The harvest date of a tea is one of the four main components of any tea’s identity, influencing the final flavor profile and often determining the level of quality. In many regions, tea is harvested all year round, but the differences between harvest seasons can be so great as to make a completely different tea. On the other hand, the growing conditions required for many premium teas limit output to just one or two harvests per year.

Regular readers and tea aficionados may know that spring harvested teas are often desirable for their naturally sweet flavors, but not all tea styles prioritize sweetness. Each tea has a unique set of standards for judging quality, and each has a distinct harvest season with ideal conditions for meeting those standards. Here, we’ll offer a quick overview of the teas and characteristics to expect from each harvest season.

The British and American concept of ‘Breakfast Tea’ is said to stem originally from a marketing strategy: advertising a new blend of black teas designed as an alternative to established "afternoon" tea brands. Practically, of course, there was little difference between the two styles, but Breakfast Tea has nevertheless become one of the most familiar types of black tea in the west, and is now drunk at all times of the day, all over the world.

But Breakfast Teas are also a product of industrialization: a mix of black tea leaves from colonial-style plantations, carefully blended for consistent flavor and shipped in masse to a grocery store near you. As with other mass produced teas, they often fail to deliver on flavor, and instead offer potent bitterness with a side of astringency. These shortcomings are typically remedied with milk, sugar, spices, or even artificial flavorings. Is there a better option?

Exploring the vast world of tea can be a lifelong journey, but every aficionado needs to start somewhere. Whether you’re supporting a fledgling hobby or sharing your own love for loose leaf tea with your friends and family, these popular picks are sure to delight any novice tea lover.

Though it has a devoted following, pu-erh tea can seem like a daunting category to explore. The bold, earthy flavors of these aged and fermented teas are often an acquired taste, and poor quality examples can have fishy or musty flavors that are particularly off-putting. But pu-erh teas can also be delightfully rich, crisp, fruity, and even sweet. If you’re shopping for these unique teas, understanding the difference between these two basic types of pu-erh can help you know what to expect.

Not sure if pu-erh is for you? Here are six reasons to love these teas >>

Here at Red Blossom Tea Company, we love good coffee as much as any San Francisco foodie. The explosion of coffee culture in recent years has given us the opportunity to try a multitude of delicious, single origin beans, and we are always fascinated by the flavor differences produced by different places of origin or roasting styles. To us, this modern approach to coffee makes perfect sense, because it’s the same approach we use to source traditional teas.

For many coffee drinkers, however, tea is still represented by mass produced tea bags - a form we often compare to instant coffee. It’s no wonder that most people associate tea with health benefits or bitterness, rather than complex flavor.

Whether you’re a coffee drinker looking to expand your palate or cut down on caffeine, or a tea fan looking to convert your friends, these single origin, loose leaf selections are the perfect introduction to great tea.

Tea has a well established reputation as a healthy beverage. Thanks to modern marketing, in fact, almost any discussion of tea includes some mention of health benefits. The humble Camellia sinensis tea plant is often presented as downright miraculous, with claims that it will clear skin, halt cancer, or melt body fat. For the most part, these claims aren’t true.

But tea is good for your health, especially when it is fresh and naturally grown. In this article, we’ll cover the reasons tea has historically been adopted as part of a healthy lifestyle, and how to see through the miraculous marketing in order to choose healthy teas today.

Even though all teas come from the same species of plant, cultures around the world have developed many different ways of cultivating, crafting, and talking about tea. Often, the terms used to indicate grades or quality in one region are not applicable to teas grown in other countries, or even neighboring areas.

White tea is commonly lauded for its minimal processing, which is said to leave more of the naturally healthful compounds intact in the finished tea. While the health claims are difficult to prove, it’s true that white tea processing only really takes one step, called fading.