All true teas, white, green, oolong, and black, come from a single plant: Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia. What distinguishes one tea from another is not the plant itself, but how the leaves are harvested and processed after picking.

This means a delicate Silver Needle white tea and a robust Assam black tea begin life on the same species of bush. The transformation happens in the hands of the tea maker.

The key process is oxidation, the same reaction that turns a sliced apple brown. When tea leaves are exposed to air after picking, enzymes begin to break down and transform the leaf’s compounds, deepening colour and developing new flavours.

Stop oxidation early (by heating the leaf) and you get green tea, fresh, grassy, and vegetal. Allow it to proceed fully and you get black tea, bold, malty, and complex. Partial oxidation produces oolong, which can sit anywhere on a wide spectrum of flavour. White tea is handled most gently of all, with minimal processing.

True teas come from Camellia sinensis. Herbal infusions, also called tisanes, are made from everything else: flowers, roots, bark, berries, seeds, and leaves of other plants. Common examples include chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, and ginger.

Herbal infusions are naturally caffeine-free, which makes them a popular choice for the evening or for those who prefer to avoid caffeine. Neither true tea nor herbal infusions are inherently better, they simply offer different experiences. At t leaf T, we stock a wide range of herbal infusions alongside our teas.

Black tea is fully oxidised, which gives it its characteristic deep colour, bold flavour, and higher caffeine content. It is the most widely consumed tea in the world, and accounts for the majority of tea drunk in New Zealand.

The flavour varies enormously by origin. Assam produces malty, robust teas well suited to milk. Darjeeling offers a lighter, more floral style often described as having a “muscatel” character. Ceylon ranges from bright and brisk to smooth and rounded depending on the elevation. Lapsang Souchong from Fujian province is smoke-dried over pine, giving it its distinctive character.

Browse our black tea collection.

Green tea is minimally oxidised. The leaves are heated shortly after harvest, either pan-fired (as in Chinese green teas) or steamed (as in Japanese styles), to halt oxidation and preserve the fresh, green character of the leaf.

Chinese green teas such as Dragonwell (Long Jing) and Gunpowder tend to be milder, toasty, and smooth. Japanese greens like Sencha and Gyokuro are more vegetal, grassy, and sometimes umami-rich. Green tea is associated with some of the most active research into tea and wellness, particularly regarding antioxidant compounds called catechins.

Browse our green tea collection.

Oolong occupies a broad category between green and black tea, with oxidation levels typically ranging from around 15% to 85%. This makes oolong one of the most diverse and complex categories in tea, and one of the most rewarding to explore.

Lightly oxidised oolongs such as Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess) are floral and delicate. More heavily oxidised styles like Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) are roasted and mineral with deep complexity. Taiwan produces some of the world’s most celebrated oolongs, including the creamy, buttery Dong Ding and the high-altitude High Mountain style.

Browse our oolong tea collection.

White tea is the most gently handled of the true teas. Leaves and buds are plucked and simply dried, often in the sun, with minimal intervention. The result is a tea that is delicate, subtle, and naturally sweet.

Silver Needle (Baihao Yinzhen) is considered the finest white tea, made entirely from unopened buds covered in fine white down, which gives the category its name. White Peony (Bai Mu Dan) uses both buds and young leaves and has a slightly fuller flavour. White tea is prized for its gentle character and is a good choice for those who find green teas too grassy or black teas too strong.

Browse our white tea collection.

Puerh (also spelled Pu-erh or Pu’er) is a fermented tea from Yunnan province in China. Unlike other teas, puerh is aged, sometimes for decades, developing flavour complexity in much the same way as a fine wine or aged cheese. It is often pressed into cakes or bricks for storage and transport.

There are two main styles: sheng (raw) puerh, which ages naturally over time and is initially grassy and astringent before mellowing to something earthy and complex; and shou (ripe) puerh, which undergoes an accelerated fermentation process to produce a rounder, earthier tea more quickly. Puerh has a dedicated following among serious tea drinkers.

View our puerh tea.

Matcha is a finely stone-ground powder made from specially grown Japanese green tea. Unlike brewed teas where the leaf is steeped and discarded, with matcha you consume the whole leaf, suspended in water and whisked into a smooth, frothy drink.

This means matcha delivers a more concentrated dose of flavour, caffeine, and nutrients than a standard cup of brewed green tea. Its flavour is characteristically rich, umami, and slightly sweet when made well, with a vibrant green colour that comes from its high chlorophyll content.

Browse our matcha range.

The key difference starts before harvest. Matcha tea bushes are shade-grown for several weeks before picking, this slows growth, increases chlorophyll, and boosts the production of L-theanine, an amino acid that contributes to matcha’s characteristic umami flavour and its reputation for producing a calm, focused energy.

After harvest, the stems and veins are removed and the leaf is stone-ground into the fine powder we know as matcha. The grade of matcha matters: ceremonial grade is intended for drinking as a bowl of tea (whisked with hot water); culinary grade is better suited for cooking and baking, where its stronger, more astringent character works well alongside other ingredients.

Herbal infusions, sometimes called tisanes, are made by steeping plant material other than Camellia sinensis in hot water. This includes flowers (chamomile, hibiscus, elderflower), leaves (peppermint, lemon verbena, spearmint), roots (ginger, liquorice, echinacea), bark (cinnamon, slippery elm), and berries or fruit (rosehip, elderberry).

Because they contain no true tea, herbal infusions are naturally caffeine-free. They are enormously varied in flavour and are a popular choice at any time of day, particularly in the evening. Many people are drawn to herbal infusions for their flavour and comfort as much as any perceived benefit.

Browse our herbal infusions collection.

Rooibos comes from Aspalathus linearis, a shrub grown exclusively in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa. It is naturally caffeine-free, low in tannins, and has a distinctly sweet, slightly earthy flavour that makes it a popular alternative to black tea, particularly for those who enjoy a full-bodied cup without caffeine.

Red rooibos is oxidised, giving it its signature warm amber colour and mellow sweetness. Green rooibos skips the oxidation step and has a lighter, slightly grassy character with a higher concentration of antioxidants. Both take well to milk and work beautifully in blends. Browse our rooibos collection.

All true teas contain caffeine. The amount in your cup is influenced by the type of tea, the grade of the leaf, water temperature, and how long you steep it. As a general guide, black tea tends to be highest, followed by oolong, then green, then white, though there is significant overlap and many exceptions.

A typical cup of black tea contains roughly 40–70mg of caffeine, compared to around 200mg in a cup of coffee. Because tea also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that works alongside caffeine, many people find the alertness from tea feels smoother and more sustained than coffee.

Herbal infusions, rooibos, and honeybush are naturally caffeine-free. For more detail on specific teas, see our FAQs.

Tea is one of the richest dietary sources of polyphenols, plant compounds that act as antioxidants. Green tea in particular is high in catechins, with EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) the most studied. Research into tea and health is ongoing and promising, spanning areas from cardiovascular health to cognitive function.

We are passionate about tea, not medical claims. What we can say is that whole loose leaf tea retains more of these compounds than broken or powdered tea, particularly in teabags, which often contain low-grade leaf material. Brewing tea properly and using high-quality leaf is the best place to start.

Wellness teas are blends designed around a specific purpose, sleep, digestion, energy, immunity, or relaxation. They typically combine herbal ingredients chosen for their traditional associations with a particular outcome.

Examples include chamomile and valerian for sleep, peppermint and fennel for digestion, and ginger with lemon for warmth and comfort. Whether you are drawn to wellness teas for their function or simply their flavour, they are a satisfying part of a tea routine. Browse our wellness teas collection.

Loose leaf tea uses whole or large-cut leaves that have room to expand fully when steeped. This releases the full range of the leaf’s flavour, aroma, and compounds. Most commercially produced teabags contain fannings, the dust and broken fragments left over after whole leaf tea is processed. These brew quickly and strongly, but lack the depth and nuance of whole leaf.

Quality loose leaf tea is also better value than it appears. A good loose leaf can be steeped multiple times, with each infusion revealing a different character. Oolongs and puerhs especially reward multiple steepings.

Yes. Properly stored loose leaf tea can remain fresh for years. The intact leaf structure protects the volatile compounds responsible for flavour and aroma. Teabags, by contrast, contain broken and powdered leaf with a much greater surface area exposed to air, so they degrade more quickly. Most teabags are best used within six months of opening.

The key to preserving loose leaf is simple: keep it away from light, moisture, heat, and strong odours. Airtight containers in a cool, dark cupboard work well. For a full guide, see our tea storage page.