Loose-leaf tea: black, green, herbal and fruit tea

What is loose-leaf tea?

Loose tea is tea without the bag: dried leaves that you brew in a teapot, an infuser or an empty tea bag you fill yourself. Because the leaves are larger and have room to unfold in the water, the flavour and aroma come through fully. You also decide how much tea goes into each cup, and a small amount of leaves goes a long way.

How to brew loose tea

You need an infuser, a stainless steel strainer or empty tea bags. As a starting point, use about 2 to 3 grams of loose tea per cup and let it steep for roughly 5 minutes. That suits black tea, rooibos and most herbal teas, which can take water straight off the boil. Green and white tea prefer water that has cooled for a few minutes and a shorter steep of two to three minutes. Start there and adjust the amount and the time to your own taste.

Loose tea or tea bags?

Both have their place. Tea bags are quick and tidy, handy at work or when you want a single cup without washing up. Loose tea takes a moment longer but gives you more say: you can make a pot as strong or as mild as you like, mix two teas yourself, or brew the same leaves more than once, as you can with oolong and Pu-Erh. We sell both, so you can keep tea bags for the office and loose tea for home.

Which loose tea suits you?

• Black tea: full and malty, the one to choose if you take your tea with milk.
• Green tea: fresh and grassy, best without milk and with water that has cooled a little.
• Oolong tea: somewhere between green and black, often floral, and good for several infusions.
• White tea: light and delicate, for a soft cup.
• Pu-Erh tea: dark, earthy and round.
• Herbal tea, such as mint tea, and rooibos: usually caffeine-free, so good for the evening.
• Fruit tea: blends with real pieces of fruit, which also work well as iced tea.

Storing loose tea

Loose tea keeps best in a tin or a sealed jar, out of the light and away from the hob. Tea leaves take on the smell of whatever sits next to them, so keep them apart from coffee, herbs and spices. Scoop with a dry spoon, close the tin properly after each use, and the leaves will still smell of themselves weeks later.

A row of labelled tins makes it easy to see what you have. Buying loose also lets you take the amount that suits you, so nothing sits in the cupboard longer than it should.

Order loose-leaf tea at Café du Jour

Browse the teas below or go straight to one of the categories above. For infusers, teapots and strainers, see our tea equipment, and if you drink coffee as well, our coffee range is in the same shop.