Butter Tea Latte Recipe, How to Make Sweet Vanilla Cold Foam, Orange Creamsicle Iced Tea Recipe
Other features?
- Different mixes: Deluxe Lemonade Mix, London Fog Oat Milk Latte Mix, Vanilla Harmony Chai Oat Milk Latte Mix
- Different kinds of sugar: Vanilla Sugar (SO DELICIOUS), Honey Dust (also very yummy), Maple Dust, Rock Sugar for Tea
2. Full Leaf Tea Co.
I have also purchased from Full Leaf Tea Co. before, but only once. I discovered their wellness teas and decided to order their sampler three-pack and give it a go. I ordered the Cycle Support, Tummy Balance, and Anti-Inflammation teas for my set of three. When I was feeling deathly ill with both flu A and my period during the third week back, I drank all three teas pretty consistently, and I actually do believe that they helped; especially the Tummy Balance one!
Average price?
- The price varies based on the tea, but most of them are priced $6-8 for a sample size (approx. 3-5 servings the website says). The next biggest size is 2 oz which is about 30 servings and costs about $15.
Types of tea?
- Wellness teas: Full Leaf Tea Co.’s most prominent goal is wellness, it seems. They have quite the variety of tea options specifically blended for a myriad of wellness purposes. They have a variety of teas suited for weight loss, detoxing, sleep and stress relief, hair and skin health, colds and the flu, and so much more. In my experience, the teas definitely helped me, but I will say the tastes for some of them were not my favorite. It’s what you can expect from teas that contain everything from licorice root to turmeric. The good news is that their teas are loose-leaf, so all I had to do was mix them with some of my fruitier teas and some honey to sweeten them to my liking.
- Basic teas as well: They have some of the more basic teas as well such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Chamomile, and Peppermint Tea.
- Matcha: This tea company definitely prides themselves on their matcha! They have a lot of varieties of matcha including Cinnamon, Cocoa, Culinary, and Ceremonial Grade Matcha. They also sell a variety of tools on their website to craft the perfect cup of matcha as well!
- 30-day boxes: They also have 30-day kits for wellness purposes as well. Some of the boxes on their website are 30 day Beauty, 30 day Fitness, 30 day Focus, 30 day Cleanse, and 30 day Weight Loss to name a few.
Website features?
- Tea Origins Explorer: They have a section of their website that features an interactive map showing the origins of all their ingredients! I think this is a super cool and educational feature for them to have.
- Full Leaf Tea Blog: There’s a blog on their website that boasts several posts, including tea recommendations to get to beat Seasonal Affective Disorder, top ten benefits of organic Damiana Leaf Tea, teas that are featured weekly, and so many more.
- Recipe section: Some tasty-sounding recipes on this page are for a Coconut Matcha Latte, Cozy Cold Remedy Cider, and a Hangover Hero iced tea! There’s twenty-four pages of recipes to explore.
- Wellness Quiz: You can take a short quiz on their website to find out which of their Wellness Teas suits your needs best. You also receive a 15% off code at the end, which is nice.
Other features?
- Most of their teas are Organic and Non GMO.
- They have a focus on sustainability: They’re a carbon neutral brand and offset five kg of CO2 with every order! They recently switched to recycled and more sustainable packaging materials. Loose leaf tea is also better for the environment because there’s no tea bags being wasted. They sell biodegradable tea bags, though they do recommend metal infusers instead. They also claim to have an efficient warehousing space that seeks to ensure little to no waste of products or materials.
3. Magic Hour Tea
I have never purchased from Magic Hour Tea, but when I saw their beautiful packaging and the names of their tea for the first time, I highly considered. I will probably end up placing an order very soon out of sheer lack of self-control. If this was a ranking based on the most aesthetic website and packaging, they’d win 100 percent.
Average price?
- Most of their teas are around $7-11 for a sampler pouch, which is about 10-15 cups they say. Their next biggest size is $29-33 for 50-60 cups.
Types of tea?
- Wellness Teas: Similar to Full Leaf Tea Co., Magic Hour Tea also has a whole collection of wellness driven teas. They are split into categories as well, such as Sleep, Immunity, Women’s Health, Mood Balance, and more. Some of the teas by name are Child’s Pose Herbal Adaptogen Tea for Sleep and Restful Calm, Amethyst: Strawberry-Passionfruit Gemstone Wellness Tea, and Almond Matcha Green Tea for Joy.
- Special collections: The brand has a variety of collections including ones that are Astrology based, Birthstone based, Travel location based, and even one called “Goddess Teas.”
- Unique names and flavors: Something unique about this company are their creative names and flavors for their teas. Even just hearing the names of these teas makes me want to ship them immediately to Athens. Butterfly Blue Coconut Cream Iced White Tea? Apple-Plum-Spice White Tea for Self Expression? Hibiscus-Cinnamon-Vanilla Love Potion?? HELLO? Immediately added to my cart and on its way.
Website features?
- Tea Quiz: Their website also features a tea quiz that you can take to find the perfect wellness tea for you. I will say that their quiz yielded more results than Full Leaf Tea Co., so I’m not sure if they have more options or if Full Leaf Tea Co. is just more concise.
- Tea Journal: This is another blog that features topics like horoscopes for the month, wellness properties of flowers, and how to store tea for maximum freshness and retained flavor. There’s a lot of other articles that delve into wellness and spirituality that I think are definitely worth checking out whether you’re a beginner tea drinker or a longtime tea drinker.
- Recipe section: Their recipe tab is organized better than most websites I checked out during this search for small tea companies. If you know what kind of recipes you’re looking for, this setup may be more beneficial than the more explorative nature of some of the other websites. It’s split up into hot tea, iced tea, mocktail, and cocktail recipes. I will say that there are definitely less entries than some of the other companies’ recipe sections. Some interesting ones I found were the Pancakes and Maple Syrup Tea Latte, Strawberry Shortcake Mocktail, and Ruby Moon Sangria recipes. Yum!
Other features?
- Magic Monday: Weekly on Mondays at 5:30 pm PST, the founder of the company, Zhena Muzyka, hosts a free 30-minute virtual tea ceremony. It includes guided meditation, a tarot reading for the week, and a giveaway.
- Origins and Values: On their website, it states, “In the morning tea ceremony we could set an intention for the day and share tea with our loved ones before we all rush off to work and school, and in the evening we can create a ritual of easing into night in the same way-through tea.” I like this way of thinking about tea and using it in an almost spiritual way. They utilize organic and regenerative farming, value astrological alignment, and engage in direct ethical trade with farmers around the world.
- Their sourcing: The company sources from small organic and Biodynamic farmers in Sri Lanka, India, Africa, China and Japan.
4. Tiesta Tea
I’ve also never purchased from Tiesta Tea, but after scrolling through their catalogue I am definitely tempted. A big draw for me when selecting this business to write about, though, was the Tiesta Tea Foundation and the ways they give back to their community.
Average price?
- Their sample bags are $4 and brew 6-10 cups. Their small size is a $8 1.5 oz pouch which is about 20-25 cups, according to their website. Compared to the other sites, that’s a great deal for loose leaf tea. They also have a 4 oz tin that’s $15, which is even better!
Types of tea?
- They have a decent selection of black teas: Tiramisu Coffee Black Tea and Raspberry Passion Fruit Black Tea
- They have a pretty good selection of green teas: Lemon Matcha Green Tea and Blueberry Pineapple Green Tea
- Not too many white teas: Mixed-Berry Pomegranate White Tea and Pineapple Hibiscus White Tea
- A lot of herbal teas: Chocolate Cherry Herbal Tea, Cinnamon Almond Herbal Tea, and Spicy Peach Herbal Tea
- Matcha: They also sell their own Superior Grade Matcha that’s sourced and packaged right in Kyoto.
- Have a heading of teas sorted by function, similar to the wellness categories of other brands: Some of the functions they advertise are Slenderizer, Energizer, and Relaxer.
- They have a variety of sampler packs including a Fall Medley Sampler and a Fruity Tea Sampler
Website features?
- How To Brew: They have a How To Brew page that has the temperatures and steep times for all the different kinds of tea. This is helpful for anyone just starting out or even a daily tea drinker who wants the best results with their tea.
- Blog: They have a blog that features several recipes and How-To guides. Some recipes that sounded intriguing were the Spicy Mango Margarita Mocktail Recipe and the Matcha Cream Cheese Toast Recipe!
Other features?
- Starter Packs: they sell their own starter packs with samples and pitchers as well as filters!
- They source over 150 of the highest quality ingredients from over 40 countries.
- Tiesta Tea Foundation: They hold an event every January called “Spread the Warmth” where they provide Warmth Kits to Chicagoans in shelters, soup kitchens, and on city streets. They also partner with Extra Special Teas, a nonprofit tea house that focuses on bringing those with special needs and disabilities together through tea. They also created the Living Well Project, a program that works to install water wells to farming villages throughout Nigeria. At least you can be sure your purchase goes toward benefitting others in the long run, on a local, national, and international level!
There are definitely more small tea businesses out there, but I picked these four because I thought that they all held something for everyone. Whether you’re looking to buy tea for flavor, wellness, spirituality, or to support a greater cause, you can be sure you’re getting a delicious cup that’s been carefully crafted!