Loose Leaf vs Tea Bags: Building Your Tea Shelf
A good tea shelf is a mood toolkit: something bright for mornings, something calm for evenings, something green for focus. Here's how to build yours — and the honest answer on loose leaf versus bags.
The honest answer: both
Loose leaf wins on flavour (whole leaves, room to unfurl) and cost per cup for daily drinkers. Bags win on speed and office life. Serious shelves have both: loose for the weekend ritual, quality bags for Tuesday 7 a.m.
Start with a sampler
The Heavenly Tea Leaves 9-flavor loose leaf sampler is the smartest first purchase — nine small tins tell you what you actually like before you commit to full sizes.
The morning slot: black tea
English Breakfast for milk-and-strong, Earl Grey for bergamot mornings. Yorkshire decaf Earl Grey covers the afternoon version of the same craving. Keurig household? Twinings Earl Grey K-Cups exist and they're better than they have any right to be. More in black tea.
The focus slot: green tea and matcha
Green tea brews at 75–80°C — boiling water is why people think they hate it. For matcha, ceremonial grade like Itohkyuemon Uji matcha is whisked straight; culinary grade is for lattes and baking. Browse green tea and matcha.
The evening slot: herbal
Chamomile, peppermint, rooibos — caffeine-free and the biggest section of our herbal wall. Peppermint doubles as a post-dinner digestif.
Water temperature cheat sheet
Black/herbal: full boil. Oolong: ~90°C. Green: 75–80°C. White: 70–75°C. Matcha: 70–80°C, never boiling. No thermometer? Boil, then wait 2 minutes for green, 4 for white.
Storage
Airtight, dark, away from the spice rack (tea absorbs odours). Loose leaf keeps 1–2 years; matcha is the exception — refrigerate after opening and finish within 2 months.
Explore the full tea collection — free shipping across Canada on every order.
