There is so much to learn about tea that it would take an entire life to really absorb even a small portion. But, at its core, tea is really simple: water, and leaves, and a cup. In our Tea 101, we will explain the basics of tea...brewing, history, buying, comparing, and more.

How to Brew Tea

White Tea
White tea is gentle, delicate, and very refreshing Named after the gauzy white down that covers most of its leaves, white tea has the least amount of caffeine of all teas and some of the highest reported antioxidant properties.   White tea is ideal for any time of day.
Boil water and let stand for 3 minutes, cooling to 170 - 180 degrees.   Pour 16 ounces of water over 1 heaping tablespoon of tealeaves and steep for 3-5 minutes.

Green Tea
Made from fresh tealeaves that have been steamed or wok fired, green tea yields a savory, and at times sweet flavor with a range of vegetal notes Green tea is gently stimulating, ideal for breakfast or anytime of day.
Boil water and let stand for 2 minute, cooling to 180-190 degrees. Pour 16 ounces of water over 1 tablespoon of tealeaves and steep for 2-4 minutes.

Oolong Tea
Oolong teas are known for their complex flavors and ability to yield many infusions. Processing takes many steps--withering, rolling, drying, and firing. Oolong teas offer an eye opening experience to the world of tea, and with their slightly higher caffeine content,   they provide a gentle stimulation to keep you energized throughout   the day.
Cover 1-2 tablespoons of tealeaves with boiling water. Pour off water immediately. Pour 16 ounces of boiling water over the leaves and steep for 1-3 minutes. Good for multiple infusions.

Black Tea
Originally from China, black teas have spread throughout the cultures of the world more than any other tea. The most caffeinated of all teas, black tea is a great jump-start to your day.
Pour 16 ounces of boiling water over 1 tablespoon of tealeaves and steep for 3-5 minutes.

Pu-Erh
A truly illustrious brew, Pu-erh is unique in that it is the only tea that improves over time. Intentionally aged like fine wine, pu-erh is low in caffeine and delicious any time of day. Known for its dark, earthy, complex flavor, pu-erh   has traditionally been sipped for its great flavor as well as   unique healing and digestive properties.
Cover 1-2 tablespoons of tealeaves with boiling water. Pour off water immediately.
Pour 16 ounces of boiling water over the leaves and steep for 1-5 minutes. Good for multiple infusions.

Herbal Infusions
Cover 1-2 tablespoons of tealeaves with boiling water. Pour off water immediately.
Pour 16 ounces of boiling water over the leaves and steep for 1-5 minutes. Good for multiple infusions

Masala Chai
Our unique Masala Chai recipe is a complex mixture of traditional Indian herbs,   spices, and a blend of black teas. Enjoy playing with this recipe to make your own special chai. Soymilk, honey, granulated or brown sugar can be used to create your own unique personalized Chai.
Bring 1-2 cups of water with 1 or more tablespoons of raw sugar to a rolling boil. Then add 2 tablespoon of chai mix and 1 tablespoon of your favorite full-bodied black tea. Boil for an additional 3 minutes.   Add 1 cup of whole milk, bring to boil again, and then remove from heat and let mixture sit 5 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and enjoy!
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How Tea is Made

Picking. Sorting. Steaming. Firing. Twisting. Oxidizing.
All of these techniques and more are used to produce the best tasting tea. Learn more about how the perfect leaf becomes the perfect sip.

All tea is made from the same plant. Yes, you read right, all tea, whether it's black , oolong , green , white or pu-erh , comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant in the same way that all wine comes from the grape, albeit different varietals. Different kinds of tea are created by processing the tea in different ways. Just for the record, we need to differentiate between tea and herbal infusions. The former is what we're describing here, the latter is a beverage made from herbs and plants such as lavender, lemongrass, and osmanthus.

In general, the more processed a tea, the darker it is, white tea being barely changed from the buds on the bush and black tea undergoing complex and lengthy processing. More oxygen produces dark-colored black teas and less oxygen results in green tea. Teas in general go through a process of withering, rolling, oxidation and drying or firing. Here's what each of these terms means:

Plucking
Before tea can be processed, it must of course be picked. Only the bud and two small leaves are plucked from the best tea plants to ensure the best tasting tea.

Withering and Steaming
Withering is particularly important for black teas. After picking, the leaves are laid out to dry on bamboo trays or in large in-door areas where heated air is forced over them if the climate is too cool to heat the leaves naturally. This process reduces water content and makes the leaves pliable enough to move to the next step in the process, rolling.

In the case of green teas, leaves are often steamed instead of, or immediately after, being withered. Steaming or baking prevents oxidation (fermentation) of the leaves so that they remain green.

Rolling
The next step in tea production is rolling. Have you ever wondered how oolong, green and black tea leaves get scrunched up? Traditionally, this was done by hand and rolling still happens in this way for extremely rare high-end teas but now machines are often used to roll and often shake the leaves. This process helps release oils from the leaves which give tea its distinctive flavor

Oxidation
Oxidation is the chemical process that allows the tea to absorb oxygen. Caused by the oil released during rolling, oxidation causes the leaves to turn bright copper in color and is the main deciding factor whether we have Green, Oolong or Black tea.

Drying or Firing
Tea is finally dried evenly without burning the leaves in large ovens or drying machines to halt oxidation.

To learn more about how tea is made, read the seminal work on tea: New Tea Lover's Treasury by James Norwood Pratt.
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Tea & Health

In ancient times, the Greeks utilized tea as an antibacterial agent to fight infections as well as to cure colds and the flu. In Asia people have used tea for centuries to aid digestion and improve mental and physical performance. Tea is a rich source of antioxidants called flavenoids, known to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure, which are released from brewed green tea. As all teas naturally contain small amounts of fluoride, and a cup before or after a meal may reduce the risk of tooth decay.

Of course, one of the biggest benefits of stopping for a pot of great tea is just that....stopping. We, at Samovar Tea Lounge, believe that slowing down to take tea, alone or with friends, can be a great benefit to physical, mental, and emotional health. We all spend too much time rushing around like crazies so treat yourself, take the time to enjoy some great tea and feel your breath and heart rate return to healthy speeds. Visit us at Samovar and start to regain what you're missing: time.
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How to Buy Tea

Choosing teas from the seemingly never-ending selection can sometimes be daunting. Let Samovar Tea Lounge guide you through the maze of different teas and help you learn about what makes a good tea. Learn more about discerning tea from wee.

Before buying tea, it's always good to taste it, just like wine. In general, you should buy small quantities - unless it's a particular favorite - because this will allow you to consume the tea while it's still fresh.

Looks Good = Tastes Good
The first thing that you should notice about tea is how it looks. You probably already know that the whole leaf is preferable to CTC, or Cut Torn Crushed 'tea' dust that is put into many tea bags and if leaves are broken, it probably means that they were harvested by machine. Broken leaves sometimes give bitter tea.

Use Your Nose
After the tea has been infused, good teas will give out a delicious aroma. Green teas are often refreshingly grassy, oolongs can be peachy, blacks are sometimes sweet, pu-erhs are earthy. The most important thing is that there should be some smell, whatever the tea, even in the dry leaves. Flavored teas such as Jasmine Pearl and Earl Grey should retain their essential aroma even after an infusion.

Feel Me
A great pleasure can be found in unfurling leaves. If you open a large tea such as Buddha's hand or Tiequanyin (Iron Goddess of Mercy), you may be astonished at the size of the leaf. A good leaf can be handled without crumbling or breaking.

Taste is Tops
As with any food or drink product, taste is the ultimate test and everybody's tastes are different. Tea should never, ever taste stale or flavorless and, if brewed properly, should not be astringent or bitter. The best way to taste tea, like wine, is to slurp in order to allow air to mix with the tea and enhance the flavor. It's also a lot of fun.

Ultimately, whatever the tea, whether you buy it or not depends on your own personal taste. To learn more about the different kinds of tea and which tea is best and when, click through to our tea comparison page.

How Much Should I Buy?
Different schools of though, different opinions. Learn the way that we at Samovar Tea Lounge buy teas.In general, small is better. Our rationale is that, if you buy small quantities of tea, but buy more often, you'll get a better brew because you'll only ever have fresh tea at home. The best thing to do, of course, is to come to Samovar Tea Lounge and sample every tea - that way you can be sure that it's being brewed perfectly. If you don't live nearby, however, we recommend that you buy in quantities up to about 4-6oz. All Samovar teas are packaged in airtight, metal tins to keep the tea as fresh as possible and we only sell in weights up to about 6oz. Rather than sell you a couple of tons of tea that will probably lose some of its perfect taste, we prefer to only sell in small quantities.
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Tea Comparison

Download our "tea comparison chart" for a handy reference to many of our teas.
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The Types of Tea

White - Green - Oolong - Black - Pu-erh - Herbal - Ancient - Organic -Fair Trade - Kosher - Teaware

White Tea

Sweet, delicate, fresh, and packed with healthy things like antioxidants and polyphenols, white tea is one thing: delicious. Jesse first started drinking white tea back in college in the 90’s, with a friend from China, Fujian Province. To counterbalance the stressful effects of all-nighters in college, they “…would drink his tea at special moments when we wanted to have some tea, but didn’t want to be caffeinated”. Every Spring Jesse and his friend Pao Liang Liu would return from Spring Break with a new batch of this amazingly delicate type of tea which nobody had ever heard of. “What is White Tea?” they would ask!

Well, white tea is called white tea because of the fine, downy white hairs covering each leaf. This tea is picked early in the Spring, and comes from only the very youngest, newest leaves on the plant – so it is destined for a delicate life. The best white tea is made up of only the first leaf and one un-opened bud. That’s it. Just picture how smooth and soft and butterry a brew of tea would be when consisting of only one type of the freshest tea leaves. Well that’s white tea. Because of its delicate nature, the only way to draw that delicate flavor out of the leaves is by drying them gently outdoors, in the shade, with a cool breeze stroking the leaves. After a few days of drying, they are sealed up, and sent off to white tea lovers around the world.

Every Spring, and only in the Spring, white tea is made in very small batches. And any time of year, the taste brings you back to springtime—new flowers, green grass, butterflies, blue skies, and a departing cold. Every time you drink it…. The air is clean and clear, and you feel naturally regenerated and ready for a New Year—rebirth and freshness—that is Spring, and that is White tea. Because of this processing style unique only to white tea, it is incredibly low in caffeine. It has a little, but a very little. And even the gentlest person like Jesse can drink it before bed.

White tea is a comforting and refreshing and gently uplifting brew, and because it is so low in caffeine “I can sip it all day long, like a good friend who is always there with me,” purrs Jesse’s wife Joanna. No matter what happens at the tea lounge, Jesse always has his white tea. His favorite is the Snow Bud, slightly buttery, with subtle sweet potato notes. But if you are in the mood for something white but with a bit of gauziness, go for the Silver Needle, it is a true classic. Because it is so delicate, be sure you don’t use boiling water to steep this tea or it will get scalded and bitter!

Fujian Province is to White tea as San Francisco is to the Golden Gate Bridge. Authentic white teas such as this one are harvested only once a year, in early Spring, and come from Fuding County, Zhenghe County, and Jianyang County. When purchasing white tea, be sure it comes from one of these areas and nowhere else. White tea is picked early in Spring, and consists of hand harvesting only the unopened and first leaf.
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Green Tea

Jade, Emerald, Golden, Grassy, hay, ocean, oceanic, nutty, fresh, lively, smooth, fuzzy, uplifting, cooling, and nourishing. These words all describe green tea. Everybody knows green tea, but what is green tea? Green tea is tea that has been picked and then quickly steamed, or lightly toasted in a large cast-iron wok. While White tea has undergone virtually no processing, green tea is lightly oxidized by steaming or pan-firing. This process brings out those classic green-tea notes which range from really vegetal and grassy, to butter, and nutty with notes of alfalfa and of persimmon and hay. Depending on where and how it was processed, green tea can have either a stronger or more delicate flavor. Good green tea should have a complexity of freshness, vibrancy, potency and really positive uplifting energy.

When you sip a good green tea, your first response should be, “Wow. Amen. That is green tea.” The aroma should be of freshness, whether ocean air or cut grass, and the first sip should really awaken your mouth. The body should be noticeable, smooth and buttery, with a tiny tingling of astringency on your tongue. You should be able to really feel the body swirl in between your cheeks and tongue, and at the same time sense the aroma in your nose. After you swallow, the taste should linger on, slowly dissolving until the next sip.

Brewed properly, and with good tasting water, green tea is a real luxury. It feels wholly healthy. Low in caffeine, you can drink it all day long without getting the jitters. But it has enough caffeine that it will keep you gently stimulated to gladly go about your day. Or just sit there all day, sipping the tea and loving life. Our green teas come directly from the farms of our tea family friends in Japan and China.

One of Karter’s favorite things about green tea is the incredible diversity this type of tea has. “The roasted twigs of Houjicha are really toasty, dark, and nutty and hearty”, gasps Karter lovingly. It is great after a meal as a digestive. It is simple and straightforward and won’t interfere with the flavors of the meal. Or, something really hearty and full bodied and nourishing is our house-blended Ryokucha. This is a blend of the classic Genmaicha (toasted brown rice blended with Sencha, a Japanese green tea), blended with Matcha powder (a Japanese tea-ceremony tea powder). Nutty and buttery, and at the same time grassy and with notes of chlorophyll, this is definitely a best seller. For a Chinese classic, go with the steamed and pressed Dragonwell. This tea has notes of chestnut and bittersweet grass. You can do it like the Chinese and just place a half teaspoon in your glass, and continue to add water all day. Delicate, but also full bodied, this is great alone or with food.

To make the most of our tea and really pick up on the freshness and subtleties, brewing it right is important, yet easy. Boil spring water (or at least filtered water), and then let it stand for 1-3 minutes, cooling slightly. If you use water that is too hot, it will scald the tea and make it bitter. And bitter green tea is only good for one thing: compost - be sure to use old tealeaves on your garden. Karter loves to put the used tealeaves in muslin bags and place them over his tired eyes for a refreshing and relaxing eye-infusion. For something really yummy, steep a full-bodied green tea like our Ryokucha, and pour it over rice for a delicious snack! Add a bit of toasted sesame seeds, a splash of soy sauce, and a piece of baked salmon or tofu and you can enjoy tea soup like we make here at Samovar. In Japan it is called Ochazuke.

Consider one of our most popular types of tea, the Ancient Tree. This tea has notes of toasted pine nuts and persimmon, and is really unique. Wild-crafted from tea trees on the China-Burma border, this tea is picked from 30 foot tall trees by a family that has been doing this for…generations. For information on our Ancient Tree teas, click here.
Lively, fresh, green, light, exuberant, bright, smooth, the tea of the Ancients, Japanese tea is ceremony tea. It’s tea to drink all day long, gently energizing and is the tea of choice for meditating monks.

A good green tea should leave you salivating; wanting more after each sip, and it should make you feel really good. Just plain youthful and fresh and healthy.
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Oolong Tea

This is tea that will take you very far away. Step out of the ordinary and sip into oolong. It’s all in a name, and this name says it all: “Ooooooooohhhhh,” and, “Long.” That’s it for oolong. And that is because this tea more than any other tea has a flavor that is incredibly long lasting and lingering, and when you sip, you can’t help but to say “Oooooooh!”

Oolongs are noted as the “connoisseur’s” tea because of their depth, and intensity. The flavors of oolongs vary widely, from light and grassy, with sweet aftertastes, to dark, woodsy, and deep. When Paul is ready to step out of his routine of the daily black tea, green tea, or chai, oolong is it.

Why is oolong so different? It’s all in the processing. First there are the leaves. Because oolong is a hardier tea, the leaves must be picked at their peak, not too early or too late in the year. They are then wilted in sunlight, and shaken and slightly bruised to begin the oxidation process. Shaken and spread out to air dry, the leaf edges begin to redden as they oxidize, giving off an aroma reminiscent of orchids. Depending on the type of oolong, the leaves are left to oxidize more or less time, and then stopped by firing the leaves. The old-fashioned way of firing took place over hot charcoal, slowly roasting the teas, sometimes for several days, continuously being monitored to ensure an even roast. Today, most oolongs are fired over gas, which is a quicker firing process. Oolongs are tightly wound little curls of deep dark green leaves. As you infuse them, watch the leaves slowly unfurl, revealing their color and shape, and sip. Each infusion will have a slightly different taste as the leaves continue to open, releasing their nectar. Smooth, woodsy, floral, malty, grassy, oolong lays between a green and a black tea in terms of caffeine.

Eventually, all of our employees and customers embrace oolongs as their favorite brew. It is a magical journey to all your senses to see, smell and feel an oolong infusion. It is a trip unto itself, travel far away while sitting in your seat. Don’t go anywhere and yet go very far. Slightly more caffeine than green teas, oolong is a great companion to your workday because it has enough caffeine to keep you on your toes, but not so much to distract you or make you quiver.

Escape, and sip oolong. Go to your favorite place, most relaxing, and embrace this brew. No matter where Paul goes, he always travels with a can of oolong tea. He brews it up in a paper cup on a road trip with his wife Rama. He sometimes even takes it with him when he goes out to dinner and wants to enjoy some really good tea with his food. Oolong tea is great when pairing with food – it really accents your dishes, and livens up a meal. Noodles, baked fish, braised meat, sushi, the food pairings are infinite.
Drink it straight because it has so much to offer

For a good intro oolong, start with the Monkey Picked Iron Goddess of Mercy. Traditionally picked by monkeys, this is a hardy high mountain Taiwanese tea that is named after Kuan Yin, the Buddha of compassion. A darker tea, this is woodsy, and floral, full bodied, and lingering on your tongue long after your final sip.
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Black Tea

Real black tea is whole leaf black tea. Whether you want to incite your taste buds in the morning or your mood in the late afternoon, black tea will do the job. All of our black teas are fresh, and full and strong. With the most caffeine of all our teas, these blacks are best sipped black. But, if you must, these are the teas to add a dash of milk and sugar to because they hold up well and strong.

Notice the tingly feel the astringency from these fully oxidized teas leave on your tongue. Wow! Slowly sip and notice if the tea is malty, or floral, or smoky, or sweet. Black tea is certainly one of our most popular categories, most likely because of the caffeine craving that people want. With about half of the caffeine in a cup of coffee, you can enjoy a robust, smooth, and downright delicious brew, with the uplifting benefits of caffeine, and yet without the crash or jitters so common with coffee. You may think you know black tea. Try ours and then you will know black tea.

Rick, one of the tea-tenders here at the tea lounge loves the fullness of our Keemun, a classic Chinese black tea every morning with his eggs over easy, and cinnamon raisin toast. Black tea is really good when sipped with breakfast. Try it with some toasted artisan bread smothered with butter and jam. The savoryness of the butter on the warm toast and sweet jam really blends well with the warm, full-bodied flavor of our house-blended Samovar Breakfast Blend.
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Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh is way out there. Virtually unknown in this country, this is definitely one of our most exciting teas. Dark, smooth, rich, chocolaty with notes of espresso, deep and earthy, low in caffeine, and amazing when sipped with a rich, full meal, this type of tea is plain wild.

Most of our pu-erh teas come from a small artisan cooperative in South Western China where they have been wild-crafting this tea for a really, really, long time. Words can’t do this tea justice because it is so unusual and delicious. It ranges from slightly green tasting, to very malty and coffee-like. Because it is the only tea that is truly aged (like a wine or cheese), it has a really rich full taste. Some pu-erhs are really old. Age does not mean a pu-erh will be good. Because there are other factors such as the master blender, the quality of the leaves, how the tea was aged, etc. but, some old stuff is really good. Never bitter, making pu-erh is so easy. After opening the leaves by rinsing them with boiling water, just steep away, and explore the flavor getting richer and darker, never bitter.

Here at the tea lounge we like to serve pu-erh the traditional way, in a yixing clay pot. These cute little pots are ideal for pu-erhs because they infuse the tea in their very insulating walls, making it rich, dark and delicious. Not only is it a fun little ceremony to brew in an Yixing pot, it is easy and makes for a delicious cup of tea! Some people familiar with pu-erh are afraid of it—having experienced a low grade version, dirty and musty tasting. If the tea doesn’t taste good, it isn’t good! Tea should taste good, not like medicine. Making pu-erh is still a highly guarded secret process. The important thing to know is that it is an aged tea, and that it can be aged all different ways: under ground, in caves, inside citrus rinds, packed into patties, or compressed into small balls.

Our pu-erh teas hold a very special place in our hearts. Robert is a big fan and it helped him transition from the thick dark English tea of his army days in Europe to a more, let’s say, San Francisco style of tea. He, for one, has spent the last several years sampling pu-erhs from all over the South East Asia and China region, having tasted many, many teas, and very few that taste as good as ours. Pu-erh tea is often disliked because it is considered dirty, moldy, musty, and even fecal! Our rule of thumb for tea was very simple and very easy: if it tasted bad, we wouldn’t carry it. Tea should taste good, not like a horrendous medicine and the pu-erh teas we have found are very, special.

Most of our Pu-erhs are hand-picked, and artisan processed. Our friends in Jingmai Mangjing, in Yunnan Province, China are very proud of their tea, and they have been picking and processing their tea for generations. Flavors that are intense, complex, and well balanced, full bodied, and delicious when paired with a good meal and can even help digestion of greasy foods. Ever wondered why knowledgeable Chinese people like Robert’s in-laws the Yaos demand Pu-erh (Bo-lei in Cantonese) with their dim sum
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Herbal Infusions

Our good friend Martin is an acupuncturist and herbalist with a clinic just across the street from the tea lounge and he loves the fact that there are so many healing properties in herbs that are great for health, and taste great also. Now he is a professional and is in the business of healing people naturally with his treatments. Our business is tea and hot herbal infusions, but you can combine the two and he loves to send us his patients because our herbal blends are delicious, and great for you.

Herbal infusions actually aren’t tea, they are made from herbs (to be considered tea, the plant source must come from the Camellia Sinensis plant). Roots, stems, leaves, berries, fruit, and fruit skins are all components of our custom herbal blends. Sourced from around the world from small artisan farms, many of which are organic and Fair Trade, our herbals are incredibly fresh and delicious and complement your activity any time of day. A staff favorite is the Osthmanthus Blossoms. Golden colored baby blossoms of Osthmanthus which give you a really smooth, honey nectar-like infusion. And, because herbals do not come from the tea plant, they are all naturally caffeine free.

Reed (our first tea-tender), and his brother Jonathan (creator of our CD - Samovar One) are big herbalists…and will happily talk your ears off about what a difference herbals have made to their lives.
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Ancient Tea

     The tea is fresh, but the trees it is picked from are over 1000 years old. The Bulang and Dai hill tribes of jing Mai Mountain have been enjoying this tea varietal for over 1300 years for a very good reason, it’s amazing. Now, we have it too. Hand-harvested in very small batches to ensure sustainabality, this Ancient Tree green tea is one of several new teas we have that are cultivated from these ancient trees.

This is a unique strain of Camellia Sinensis known as Yunnan Da Yeh, or “broad leaf.” Certified USDA Organic, and Fair Trade, this is a delicious tea that also helps to sustain the ethnic minorities of Jingmai Mountain. Already, Fair Trade funds have helped to build a library, a water purification system, a cultural center, and a college education for several young people in the community.
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Organic Tea

     Tea has been late to the organic game. The main reason for this is that it’s extremely hard to grow high quality organic tea because of the sensitive, delicate nature of tea leaves. Traditionally, tea plants have needed high levels of chemicals to keep them bug- and disease-free but modern organic farming methods developed with other crops have focused on using natural methods to attain these goals.

Organic is a pretty popular buzzword these days. But what does it really mean and why is important to “go organic?” In this day of immediate gratification, everybody is trying to produce their products faster and in greater quantities. To do this in the mainstream market companies have to do “whatever it takes” and this can mean using chemicals to grow foods quickly and prevent insects from eating the foods. The tradeoff of being able to produce a lot of product quickly is that the food doesn’t taste anywhere as good, and perhaps more importantly than taste, there is a really negative cost to the environment and to our health by using these chemicals in the growing process.

At Samovar Tea Lounge, our mission is to offer the tea lifestyle, which is about health, and slowing down. For us these values go from your teacup all the way back to the farm. If health and slowness are so important to us, then so too is how the tea is produced, and that means we source tea that is produced with health and slowness in mind. Organic means that the product is created without the use of any pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides (chemicals used in farming conventionally) at any level of sourcing: planting, growing, cultivating, storing, or transporting.

Samovar Tea Lounge Organic Teas are different from our other teas in that they are certified organic. They differ from other organic teas because they are labeled QAI Organic, the most stringent certifying organization. QAI stands apart as a thorough and reputable certifying source when in a world where there is significant difficulty in setting organic standards.

Not all of our teas have this certification, but even those teas we do not label as organic are produced in small, seasonal quantities. We intend to eventually carry only QAI certified teas, but this process will take some time as more and more organic teas become available.

Check out our selection of Organic Teas right now.
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Fair Trade Tea

     You may have heard of the Fair Trade certification process for coffee and other products but now you can satisfy your desire to do the right thing with Fair Trade Tea too.

Our mission is to foster the tea lifestyle. We do this by filling your teacup with the healthiest, most delicious tea you can find anywhere. But a lot happens before you can enjoy a delicious brew! We begin all the way back at the farm, where we have created relationships with small family farms and cooperatives around the world to make small-quantities of certified organic, delicious teas and herbals.

Fair Trade helps family farmers in developing countries to gain direct access to international markets, as well as to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. By learning how to market their own harvests, Fair Trade farmers are able to bootstrap their own businesses and receive a fair price for their products. This leads to higher family living standards, thriving communities and more sustainable farming practices. Fair Trade empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.

The Fair Trade Certified label guarantees...
A fair price.
Farmers and workers receive a fair price for their product which means that farmers can feed their families and that their children can go to school instead of working in the fields.

Quality products
By receiving a fair price, Fair Trade producers can avoid cost-cutting practices that sacrifice quality. The Fair Trade producers' traditional artisanal farming methods result in exceptional products.

Care for the environment
Most Fair Trade Certified coffee, tea and chocolate in the US is certified organic and shade grown. This means that the products you buy maintain biodiversity, provide shelter for migratory birds and help reduce global warming.

From Crop to Cup
TransFair USA is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. It works with importers and manufacturers in this country to document business practices, providing a reliable consumer guarantee that indicates what coffees, teas and chocolates have been purchased from producers according to international Fair Trade criteria. These criteria are established by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), a consortium of Fair Trade groups in Japan, Canada, the US and 17 European countries. FLO makes annual inspection visits to producer groups on its Fair Trade Register to ensure that the benefits of Fair Trade relationships are reaching the farmers. To learn more about FLO, click here .
Check out our selection of Fair Trade Teas right now
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Kosher Tea

     You’ve never heard of Kosher Tea? Just in the same way that many other food products can be kosher, you can now enjoy the real deal with tea too. Many of our teas are certifed Kosher. This is a certification that conforms to strict Jewish biblical laws pertaining not only to the type of food that may be eaten, but to the kinds of food that can be combined at one meal (for example, meat and dairy products may not be mixed).

In order to meet kosher standards and receive the kosher seal, food must be prepared under a rabbi's supervision which requires that the food meet very strict processing and storage requirements. Although Kosher foods were once selected primarily by Jewish people, the Kosher certification is now sought out by a very large market because of its high standard of quality.

Check out our selection of Kosher Teas right now.
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Teaware

To make amazing tea, you need only three things: tea leaves, water, and a vessel. Now, depending on whether you are making tea on a camping trip in Yosemite, or you are making tea for your in-laws, will determine what kind of vessel you will need. One of the most important things when making whole leaf tea is that you can control the actual infusion-which means you can stop the leaves from steeping. To do this, we suggest either a strainer or a pot that decants 100% of the tea after infusing. There is an unlimited range of teaware out there.

We decided to look for products that worked exceptionally well-ie, the right tool for the right job, that looked good and handled nicely, and that would be unique. Also, as with our teas, we look for products that make a good environmental impact—we look for ceramics that are made without any heavy metal glazes, durable products that will last you thousands of cups of tea. Depending on the time and place of your tea brewing will dictate the kind of teaware you will want. Are you looking to brew some herbal tea with hot water at your local gas station on your way to work, in a paper cup? Are you looking to do an elegant Chinese Gong-fu ceremony for your family?

The tea experience should be approachable, and the variety of teaware should suit your situation and your budget. If you think we are missing something, please let us know—we would love to hear from you and the teaware and tea experiences you recommend
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History of Tea

Tea - Happy 4742nd Birthday
You are the Emperor Shen Nung. You drink only hot water for health and refreshment. A leaf drops into your cup one day. You created the world’s most popular beverage…after water of course. Let's learn more about the history of tea.

Tea’s Chinese Roots
The ancient legend of tea’s discovery is that tea was first discovered when leaves from a wild tea bush were blown into a pan of boiling water belonging to Emperor Shen Nung. Shen Nung was a scholar and herbalist who only drank boiled water for health and hygiene but after sampling his newfound beverage, he took to the taste and tea was discovered, in 2737 BC.

We see no reason to doubt this legend but tea cultivation quickly spread throughout East, South-East and South Asia. In China in 800A.D. Lu Yu wrote the Ch'a Ching, the bible of tea. After retiring from a life of performance in mid-life, he retired for five years into seclusion and, drawing from his wide experience of events and places, he described the various methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China. Patronized by the Emperor himself, his work clearly showed the Zen Buddhist philosophy to which he was exposed as a child.

Japanese Refinement and European Taste
The Zen Buddhist priest Yeisei brought the first tea seeds to Japan and with it the beginnings of a new tea culture. Drinking of tea was elevated to an art form with the creation of the tea ceremony known as "Cha-no-yu" and Japan’s attachment to tea continues to this day with some of the finest green teas in the world.

Towards the beginning of the 17th Century, Dutch and then English traders began to bring tea home to Europe as the ‘Oriental’ trade routes opened. Tea at this time was very expensive because of the limited supply and it was only after the Honorable East India Company gained a monopoly on Eastern trade that tea began to imported on a large scale. Buoyed by its success in cultivating tea in India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), ‘John’ Company helped the expansion of tea drinking in Europe but its monopoly allowed it to keep prices artificially high, the kind of policy that led to problems in a certain Massachusetts city in 1773.

Russians and the Samovar
At the same time that tea drinking was growing in popularity in Western and Northern Europe, Russian traders were plying the trade routes across Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Following a gift of several chest of tea from the Chinese embassy to Czar Alexis in 1618, tea began to gain in popularity in Russian society.

It is from the samovar – a combination of hot water urn and teapot - which Russians use to brew their tea that we have drawn the name of Samovar Tea Lounge. Neither milk nor sugar is added to temper strong Russian tea. Instead, a spoonful of fruit jam is placed on the tongue or in the teacup, thereby creating a balance of both sweet and bitter tastes. You can experience this way of drinking tea (along with many, many, other kinds of tea) at our daily Samovar Tea Service.

Tea and America
Americans first entered the exploding tea trade after the Revolution in 1789. Fast ‘clipper’ ships owned by famous businessmen such as owned by famous businessmen such as Perkins, Girard and Astor outsailed the slower English competition and never sullied their hands with the opium trade run by the British. As so often happened in other trades, American innovation was brought to bear with the invention of both the tea bag (Thomas Sullivan) and iced tea (Richard Blechynden).

Tea is now produced in many countries in Asia including Turkey, the ex-Russia Republics, and Taiwan from where some of the greatest oolongs originate.

Today, tea is one of the fastest growing beverages in the US, spurred on by Americans’ desire for health, relaxation and social intimacy. We at Samovar Tea Lounge, San Francisco are proud to be leading this revolution.

To learn more about the history of tea, read the seminal work on tea: New Tea Lover's Treasury by James Norwood Pratt
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