Caffeine is rather wonderful - what a super lift it can give us in times of need. But there are also moments in life when the buzz can be a bit troubling. There is some misinformation out there we wanted to help clear up. Is there caffeine in tea? Yes. All true tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant; white, green, oolong or black, they're all made from the same leaves and all contain caffeine. This is true of all varietals, including the most common var. sinensis and var. assamica. What is the caffeine content of my tea? This is a tricky one - because it depends on so many factors. All ou ..read more

What is oolong tea? Oolong tea is made from the leaves of Camellia Sinensis. It comes between green tea and black tea. It is uniquely crafted to bring out the complex flavours in the tea leaf. Oolong tea is richer than green tea, but less astringent than black tea. Our loose leaf oolong teas have been crafted by masters to reveal extraordinary flavours to flood your life with pleasure. What factors influence the flavour of oolong tea? Oolong tea is partially oxidised - and the level of oxidation helps define the flavour. Low oxidation oolong teas are also known as yellow or golden oolongs. Th ..read more

There are many claims made about drinking tea, and we believe tea is pretty magical. However, we should all be cautious of poorly researched statements and "health-washing" around tea. Whilst there are a number of studies and scientific research surrounding the benefits of drinking tea, we don't claim to be health professionals at Rare Tea. These are opinions gained in 20 years of working alongside all sorts of knowledgeable people - from chefs to producers and scientists. Does oolong tea burn fat and help with weight loss? Oolong tea contains caffeine, which is known to boost your metabolism ..read more

Choosing the best oolong tea to suit your taste is easy, with such a range of styles and flavour. Whilst one oolong tea variety is not necessarily better than another (just different in flavour profile and characteristics), we wanted to share some stand-outs from the 2022 harvests. How to Choose an Oolong Tea Because oolong lies artfully between green tea and black tea, you want to first decide whether you are looking for an oolong that is lighter and greener in flavour or darker and richer. The more oxidised the darker it will be. Best Oolong Teas for 2022 and 2023 Light Oolong Tea O ..read more

I've been asked a lot over the years - what tea makes the best gift for mothers day? I've pondered this one long and hard. It's a bit like Valentines day. It depends so much on the person. Mother's day tea really does depend on your mother. Of course, I would always say - the best loose leaf tea. But what is the best loose leaf tea? The best tea not only tastes amazing but it's good for the people who make it. I recommend Direct Trade tea, sourced from the tea garden and supporting those who make it - mostly women and mothers. But the exact tea to give her, really depends on your mother. My m ..read more

We are often asked what are the health benefits of drinking green tea? Is green tea good for you? What does green tea do? There are a lot of claims about tea, especially green tea, and some of them might be described as ill-researched or "health-washing". I'm very concerned that the information you get from us at Rare Tea is clear and does not fall under those categories. I am not a health professional or a doctor. I do have a Master's degree but it's in Philosophy, not Chemistry. Most people just call me the Tea Lady. I'm the CEO of Rare Tea which I founded in 2004. I've been working in tea ..read more

Oolong tea was one of the first teas to really blow my mind. I clearly remember a pot of Tie Guan Yin oolong in the lobby of a hotel in Xiamen back in the late 1990s. It cost $50 and I couldn’t get my head around that. How could a pot of tea cost $50? And this was over 20 years ago. It was bought for me by a client (in my life before I became the Rare Tea Lady) and made for me by a skilled waitress at our table. She carefully infused the tea from a Gaiwan teapot into a jug for us to pour into tiny cups, not much bigger than thimbles. It was a revelation. I fell deeply, completely for the Iron ..read more

Tea en primeur; in time for Christmas Rare Tea Company is inviting tea lovers across the world to pre-purchase a special autumn tea harvest direct from one of the most exceptional tea gardens in India. Why is this news? We are trying to do something different. To reshape an exploitative industry. And it’s a rare Christmas good news story where people can actively support a tea farm owned and run by a rare woman teamaker - Nayantara Linnebank. Sourced directly by Henrietta, a rare tea lady - founder of Rare Tea Co. "Henrietta Lovell, who has known Lakyrsiew almost since the start, has visited ..read more

2020 was the year of the biodegradable tea bag (amongst other not too brilliant things). A number of big brand tea companies launched biodegradable tea bags to redeem themselves after tea drinkers worldwide were hit with ugly headlines; their tea bags have been infusing microplastics, polluting our bodies and our planet... So are biodegradable bags the answer? We don't think so. We’re not arguing that removing non-biodegradable plastics is a bad thing. But even a biodegradable tea bag is not environmentally sustainable. Precious natural resources are still being used for a single dunk. Trees ..read more

Henrietta wrote this for the hospitality industry, published by our good friends at CODE Hospitality for their cracking long reads section. With their kind permission we've republished this on our journal. I want to tell you about a rather indecent proposal made to me in an expensive hotel. It’s not what you might be expecting. This isn’t about me being a woman. But it does affect women across the globe, and their children and their communities. Not too long ago the Food & Beverage director of a historic, highly successful and very luxurious five-star hotel in the heart of London invited m ..read more