Expectations of Marketing Practices


Marketing Agencies

Methodologies

Health Benefits

If health benefits are referenced in marketing, then the Tea Tavern must be able to provide an easily accessible place to obtain the referenced research proving that the health benefits are real and obtainable with the consumption of the specified tea or type of tea in quantities that are at normal/average levels.

We can mention what people say and believe about tea, but if there is no evidence that we can reference proving a particular benefit, then the marketing piece must specify this in some way, such as by writing "Patrons tell us..." or "People believe that...".

Overarching Marketing Playbook

1. BRAND IDENTITY

2. TARGET CUSTOMER + COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

3. MARKETING CHANNELS + CONTENT STRATEGY/ONLINE PRESENCE

5. LAUNCHING A MARKETING CAMPAIGN

6. INFLUENCER MARKETING AND PARTNERSHIPS

7. CUSTOMER/COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT + RETENTION

8. EVENT MARKETING

9. STRATEGIC GROWTH

10. MEASURE YOUR RESULTS















Instagram Growth Strategy

KEY FEATURES OF INSTAGRAM

  1. Posts (In-Feed): permanent content that appears on your profile
    • Best for showcasing brand identity and products, announce launches
  2. Stories: temporary content that disappears after 24 hours
    • best for behind the scenes or interactive content
  3. Reels: short, engaging videos idea for storytelling, tutorials or trends
    • reels help increase visibility as IG promotes these to wider audiences
    • similar color palette and tone as photos, use overlays or consistent fonts, ensure the reel's cover aligns with your overall feed
  4. Highlights: Saved stories organized into categories on your profile
    • Great for FAQ's, about us section, product tutorials, customer testimonials, highlighting events, partnerships or press features

BEST PRACTICES

Important Marketing Acronyms + Terms

 

 

General Marketing Acronyms + Terms

Digital Marketing Acronyms + Terms

Social Media Acronyms + Terms

Email Marketing Acronyms + Terms

Analytics Acronyms + Terms

E-Commerce Acronyms + Terms

A/B Test

 

Pinterest Strategy

1. Set Up a Business Account

2. Develop a Pin Strategy

3. Create Engaging Boards

4. Focus On Content that Drives Engagement/Sales

5. Leverage SEO

7. Utilize Pinterest Analytics

8. Use Pinterest Ads for Amplification

9. Engage with Your Audience

10. General Marketing Strategies

 

Website Copy

PRODUCT COPY

Format

  1. Product Name
  2. Short Bio
  3. Origin and Craftsmanship (drop down for info)
  4. Flavor Profile (drop down for info)
  5. Benefits (drop down for info)
  6. Brewing Instructions (drop down for info)

Example:

Osmanthus Oolong – A Wildcrafted Floral Masterpiece

A rare, seasonal oolong from Guizhou, China, Osmanthus Oolong is crafted using traditional methods, free from additives or artificial processing. Harvested from 400–600-year-old Bird King Big Leaf tea trees at 1,200–1,400m, this tea is naturally infused with wild Osmanthus flowers, creating a deeply aromatic and smooth infusion.

Origin & Craftsmanship (drop down for info)

Flavor Profile (drop down for info)

Benefits (drop down for info)

Brewing Instructions (drop down for info)

Call to Action (Button Below Text)

HOMEPAGE COPY

Headline:

Intro: discuss the brand’s mission and passion for high-quality, sustainable loose-leaf teas

What Makes Us Unique/Key Brand Values: Highlight the sustainability aspect and Gongfu tea brewing tradition using a Gaiwan

✔ Sustainably sourced loose-leaf teas & tisanes from around the world
✔ Rooted in Gongfu brewing traditions
✔ Fantasy tavern-inspired aesthetic
✔ Mindfully packaged in compostable materials

Call to Action:

SHOP PAGE

Headline: Find Your Perfect Brew

Product Listings & Category Descriptions

BLOG/EDUCATIONAL CONTENT PAGE

Headline: 

Types of Content: tea origins and history, brewing techniques, tea and wellness, pairing and recipes

Blog Topics:

Call to Action (At the End of Each Post):


CONTACT PAGE COPY

Headline:

-Invite visitors to reach out for inquiries, wholesale partnerships, or collaborations.

-Include a simple contact form and social media links.

-“Have a question or just want to chat about tea? We’d love to hear from you!"

BUNDLE COPY

1. Product Name:

Tea Trio Bundle – White, Oolong, and Green

2. Short Bio:

Discover the artistry of tea with our Tea Trio Bundle, featuring three exquisite teas: Masters White, Osmanthus Oolong, and Masters Green. Sourced from renowned tea gardens in China, each tea offers a unique flavor profile and a taste of traditional craftsmanship.

3. Origin and Craftsmanship (Dropdown)

4. Flavor Profile (Dropdown)

5. Benefits (Dropdown)

6. Brewing Instructions (Dropdown)

Masters White: 
Osmanthus Oolong: 
Masters Green: 

NON TEA PRODUCT

Format

Overview:

Key Features:

How to Use:

Why You’ll Love It:

Sustainability:

Example

Tea Pet / Strainer Shelled Turtle

Overview:  Introducing the Tea Pet / Strainer Shelled Turtle—a charming, functional solution from the deep roots of The Tea Tavern's philosophy. Inspired by nature and crafted with care, this unique strainer is a game-changer for your tea ritual.

Key Features:

How to Use: Place the Turtle Strainer atop your favorite tea cup, and pour your tea through its intricately designed shell. Watch as the leaves stay neatly contained, leaving you with a perfectly strained cup every time

Why You’ll Love It: The Turtle Strainer offers more than just practicality—it brings a touch of whimsy and wonder to your tea rituals. Whether you're steeping a delicate oolong or a bold black, this unique tool will keep your tea pure while maintaining the natural, earthy vibe of your Tea Tavern experience

Sustainability: Crafted from high-quality Yixing Zisha Clay, this strainer is not only a durable addition to your tea set but also a sustainable one, offering a plastic-free alternative to conventional strainers

MYSTERY TEA

Mystery Tea – A Sip of Adventure

Step into the unknown with our Mystery Tea—a unique, budget-friendly ensemble that's perfect for tea explorers looking to add a little surprise to their cup. We can't tell you exactly what you'll get, but that's part of the fun! This tea is a mix of leftovers from our collection that are waiting to be rediscovered and enjoyed.

Why You’ll Love It:

What You’re Getting:

Disclaimer:

Home Page Layout

Home Page Layout

 

1. Notification Bar 

-rotate 3 messages as a carousel style notification bar (normally some type of promotion), use eye catching color

-i.e. Free shipping, gift with purchase, sign up for email list and receive ______% off (directed to a landing page for email sign up), sign up for sms to learn about new drops (direct to a landing page for sms sign up)

Example:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.30.04 PM.png

 

2. Header

center: tea tavern logo, left side: navigation (shop teas + more) + (About Us) +  (Brewing Guide) + (Events), right side: search icon, account icon, cart icon

Example 1:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.30.10 PM.png

Example 2:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 1.07.06 PM.png

3. Hero Section

Example: current example on tea tavern site works

4. Best-Sellers and Featured Blends

-grid of 4 top selling teas with name + short description, price and a quick add to cart CTA

Example 1:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.31.20 PM.png

Example 2: 

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.30.58 PM.png

5. 2nd Feature or Promotion

example: current example on tea tavern site works (also like how it is a carousel)

 

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 1.41.44 PM.png

6. Value Prop Section

Example 1:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.29.47 PM.png

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.41.38 PM.png

Example 2: Custom Icons for Value Props

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.41.57 PM.png

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.43.33 PM.png

7. Customer Testimonals

-scrolling reviews/carousel 

Example 1:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.40.56 PM.png

Example 2:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.51.42 PM.png

8. Social Grid (optional to add to site once IG is more established)

Example 1:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.33.26 PM.png

9. About Us

-brief about us with a cta button to "Our Story" or "Learn More" that will go to the about us landing page

Example 1:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.52.08 PM.png

-footer nav on left side, social icons in center or under email sign up and newsletter sign up on the right

 Shop → All Teas | Accessories
Customer Care → FAQs | Shipping & Returns | Contact Us
About → About us l Core values l partners

  1. Email Sign Up “Join Our Tavern Loyalty Program” • Get 10% off your first order + access to exclusive blends & brewing tips

Example 1: 

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.57.47 PM.png

Example 2:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 12.56.21 PM.png

Example 3:

Screenshot 2025-03-09 at 1.30.08 PM.png

 

Website Design Diagram

Left side: modified, expected to be similar to.

Right side:  original part of chai (for claification of what to change)

About Page

Short Version

Headline:

Brand Story: Share why Tea Tavern started—what inspired it, what sets it apart, such as commitment to quality, sustainability, and authentic brewing techniques.

SEO Friendly Mission Statement: 

Call to Action:

Long Version

The Originating Tea Journey

Many adventurers come through the tavern seeing respite and fine drink, after their adventures. The Tea Tavern aims to support it’s patrons by providing them with the finest brewing supplies, teachings of how to best use them, and a community of people to share it all with. We support bringing people towards a better, healthier life.

In the beginning, the Tea Tavern's keeper found a consistent problem when brewing tea...
The brew was never as good as the tea brewed by others. 

Many can say that tea brewing is an art, however it is an art that the tavern keeper never seemed to be able to perform well in. However, year after year, more and more people came to the keeper to talk about tea, to share tea, and to talk about the different aspects of the art of brewing tea to study. Over time, many tea importers, tea house owners, brewing experts, and scientists shared their teas and techniques. "The Art of Tea" was found to be the wrong direction; rather, "The Science of Tea" was something the keeper could get behind.

The journey of the Tea Tavern's creation started with WillyDoesLife, a friend who taught gongfu tea brewing. 
WillyDoesLife introduced David Lee Hoffman, one of the first - if not the first - people to sell tea from China.
David showed what a difference high quality leaf made, as well as a gifted all the tooling needed for gongfu brewing. 
Through familial introductions, the tavern keeper later met the TeaHouseGhost; a specter with not only enough charisma to compete with Casper, and enough knowledge of traditions and brewing to give the impression that his spirit is also that of his ancestors. He was able to teach everything that the Tea Tavern's keeper was missing in brewing tea, what made tea a science, and what made tea an art. The trouble with the keeper's brews was not an inability to move the brush, however. Rather, there was something wrong in the pigments for painting... which is to say... when brewing tea, there was something in the water.

The TeaHouseGhost then suggested that the Tea Tavern's keeper speak with the Water Wizards of Tea Curious.
And true wizards they were; Tea Curious' Rei was able to explain that how tea water and its dissolved components can strongly affect the flavor of the brew. Not only did they provide the answer to what was preventing the keeper's tea from tasting as good as all those who shared their own teas, but they even provided the scrolls on which they recorded the measurements, components, and the reasoning for them with the grand "Internet" archives of the world!

The answer to "why can't I make good tea..?" was in the composition of the water. Not just the leaves.

With the journey at an end, the Tea Tavern was made, aiming to bring the same wisdom found from the brews made with the science and the art. No matter the situation of the tavern patrons, the Tea Tavern will be open. Perhaps one is like Mr. Frodo, who seeks to recover from encounters with dark forces; like Tripitaka, seeking the wisdom of the world; or simply like Princess Merida, in an attempt to escape the stress, hustle, and bustle of the castle, the Tea Tavern will lend the wisdom needed to reach their goals for the finest composed teas.

---

With this all said, the above story is indeed a romanticized story, but it is a true story. Everyone referenced (except the story book characters, of course) were a direct influence to not only the support in the creation and development of Tea Tavern as a business, but also to the tavern's products.

The Tavern's Tea Vendors

The Phoenix Collection

David Lee Hoffman is the owner of The Phoenix Collection, where we wholesale teas such the 1995 "Green Pu'erh" and Aini Bamboo Shu (2014). He was one of, if not the, first Americans to go to and source tea from China. In the documentary All in this Tea, people can see the attention to quality through his telling of how tea smelled, how tea tasted, and what was used to grow the tea (ex. organic fertilization). He even cared about the lives of the farmers and their ability to sell tea without requiring a factory as the middle-man. Something that may have helped the growth of two other vendors: West China Tea and Grass People Tree.

West China Tea

West China Tea's owner is the the TeaHouseGhost (So-Han Fan). Having gone to China themselves, West China Tea sources teas directly from farmers who care about organic, healthful farming of tea. They provide some of the most in-depth and informational educational content as a course and for free. They built a vibrant community of tea drinkers at their establishment in Austin, Texas, converting people who may have previously avoided tea into people who seek out quality tea.
They supply the Tea Tavern with teas such as Moonlight White tea bings, Ancient Black Rain tea coins, and Black Phoenix.

Grass People Tree

Grass People Tree (GPT) is one of Tea Tavern's and West China Tea's direct-from-farm vendors.
The Tea Tavern's keeper occasionally speaks with Rui, the owner of Grass People Tree and found a genuine passion in her for tea as an art, as a medicine, and it's traditions. Based on her educational content and blog postings, the Tea Tavern finds that the ecosystem they grow tea from, the people they work with to craft their products, and the process in which they use to make their teas are perhaps honored more than the tea that they sell, itself. 
The teas that they sell are all from wild and ancient trees. The leaves are processed in a much more careful  and special manner, as to prevent qualities that would make them bitter. As a result, people can be sure that the plants they use are healthy, that all the health benefiting substances in tea are at their strongest, and that there won't be any additional substances that can result in harming a person's health. This results in a tea that is unlike any other that the Tea Tavern finds in that the brews almost never becomes bitter...
Even when accidentally leaving Master's Green brewing in boiling water for a minute or two.  (^^;)7 
This proves that GPT tea is also difficult to brew in a way that would makes the tea's brew unpleasant to most people.
Further, Rui takes care of her employees by helping the "sisters" who pick and pack tea. This is done though obtain funding to help the sisters progress their personal goals, such as learn English. Rui communicates directly with many of the wholesale vendors, visits many of their tea houses as she travels, and  is one of the most welcoming and helpful people in the world's tea community. 
As a result, GPT is the partner supplying us with the teas found in the Wild Tea Sampler. (^-^)

Tea Curious

Tea Curious sources teas from primarily Taiwan and Napal, however they also have teas from other places like China. The organization was founded by Steven and Rie who went to various parts of the world to learn how to find and make quality tea. They have a passion for high quality tea, community, and a scientific degree of attention to brewing. 
Tea Curious teas have the most details recorded about their teas compared to all of the Tea Tavern's other vendors, including what degree of organic that the farm grew the tea in (wild, low intervention, organic certified, working on certification, etc..). The attention to detail also stretches into their water, as they are the organization that the Tea Tavern wholesales tea water minerals from, and thus are the ones who made the recipe that the tavern uses for tea water.. 
Thanks to the teachings of these water wizards, the Tea Tavern was able to move from "ok" tea to "the finest of teas".

Mei Leaf Tea

Mei Leaf Tea, as a brand, has made itself stand out as the vendor of "pinnacle" tea, as it pertains to flavor. Numerous daily gongfu, Chinese tea drinkers strongly recommended that the Tea Tavern work with them as a wholesale vendor, and the reasoning makes sense. One only needs to browse the Mei Leaf tea YouTube videos to see how they are passionate and effective at teaching people about tea and finding only the finest tasting versions of those teas (to the owner's taste, of course). They have scouts go out to Chinese tea farms, funnel thousands of teas down to a select few hundred that they ship samples of to the Mei Leaf, which then go through taste testing with the owner to decide on a select few teas that they decide are the "pinnacle" of the particular type of tea. 
Mei Leaf Tea is actually a prime example of why the Tea Tavern likes to work with wholesalers. Yes, the price is higher for working with them, but our vendors go through significant efforts that are more immediately capable of supporting the goals of the Tea Tavern.

Non-Tea Herb Focused Vendors

Tea (camellia sinensis) is in an interesting situation in America. Very nice herbs are grown right here in America, the herbs have their own wide variety of flavors, uses (including medicinal), and have even ended up merging in terminology with tea. As a result, of the difference in cost, the demand of the local market, and a desire to avoid caffeine made the Tea Tavern decide to work with herbalists to obtain the finest "herbal teas" or tisanes.
Tea Tavern's vendors are all either small farms who run truly organic or restorative farming practices or are herbalists who know and work with these types of farmers. They all make their own blends of herbs, the blends are sometimes more popular than the tea served, and they give people who want to avoid caffeine a way to participate at the table..  

Moss Cap Tea

Mosscap Tea is run by herbalists passionate about farming to the most naturally beneficial extent possible. They have helped the Tea Tavern in researching the organic certification, its pitfalls, and how to farm to a level of "organic" that the certification does not assure. Due to their depth of knowledge and skill in making tasteful herbal mixtures, the Tea Tavern works with them to wholesale blends of herbs that are mostly grown from small farms local to Texas.
Teas from "Mosscap" is in the name of all the products that the Tea Tavern wholesales from them, such as The Mosscap Hearth and Rain of a Mosscap.

Sacred Blossom Farm

Sacred Blossom Farm is a Wisconsin herb farm that advertises restorative and low-intervention (or "low-input") farming practices to grow herbs, as well as a degree of foraging for some wild grown herbs. Their focus is on selling the finest tasting herbs with the healthiest plants they can produce, to provide the healthiest and most medicinally effective herbal blends that they can.
An example of the herbal blend that the Tea Tavern wholesales from them is Sacred Blossom Immunity.

Shipping and Return Policy

Shipping Policy

At Tea Tavern, we strive to get your tea treasures to you as quickly as possible! Our standard shipping rate is $8 per order. Please allow for approximately 3-7 business days for delivery within the continental United States.

Tracking Information: After we make your tracking label, we'll send you a tracking number via email so you can stay up-to-date on its journey to your doorstep!

Adventurers hailing from the realms beyond the United States of America: Our scholars are studying the ancient "shipping" scrolls for delivering "shipments" by "ship", but for some reason, they all use the term "cargo". Surely they don't expect us to send a delivery cart into the ocean, right? Anyway, this will be followed by studies of cross-boarder deliveries, tariff payment, export/import law, and multi-national addressing systems and software tooling. This is all to say... 
Sorry, we aren't able to deliver outside the United States of America, yet.

"UNACCEPTABLE! (っ'O')╮=͟͟͞🍋)`-' )  "? 
Please email support@tea-tavern.com to see if there is a way we can adjust to work with you to your needs.

Return Policy

We want all of our clients to love our products and offer the following returns policy.

Non-Faulty Returns: If for any reason you change your mind about a product then we will accept returns requested within 14 days of receipt of the products and we will give you a refund. There are some important conditions:

  1. The product has to be unopened, unused and undamaged to qualify.
  2. The product must be returned before we can issue any refunds.
  3. The price of the return postage is paid by the client.
  4. The refund given will be for the price paid for the product and does not include shipping.
  5. We do not refund any associated customs or sales tax charged by your local authorities.

Faulty Returns: If you receive a product that you think is faulty or develops a fault within 60 days of purchase then please email us immediately. We will assess the issue to determine if the product is faulty and if we agree that there is a fault we will issue you with a replacement or refund with the following conditions:

  1. The product fault must be reported within 60 days of receipt of the product.
  2. The fault or damage will be verified by us before issuing any refunds. We may ask for photographs for verification.
  3. If we require the product returned then we will pay for the return shipping.
  4. We will either replace it with free shipping or refund the amount paid for the product plus the shipping charge for the product. Please be aware that if the product was sent with other items the shipping refund will be proportional.

Should the cost of shipping for a replacement exceed the cost of the goods itself, we reserve the right to issue a credit/refund instead, or will offer to ship a replacement item with your next order.

Incorrect Orders:
If we mistakenly send you the wrong product or if an item is missing then please email us within 14 days and we will either refund/credit you or dispatch the correct product immediately with free shipping. If we require a return of the incorrect product then we will pay for the return shipping.

Should the cost of shipping the missing item exceed the cost of the goods itself, we reserve the right to issue a credit/refund instead, or will offer to ship a replacement item with your next order.

Refused Delivery: Local import taxes, sales taxes and customs duties are outside of our control and responsibility, they are charged by the authorities in your destination country. Should you refuse the delivery due to unwillingness to pay these charges or for any other reason, then we operate the following returns policy.

Upon return and receipt of the goods, we will refund you the cost of the goods minus a 25% restocking fee. We do not refund the shipping costs. We reserve the right to make the following further deductions from the refund:

  1. If the order was placed with Free Shipping then we will deduct the cost of the shipping charges from the refund.
  2. If there are any associated return shipping costs then these will be deducted from the refund.
  3. The value of any damaged goods will be deducted from the refund.

Address Accuracy

Customers are responsible for providing accurate shipping information during the order process. In the event that a package is returned to our local courier due to an incorrect or incomplete address provided by the customer, Tea Tavern cannot be held accountable. We regretfully cannot offer refunds or replacements for such cases and cannot assume responsibility for any communication issues arising from inaccurate address details. We strongly advise customers to thoroughly review their shipping information before finalizing orders to ensure successful delivery.
This being said, it is possible that we can get the address corrected if you contact us before we ship the product. So should you realize you sent to the wrong address, feel free to contact and inform us at support@tea-tavern.com. Please include the following information in the initial email:

Uncollected/Undelivered parcels returned to us

Should a parcel be returned to us we will write to you to organize re-delivery. If we do not hear from you after 30 days of emailing then we will return the products to stock pending your reply. A credit or refund can be organized once you reply minus any restocking charges and cost of loss of products which cannot be restocked.

Missing Packages

Tea Tavern endeavors to ensure the safe delivery of all packages. However, once a package has been confirmed as delivered by the carrier, we are unable to assume liability for any subsequent loss or theft. In the event of a missing package that has been marked as delivered, customers are encouraged to contact the carrier directly to file a claim. Tea Tavern will provide assistance and necessary documentation to support such claims to the best of our ability. We regretfully cannot offer replacements or refunds for packages confirmed as delivered by the carrier but subsequently reported as missing.

Processing Refunds

We will notify you once we’ve received and inspected your return, and let you know if the refund was approved or not. If approved, you’ll be automatically refunded on your original payment method within 10 business days. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund too.
If more than 15 business days have passed since we’ve approved your return, please contact us at support@tea-tavern.com

FAQ (also on website)

  1. So what makes Tea Tavern's teas special?
    We care about the tea, our community, and helping our community grow. As a result, we attempt to find tea that has the fewest growth intervention techniques used on it. This includes use of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, and tipping for growth encouragement, or anything else that we find might adjust the strength and health of the tea plant and its flavors.
    As a result, Tea Tavern teas are are chosen with this in mind, such as teas  grown through low intervention farming with just enough pruning to keep the plant healthy, or even are picked from wild plants! 

  2. Why gongfu tea instead of a big tea pot?
    Gongfu brewing uses a much larger amount of leaves for the amount of water that is used at a time. As a result, brewing is significantly faster, the flavor (not the bitterness) of the leaves is stronger, one has more control over the particular flavor desired to be brewed, and gongfu allows rebrewing many more times. 
    Want a brewing kit for gongfu? See our Adventurer's Brewing Kit!
    Want to learn more about gongfu brewing first? Read our brewing guide or come ask one of the traveling brewmasters at a Traveling Tea Tavern event!

  3. What is the simplest way to do gongfu brewing, with the least effort?
    Basic gongfu uses the following tools as a basis: Gawian (brewing vessel), a serving cup, and tea cups for drinking. If the serving cup is missing, however, it is common to pour directly into the tea cups, attempting to share as equally as possible.
    With this in mind, if you aren't serving people, one could skip the serving cup and tea cups, and just release the tea into a drinking mug.

  4. What are ways to describe the flavors of tea, so I know what to ask for? (How to know which teas are for you)
    People who are new to tea can usually relate the practice of describing "tea tasting notes" to that of fancy alcoholic beverages or chocolates. Tea has a wide variety of flavors and varying strength in those flavors. The Tea Tavern tends to use the following descriptors, but note that more descriptions are used by other places, as well.
    - Nutty
    - Flowery
    - Grassy
    - Smokey
    - Earthy
    - Fruity 

  5. Do you make your own tea blends?
    For the Tea Tavern's home, the term "blend" tends to be used because people expect a mixture of herbs to produce fun flavors, such as is common in places such as English tea rooms. Rather than mixing the herbs ourselves, however, we work with vendors to bring mindfully grown herbal blends such as The Mosscap Hearth and Rain of a Mosscap.
    As referenced in other places such as China, however, the creation of "tea blends" is primarily an outcome of the industrialisation of tea production to reduce costs, flavors, and qualities. Teas from different regions or various parts of the tea plant, such as leaves and stems, are "blended" together. This process ensures a consistent product but often overlooks the unique characteristics that individual teas can offer. As a result, the Tea Tavern is no "opposed" to selling a blend, but they are not the focus, as they are usually not the same quality as single origin sourced teas.

  6. How do you tell the quality of a tea?
    The easiest option is to smell and taste the tea yourself.
    - Does the tea smell like chemicals? It likely won't be a good tea.
    - Does it just taste unpleasant or feel weird? It is possible that the particular tea is not to your preference, but it is also possible that you are tasting/feeling pesticides or chemical fertilizers that were used in the growth process. So if you don't like the particular tea, just don't drink that one, and look for one you do like, instead.

    For more delicate teas like whites and greens, one can use the resilience of the leaves a metric for quality. Can they be brewed in boiling water and not become bitter? 
    For example, Tea Tavern's brewmasters always brew Master's Green with boiling water and it won't become bitter.

    Contrarily, Tea Tavern's brewmasters do not recommend brewing Phidim White Prakash with boiling water, as the strength becomes too strong too quickly, and the flavor become what most people call "bitter". As a result, if tea becomes unpleasant because of how strong the flavor is, can you make the brew taste pleasant again by adding water?
    The Tea Tavern's keeper (and this FAQ's writer) regularly over-brews Phidim White Prakash, for example. (^^;)7
    As a result, the keeper often adds water to Phidim White Prakash brews, fixing all the bitterness that is otherwise found!

    This brings us to the last easy quality-checking method. Tea farmers will sometimes take a small amount of leaf and brew it in a bowl of hot water. The tea will be left to brew for multiple hours, and when they finally come back to it, the tea may be weak, but is it pleasant?
    Maybe they were good leaves and prepared wrong, thus doesn't taste good.
    Maybe they used chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and since it was brewing for so long, they actually released into the brew.
    Whatever the case, a long steeping time is sure to extract as much from the leaves as is going to happen, for the most holistic leaf flavor.

  7. I see you have more than just "green tea" and "black tea".. so what kind of tea is there and what do those mean? What are the differences?
    Due to classifications of tea crossing different cultures and languages, there are debates and confusion from meanings and translations. As a result, these are the terms and classifications that are influenced by Tony Gebely's book "Tea, a User's Guide" and used at the Tea Tavern.
    White: White tea is made by withering fresh leaves for several days and then drying them.
    Green: Tea made from leaves that have been withered, fixed (AKA: Kill Green), and dried
    Yellow: Yellow tea is defined by a unique processing step where small batches of tea leaves are wrapped in cloth bundles after fixing, allowing them to yellow.
    Oolong: During the oolong production process, oxidation is initiated, controlled, and halted before the leaves are considered fully oxidized.
    Black/Red: A mostly oxidized tea from fresh tea leaves that are withered, rolled, oxidized, and dried.
    Hei Cha (Dark): Teas that have been fermented or made to be fermented.
    Pu-erh: Tea leaves grown in Yunnan Province and are descendants of Camellia sinensis var. assamica.
    Shu (cooked) Pu-erh: A quickly fermented tea that undergoes the "wet piling" process, the process in which tea leaves are put into piles and moisture is added and controlled over a period of several hours to several weeks depending on the type.
    Sheng (raw) Pu-erh: Is made the same as shu, but without the wet piling process. Rather these are made and often left to age.
    Purple: A tea with genetics that make the leaf on the plant purple rather than green in color.

  8. Do you have a recommendation for teas to try? Teas to gift?
    One of the first recommendations for people is always a wild picked tea. This is because they are much more difficult to brew bitter and avoids the possible toxins in other teas that result in jitters, sickness, and sometimes difficulty sleeping after drinking. If you wanted to know what a variety taste like, see the Wild Tea Sampler.

  9. What is the importance of water used to brew the tea?
    Water dissolves/dissociates the solids in tea leaves, which is what gives the brew its flavor. This can be either supported or hindered by the materials already in the water.
    The easiest way to see how this can happen is if there is already a lot in the water. Water that has been saturated with salt (of any kind) will extract fewer materials from the tea than purified water with nothing in it. The color change will be less noticeable.
    Another factor is if the materials in the water will react with the tea. One basic science experiment that teaches "how to see evidence of chemical change" is by adding an acid to tea; this is to see the color change. So if the materials in the water are particularly basic or acidic, then they will have an effect on the tea's flavor.
    Lastly, if one is drinking particularly hard or metallic tasting water, then it will be very likely to just mix the flavor of the tea with the unpleasant metallic and hard water flavors. Not necessarily remove them.
    With all these factors in mind, the Tea Tavern sells brewing components that help people prepare tea water as well as tea! One would obtain purified water (reverse osmosis or distilled), which can often be found in many markets and add 1ml of each in the mineral pair.
    *fill, spritz, spritz, boil*, and the water is ready to brew tea!

  10. Why re-mineralize purified water (reverse osmosis or distilled)?
    While one can use a good local tap water, filtered, bottled, or just a purified water without re-mineralizing, the brewers of the Tea Tavern find that the minerals in the water help exemplify or mellow the particular flavors of a tea. Thus, they not only help extract some materials in tea, but they sometimes react with the tea in a minor and possibly favorable way.
    If someone doesn't like grassiness in tea, perhaps they will use the minerals for Autumn water.
    If they want to influence the floweriness of the tea, perhaps they will prefer minerals for Springtide water.
    Or maybe one just want the true flavor of the tea and will use minerals for Original water to extract as much of the tea's true flavor as they can.

  11. Do the teas of Tea Tavern have caffeine?
    All teas (camellia sinensis) naturally have caffeine. In order to attempt to remove their caffeine, people have figured out ways to "decaffeinate" them. These ways always include mixing some other chemical with the tea to make it react with or dissolve the caffeine. The Tea Tavern does not have the facilities to perform this extraction, but also may not want to given that these processes usually just reduce the amount of caffeine and possibly leave some other chemical behind that isn't talked about. Not that they are necessarily a concern, as one process uses large amounts of CO2 to react with the caffeine, but CO2 decaffeination is one of the more difficult options.

    This being said, the Tea Tavern does also sell herbs; some of which are from plants closely emulate the flavor of the tea plant.
    If you'd like an herb that steeps and tastes a lot like the tea plant, but has not be found to naturally have caffeine, you may like the Shu Ya Bao (camellia crassicolumna).
    Alternatively, if you'd like a totally different flavor profile, perhaps you'd like the flowery cinnamon of The Mosscap Hearth.
    Lastly, if you'd like to brows the herbals that the Tea Tavern has, please see the herb collection.

  12. How much caffeine is in the tea that has caffeine?
    The Tea Tavern dreams to one day have the tooling for extracting caffeine to measure how much is in a particular tea, directly... But until that day, the true measurements for how much caffeine is in a particular tea will remain uncertain. For now, the Tea Tavern uses Caffeine Informer to help find likely quantities, as they are one of the few sources that link back to scientific articles.

  13. What are the medicinal properties of Tea?
    Tavern Keeper here. You have my apologies, as this response will likely feel like a big non-answer.
    Tea is known to have many different chemicals that make up the plant. Some of the most commonly known are polyphenols, caffeine, and theanines. Yes, there are more, but stick with me here to give the example:
    Some research suggests that tea's caffeine (and other compounds) have an anti-diabetic effect due to how it affects the pancreas. Some people even add it to beverages as a pre-workout supplement to help with exercise performance. This comes with possible downsides of increased anxiety for some. Others fear caffeine addiction. Similarly, others appear entirely unaffected by caffeine.
    Polyphenols are a part of what have made "green tea" into the "medicine" that many treat green tea as. Polyphenols are about 30% of green tea's dry weight, and has anti-oxidant properties. They also produce the grassy flavor in tea that not everyone enjoys, and depending on the diet, not everyone needs additional anti-oxidants.
    Lastly, L-theanine is known to be a calming chemical. The combination of L-theanine and caffeine in tea results in what some call "a mindful awareness and focus" rather than a hyperactive, anxious mind. 
    With all this together, we have to keep in mind the amount of the substance that we intake, if it is enough to actually make an effect, and keep in mind how it reacts with all the other chemicals present.
    So... how does the Tea Tavern handle the possible health benefits of tea?
    We'd recommend picking tea from the healthiest of tea plants, drinking tea for the enjoyment of the flavor, and listening to how your body reacts to what you consume.
    The healthiest tea plants, such as the low-intervention or wild picked teas, will have the fewest harmful substances, such as absorbed pesticides or chemicals from fertilization, and will likely be the most potent in substances that are beneficial to one's health... and likely have a stronger flavor as a result. ;D
    Research has found that people who drink more tea tend to have healthier lives. The reason is unclear to us currently, but if this is true, why make it unpleasant with tea that you dislike the flavor of? This makes it easier to consume more, thus obtain more of the associated health benefits.
    Lastly, no mater how pleasant the particular tea is, think about how you react to tea and if you consider it "favorable". Should you feel anxious, make your stomach feel off, or get any other symptoms consistently found while drinking tea, then perhaps move to one of the herbals instead.
    As for myself, I usually don't have tea on an empty (think "fasting" length of time without food) stomach. My stomach just regularly starts to have an unusual not-quite empty feeling that just feels weird when there is nothing else in it, along with the tea. As a result, early in the morning or late at night, I tend to drink some of the herbals, because I still want a warm flavored beverage.
    This is all to say that tea is complex, and thus research is complex, especially as it relates to the human bodies.
    So if tea has health benefits, then drink from the most healthy plants, and brew the most pleasant plants that you can obtain!

  14. How do you store the tea?
    The simplest rule of thumb is to store tea in an air-tight, opaque container and at a cool (or "not hot") temperature. 
    An air-tight container, because aromas around the tea will start to infuse with the tea (notice how "jasmine tea" is often a green tea without any Jasmine flowers mixed in);
    in an opaque container, because light will break down materials, thus flavors in the tea;
    and in a cool place, because chemicals and micro-organisms simply move slower at cooler temperatures.
    There is a lot more to this, and if you'd like to learn those specifics, feel free to ask through the "contact us" page. We'll help you figure out how to best store tea with your given goals.

  15. How do you age the tea?
    If you thought "storage" was a complex topic, "aging" is even more so.
    In short, there is dry aging and humid aging for tea. (Wet is mostly used for fermentation while tea is being made, rather than after it has already been made... otherwise you might be thinking about Kombucha.)
    Dry aging is mostly enzymatic and occurs slowly over time, while humid aging includes more influence from micro-organisms.
    There is a lot more to aging tea, and if you'd like to learn those specifics, feel free to ask through the "contact us" page. We'll help you figure out how to best age tea with your given goals.

  16. How long does the tea last?
    This is mostly related to how volatile the aromas of the particular tea are. If it is very aromatic, it will likely start to fade in flavor over 2-4 years... this is also assuming that it is not the type of tea that ages. Since most tea "ages" rather than "loses flavor", the older the tea is, the more "different" the flavor becomes. For example, the 1995 "Green Pu-erh" was made in 1995, and has a strong flavor distinctly found in long aged tea.
    So, a tea that you like today, may be one that you like less next year, and become one you love in 3 years.
    When stored in stable temperature and airflow conditions, though, teas should retain flavor for many years.

  17. I'm struggling to brew good tea... :(
    What should I do? -
    The following are the main factors that we have found contribute to a tea's taste, aside from the quality of the leaves.
    Quality of water, the amount of water compared to amount of leaf, the temperature of the water, and the amount of time steeping. So...
    Are you using good water for tea? (Few dissolved substances, like less than 200 PPM if you know what that means?)
    Have you tried using more or less leaf?
    Have you tried a higher or lower temperature?
    Have you tried steeping for more or less time?
    Well, even if you haven't, feel free to reach out on the Tea Tavern's contact age. We'll do our best to help you figure out how to brew better. :)