A well-made Tea Story is the result of a careful process of choosing, combining and preparing ingredients. The first step in creating a tea blend is to select the base tea or herbs. This can be any pure tea including black, green, white or oolong. Other options include herbals such as rooibos, chamomile, peppermint and tulsi, or non-caffeinated teas like yerba mate and guayusa.

Choose complementary flavors (30%): The next portion of your tea blend should be 1-3 herbs that complement the base tea or each other. It’s important to keep in mind that fuller-bodied teas, such as black or some oolongs, work best with bolder and more potent herb and floral tastes, while lighter teas like green, white and rooibos are better paired with milder, less intense herbs and spices.

Discovering the Most Flavorful Tea Blends for Every Palate

Select accent flavors (10%): The final portion of your tea blend should be 1-2 spices, fruit or botanicals that add a pop of flavor and aroma. These are a great way to enhance and complement your tea blend with some added flavor and can also help bring the other ingredients together.

Creative tea experts have created many famous tea blends that have become very popular. For example, Earl Grey is a traditional black tea enhanced with citrusy bergamot oil and Lady Grey has additional lemon peel. Other classics include a blend of berries in a hibiscus tea, the sweet taste and health benefits of a fruity green tea blend with goji berry and blackcurrants or the soothing, stress relieving properties of a caffeine free tea blend with chamomile, peppermint and valerian root.