It's All About Tea

Tea bags account for close to 95% of all tea sold in the U.S., but they usually contain the cheapest material possible, delivering little more than a brown liquid. Here's a brief history of how tea bags came to dominate the market, and why high-quality loose-leaf tea is worth the switch. (Read more)

We recently came across an interesting study from the Tea Research Institute – one of China's most authoritative tea research bodies. The researchers wanted to understand what happens inside a tea leaf when you apply heat to it before brewing. Their findings offer something rare in the tea world: a peer-reviewed scientific explanation of why the traditional Gong Fu Cha "awakening" step is so important. (Read more)

Some teas perk you up; others settle you down. That difference mainly comes down to three things in the leaf: caffeine (which drives alertness), L-theanine (which supports calm focus), and polyphenols (which shape bitterness/astringency and body). How much of each you taste and feel depends on the plant's cultivar, growing conditions, harvest season, plucking standard, and what happens after harvest (fixing, oxidation, roasting, fermentation, aging), as well as how you brew your tea leaves.

We'll break down what caffeine, theanine, and polyphenols actually are, how they act in the body, and how they interact with each other. We will explore how farming and processing influence these compounds and why brewing style matters. And by the end of this journey, you should have a better understanding of how to pick teas that lean "more lift" or "more calm", plus a few brewing adjustments to nudge the experience where you want it. (Read more)