The Best Tea Samplers Perfect for Any Tea Lover

Tea sampler packs are enough to get any tea fanatic feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Getting to choose your own individually wrapped flavor of herbal brew almost makes you feel special enough to be raising your pinky with the Queen. Tea sampler packs are a great way to keep a variety of flavors on hand without having to purchase an entire box of each. Not only does this avoid monotony but it's also great for guests to choose what they like. Tea samplers are also ideal for trying new flavors before committing to a full box purchase and they make fantastic gifts. From the number of blends to manufacturing practices and packaging, there are a few things you want to consider to make sure you get a good value product. Here’s what you need to know when choosing the best tea sampler.

Which is Better: Loose Leaf or Tea Bags?

Although loose leaf tea is generally known to be better quality than bagged tea, there are always exceptions. Tea quality depends on a number of factors including the growing conditions, harvesting, processing techniques, and storage. Loose leaf tea is unbroken tea leaves, while tea bags contain tea dust and small broken particles. Even though some tea bags may contain high-quality leaves, it is hard to tell through the bag. Unbroken tea is always a better quality as opposed to tea dust.

Tea leaves need space when steeping in hot water to release their flavor as they expand. This is not possible in a teabag. Silken pyramid tea bags have been manufactured by certain brands to allow expansion as well as making it possible to see the good quality whole leaves inside, however, some of the bags may contain a small amount of plastic releasing unwanted chemicals when soaked.

Besides the quality of loose leaf tea, the other benefit of opting for the leaves is that you can control the strength by adjusting the amount you use. Good quality loose leaf tea can be steeped two to three times compared to a tea bag that usually is a one-time wonder only.

If you are someone who needs to make tea on the run with as little hassle as possible, a tea bag set is your best bet as it is much more convenient and requires less cleaning than loose leaf tea.

How to Determine Tea Quality

Sussing out the quality of tea is very similar to wine tasting in that you use your senses to identify certain visual and flavor quality cues.

Aroma

Whether loose leaf or bag tea, a high-quality product will have a distinct aroma. If the tea has hardly any scent it could indicate either that it is stale and old or low quality. Having said that, many artificially flavored teas will have a strong aroma but poor reflection of that in the flavor. You can identify this on the packaging where it lists the ingredients. It will state whether the tea is artificially flavored (e.g. mint-flavored tea), or if it is the real plant (e.g. mint leaves). When steeped, the flavor of good quality tea should resemble the aromatics.

Flavor

When drinking tea the flavors should be clearly noticeable. Flavors that are barely there, overly astringent, or even have a slight chemical taste are signs of poor quality or old, stale tea.

Appearance

You can also determine the quality of tea by its appearance. CTC (cut, tear, curl) tea production methods send tea leaves through a machine that processes them into small pellets. This is suitable for tea bags and allows the tea to brew quickly while offering a strong and dark cup. It does however sacrifice the subtle nuances of the tea.

The Orthodox method of tea production is more delicate where tea leaves are rolled to preserve aromatic compounds and complex flavors. Crumbly-looking leaves that contain woody fragments may be less flavorful and of poorer quality. This may however also depend on the type of tea and whether it is a herbal, berry, or fruit infusion which can include small flowers, herbs, dried fruit skins, berries, and roots.

Tea Sampler Flavor Ranges

When deciding on a tea sampler pack, have a look at the variety of tea types included. Some samplers may be geared to offering various types of green teas or green-tea infusions while others may be flavored or fruit blends. Herbal teas are usually caffeine-free while black tea contains caffeine. There are only five true teas in the world harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant. These are white, green, oolong, black, and pu-erh tea. All other types of tea are classified as herbal or flavored teas.

White tea and green tea are two of the least processed true teas while black tea undergoes a fairly extended production process and pu-erh tea undergoes an extensive aging process. When it comes to flower, fruit, and spice infusions, the sky is the limit. These can be really fun and exciting to try with apple and cinnamon spice blends, rosebud teas, citrus blends, and dried berry infusions. They can also offer soothing properties and health benefits.

Tea Sampler FAQ

Q: What tea is the healthiest?

A: Green tea is known to be one of the most beneficial teas as it releases polyphenols and antioxidants for boosting heart and brain health. Green tea is also one of the least processed true teas. The leaves are harvested, dried, and rolled without undergoing any oxidation.

Q: How much loose leaf tea should be used per cup?

A: The standard recommendation is two to three grams of loose leaf tea per six to eight ounces of water (one cup).

Q: How long should tea steep before it is ready?

A: This will depend on a number of factors and can range anything from one to ten minutes. If your tea does not steep long enough it will be weak and flavorless while strong teas that have been steeped for too long can develop a bitter taste. The length of time will depend on the type of tea, the quality, as well as the water temperature.