The Top 10 Best Loose Leaf Tea Brands for Quality and Flavor
Loose leaf tea offers a vastly superior drinking experience compared to tea bags. The whole leaves are able to fully expand and infuse, releasing more complex flavors and health-boosting compounds. With the growing popularity of quality loose leaf tea, there are now many excellent brands to choose from. But how do you decide?
In this comprehensive guide, we analyze the 10 best loose leaf tea brands available today. We evaluate each brand across a range of factors including sourcing, quality, sustainability, variety, health benefits, and taste. Read on to discover which brand is best suited to become your new go-to for flavorful, aromatic, loose leaf tea bliss.
How We Selected the Best Loose Leaf Tea Brands
Our goal was simple: Find the brands that offer the highest quality loose leaf teas. We looked at over 40 prominent tea companies selling loose leaf tea online. We then assessed each brand against the following criteria to select the top 10:
Quality: We examined how the tea is grown, harvested, and processed since this greatly impacts flavor. Brands sourcing single-origin, whole leaf tea tended to rank higher.
Flavor Complexity: Great tasting tea was a must. We favored brands with diverse, nuanced flavor profiles over those focused solely on basics like Earl Grey or English Breakfast.
Sustainability & Ethics: We privileged brands with ethical, sustainable practices around sourcing, production, and business operations.
Health & Wellness: Brands incorporating functional ingredients like herbs and spices scored bonus points.
Range & Innovation: Companies with exciting, unique tea blends demonstrated creativity and passion for the leaf.
Customer Satisfaction: We checked online reviews, awards, and accolades for real-world feedback on each brand.
While assessing over 40 brands was no small feat, it allowed us to confidently select the following 10 exceptional loose leaf tea companies. Read on to learn what makes each of them rise above the competition.
1. Art of Tea
[image]Where It‘s From: Los Angeles, California
Standout Features
- Over 150 premium loose leaf teas and herbal infusions
- Unique, expertly crafted tea blends
- Innovative flavors like White Ginger Pear and Black Lemon Lavender
- Ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients
- Gorgeous packaging
Led by a passionate tea master, Art of Tea focuses on creating distinctive, balanced tea blends brimming with flavor, aroma, and soul. They source only the top 2% of teas worldwide, then thoughtfully blend them with herbs, fruits, and spices for elevated drinking experiences. With so much creativity and care infused into each cup, it‘s no wonder Art of Tea has won numerous awards for its bold creations.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: White Apricot Tea – refreshing apricot sweetness lifted by green and white tea base
Price Range: $$ Most teas $15-$20 for 4 ounces
2. Numi Organic Tea
[image]Where It‘s From: Oakland, California
Standout Features:
- Specializes in full leaf organic tea grown sustainably
- Ethical business practices empower tea farmers and help the environment
- Over 50 high quality loose leaf teas and herbal tisanes
- Traditional and innovative flavors like Moroccan Mint, Golden Chai, and Jasmine Green
- Beautiful packaging with detailed profiles on each tea origin
Numi blends artistry and ethics within each cup of aromatic organic tea. This pioneering B-corp sources its leaves from farms practicing sustainable, traditional cultivation to protect both people and the planet. The exceptional quality shows through vibrantly in smooth floral white teas, brisk Foggy Desert yunnans, and rich breakpoint Assam teas. You can feel good enjoying Numi’s global flavors knowing the company is as committed to human rights as it is to flavor.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Golden Chai – warming blend of black tea and spices like cardamom, cinnamon and cloves
Price Range: $$ Most teas $6-$12 for 2 ounces
3. Harney & Sons
[image]Where It‘s From: Salisbury, Connecticut
Standout Features:
- Family-owned company making tea for over 30 years
- Over 300 varieties of quality loose leaf tea
- Classic and unique tea blends in categories like herbal, green, black, white, pu-erh, oolong and more
- Beautiful packaging – great for gifting
- Retail stores across the US to visit for tastings and tea classes
Starting first as a small tea shop before blossoming into a thriving online store, Harney & Sons remains devoted to providing delicious, finessed cups of tea. They offer an incredibly vast array – whether you crave iconic teas like English Breakfast or Paris, or unique options like Hot Cinnamon Spice and Victorian London Fog. With expertise spanning over 30 years of tea tasting, blending, and sourcing, Harny & Sons has certainly perfected the art of leaf.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Paris – smooth, rich black tea scented with French bergamot and vanilla
Price Range: $ Most teas $10 – $15 for 4 ounces
4. Vahdam Teas
[image]Where It‘s From: New Delhi, India
Standout Features:
- Offers single-origin Indian teas picked fresh from plantations
- Ships direct from India to deliver teas at peak freshness
- Traditional chai blends plus unique flavors like Himalayan Blue Tea
- Socially giving company empowering tea growers
- Carbon neutral shipping and award-winning packaging
Vahdam shares India‘s celebrated tea culture with the world by ethically sourcing leaves from plantations across India. They ship teas directly within days of production to ensure unmatched freshness and vibrancy. True to origins, Vahdam‘s collection traverses India‘s famous Darjeeling, Assam, and Nilgiri tea regions, along with global fusion styles. Their direct trade model cuts out middlemen to better support farmers financially and connect you to India authentically, cup by aromatic cup.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Masala Chai – classic blend of black tea with ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, and black pepper
Price Range: $$ Most teas $14 – $18 for 3 ounces
5. Tea Forté
[image]Where It‘s From: Concord, Massachusetts
Standout Features:
- Over 75 elegant teas and herbal infusions
- Award-winning global tea blends like African Solstice and White Ambrosia
- Iconic pyramid tea bag design allows leaves to infuse freely
- Ethical partnerships support artisans and sustainable practices
- Beautiful packaging – great for gifting
Tea Forté envelopes you into luxury from the moment you behold its visually stunning tea pyramids. But inside there‘s serious tea craftsmanship perfected over years of sourcing and blending. Each raw ingredient – be it tea leaves, fruits, flowers or spices – gets selected at peak freshness for its flavor potency and health properties. One sip of a Tea Forté blend reveals layers of taste in unique harmony. Treat someone (or yourself) to these edible works of tea art.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: White Ambrosia – soothing floral, fruit and spice notes
Price Range: $$ Most teas $15 – $20 for 15 pyramid tea bags
6. Davidson‘s Teas
[image]Where It‘s From: Lansing, Michigan
Standout Features:
- Over 200 USDA certified organic loose leaf teas
- Relationships with ethical tea estates across China, India, and Japan
- High quality teas like Organic Darjeeling, Kukicha Twig Tea, Genmaicha
- Large selection of herbal wellness teas like chamomile, peppermint, elderberry
- Generous size options from 2 oz to 1 lb bags
As one of America’s leading organic tea purveyors, Davidson‘s is on a mission to connect communities to the wholesale power of tea. They offer an incredibly vast array of organic loose leaf teas ethically sourced straight from tea gardens across Asia and Africa. Favorites span energizing chais, floral oolongs, grassy Japanese greens, and soothing wellness blends featuring herbs, spices and botanicals. Whether you seek a simple green tea or an infusion bursting with ingredients, Davidson‘s impressive inventory has you covered cup after aromatic cup.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Organic Ginger – fresh, zingy flavor invigorating on its own or blended into chai
Price Range: $ Most teas $8 – $12 for 2 ounces
7. Newby Teas
[image]Where It‘s From Manor Hill, Maryland
Standout Features:
- 120+ global teas spotlighting renowned growing regions
- Seasonal small-batch teas capturing peak freshness
- Partnerships supporting sustainable tea production
- Fun flavors like Maple Vanilla Black Tea and Strawberry Kiwi Green Tea
- Beautifully detailed packaging
Lifelong tea obsessives, Newby was founded by passionate connoisseurs seeking to source exquisite global teas for discerning palates. They travel to remote tea regions personally, visiting growers and tasting teas to discern exceptional harvests before securing small batches for their shop. The result – a collection of finessed single-origin teas and artful blends exhibiting vibrancy and nuance akin to wine profiles. You‘ll enjoy learning where each complex cup was grown as their packaging details every tea‘s origins and seasonal taste notes.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Cream Assam – rich, full-bodied black tea perfect with a splash of milk
Price Range: $$ Most teas $12 – $16 for 4 ounces
8. Rishi Tea
[image]Where It‘s From Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Standout Features
- 35+ years of experience in tea blending and botanicals
- Direct relationships with small tea growers around the world
- Organic and ethically sourced loose leaf teas
- Unique botanical ingredients like yerba mate, guayusa, and bay leaf
- Loose teas and dissolvable botanical tea bags
Led today by second-generation expertise passed down from founder Joshua Kaiser, Rishi Tea continues to innovate within the sphere of botanical beverages. Blending teas and tisanes since the late 1990s, their recipes marry global tea traditions with inspired new directions. Their loose teas traverse Oolongs shaking with spice or floral peaks, Black teas flushed with cacao and berries, sparkling botanical fusions featuring herbs, fruits, roots and mushrooms for functional wellness. Tea at its simplest, yet wonderfully complex.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Masala Chai – traditional spices accent organic black tea leaves
Price Range: $$ Most teas $12 – $15 for 3 ounces
9. Mighty Leaf Tea Company
[image]Where It‘s From San Rafael, California
Standout Features
- Artistically crafted whole leaf tea blends since 1996
- Premium teas packaged in compostable pouches
- Organic and fair trade ingredients
- Inventive tea creations and traditional flavors
- Retail stores across the US and Canada
For over 25 years, Mighty Leaf has fused creativity and sustainability inside each silken tea pouch. What began as a quest to source premium whole leaf teas sparked a movement marrying exquisite tea with inspired botanicals via elegant compostable packaging. Today their collection of Organic and Fair Trade loose leaf black, green, oolong and herbal teas delights palates with original flavors like Cherry Pink Grapefruit, Citrus Spice Mint and Pomelo Jasmine. Their vision remains unchanged – deliver decadent whole leaf tea blends uplifting the ritual and planet simultaneously, sip by conscious sip.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Hojicha Roasted Green – smooth, nutty, roasted green tea
Price Range: $$ Most teas $12-$15 for 15 compostable tea pouches
10. Generation Tea
[image]Where It‘s From New York, New York
Standout Features
- Rare and unique Chinese teas like Liu Bao and Liu An
- Traditional teas produced from ancient trees, some older than 300 years
- Relationships with small independent farms in China
- Focus on offering high quality loose leaf teas in their truest form
- Beautiful packaging with detailed profiles of each tea
Founded by Chinese-American Jenica Liu, Generation Tea exports exquisite orthodox Chinese teas to preserve venerable traditions endangered by industrialization. They work exclusively with small independent farms tending China‘s rarest antique tea trees nourished organically for centuries. The result – magnificently finessed teas highlighting indigenous Chinese wisdom – be it nourishing hei cha dark teas or floral sweet laoshan greens. Connoisseurs of pure tea artistry should indulge in Generation Tea‘s prized leaves cultivated patiently by both nature and man together.
Loose Leaf Tea Highlight: Yu Lu Yan Cha – smooth sweet honey orchid aroma
Price Range: $$$ Rare teas from $50-$100+ for 2 ounces
How to Choose the Right Loose Leaf Tea Brand for You
With so many incredible tea brands to choose from, deciding where to buy your loose leaf tea can feel overwhelming. Keep the following key points in mind as you zero in on your perfect match:
Flavor Profile: Sample different styles like black, green, oolong, white, herbal blends etc. Take note of flavor notes that appeal most.
Quality: Opt for whole leaf tea over broken leaves dust and fannings to maximize flavor, aroma, and health benefits.
Ethics: Know how your tea is sourced and support brands uplifting farmers and the planet.
Budget: Loose leaf tea spans from affordable everyday brews to rare small-batch treasures costing over $100 an ounce.
Packaging: Compostable pouches and tin canisters keep tea fresher longer than paper bags.
No two tea drinkers are the same. Finding a company aligning with your individual preferences will ensure supreme sip after sip as you lose yourself in the leaf.
Brewing the Perfect Cup of Loose Leaf Tea
One you‘ve selected your favorite loose leaf tea brand, let‘s ensure you know how to properly brew those precious leaves into liquid magic. Here are 5 key steps:
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Preheat your teaware – Heat water to a rolling boil. Warm teapot/infuser/cup with hot water to prevent temperature drop.
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Measure Loose Leaf Tea – Use 1 tsp per 8 oz water. Adjust to taste.
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Bloom the Tea – Pour a bit of hot water over leaves to help open them up, then infuse 30 secs and pour off water.
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Steep – Add rest of the hot water and let steep 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust time if needed.
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Enjoy! – Serve into your favorite teacup and take a moment to inhale the aroma before sipping.
Proper water temperature and steeping times varies across tea types so follow package guidance. And don‘t toss those whole leaves after one infusion! Many high quality teas allow 2-3 infusions from the same leaves.
More Uses for Your Leftover Tea Leaves
As a conscientious tea drinker, you‘ve probably noticed excess tea leaves accumulating after brewing. Before tossing them into the trash or compost, consider these creative ways to give them extended life:
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Mix into handmade soaps and bath bombs for natural color and gentle exfoliation
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Stuff into homemade sachets as fragrant drawer deodorizers
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Sprinkle old tea leaves around garden beds to fertilize plants
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Feed directly to garden plants like roses for a nutrient boost
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Simmer in a potpourri pot with citrus rinds and spices to scent your home
With a little imagination, you can transform leftover tea leaves into gifts for yourself or loved ones while keeping them out of the waste stream.
Enjoy Exploring the Many Varieties of Loose Leaf Tea
While the compressed tea in tidy bags will always have its place for on-the-go convenience, true tea aficionados will agree that loose leaf tea offers a richer, fuller, more flavorful sipping experience overall. With a dizzying variety of teas now available from exceptional small batch brands across the globe, the humble tea leaf continues unfolding infinite incarnations to delight adventurous palates.
We hope this guide leads you to remarkable new flavor discoveries perfectly aligned with your individual tea desires. May your cup brim with passion, respite, ritual, adventure, and connection as you lose yourself in reading the leaves one infusion at a time.
