How do you ensure the purity and quality of your teas?

Since 1972, we've been proud to offer our customers exceptional quality teas -- that's our commitment and our mission. We adhere to several policies to ensure our tea is of the finest and purest quality.

First, we buy our teas directly from the world's premier tea gardens and only conduct business with reputable suppliers, most of whom we have worked with for years. Then, we require every vendor to sign a certificate of compliance based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

In addition, our line of Organic Teas is certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Quality Assurance International (QAI).

We also set equally high standards for our herbal and spiced teas by purchasing herbs and spices whole from the world's best sources. We mill them right before blending for superior taste and flavor. They are also tested according to strict guidelines set by the American Spice Trade Association, the Food and Drug Administration and, ultimately, our own even more stringent guidelines. The flavors and extracts used in our teas are always 100% natural.

Green tea has a high content of vitamins and minerals. It contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in amounts comparable to a lemon. Green tea also contains several B vitamins which are water soluble and quickly released into a cup of tea. Five cups of green tea a day will provide 5-10% of the daily requirement of riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, and pantothenic acid. The same five cups of green tea also provide approximately 5% of the daily requirement of magnesium, 25% of potassium, and 45% of the requirement for manganese. Green tea is also high in fluoride. A cup of green tea provides approximately 0.1 mg of fluoride, which is higher than in fluorinated water. Scientific studies have shown strong evidence that green tea may help reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease, and may also prevent some cancers.

White tea is a very rare, expensive connoisseurs tea that is produced in China, mainly Fukien (Fujian) Province. Once harvested, white tea is not oxidized or rolled, but simply withered and dried by steaming. White tea requires an experienced palate already initiated into the exquisite, subtle flavors of green and oolong teas. Its name, a literal translation from the Chinese, probably comes from the very pale color of its liquor. This tea has a very mellow taste and a hint of sweetness.

Researchers speculate that the processing of tea determines its cancer fighting potential. Because white tea goes through the least amount of processing, it theoretically has the most polyphenols (as some polyphenols are oxidized or destroyed during processing). These polyphenols have been linked to cancer prevention. While experiments have been conducted on laboratory rats, more studies are needed in order to determine whether white tea protects humans against cancer. white tea might have the strongest potential of all teas for fighting cancer, especially colon cancer.

The tea ball, or tea egg as it is called in Europe, evolved during the first half of the nineteenth century. It is a perforated metal ball-shaped container in which tea leaves are placed. The ball is immersed in boiling water so the tea can steep without the leaves escaping into the water. The earliest tea balls were sized to make a pot of tea. Today there are both pot and cup size tea balls. The most recent evolution of the tea ball is the perforated tea spoon which takes only one hand to fill and empty.

Tip: When using a tea infuser be sure to fill it only 1/2 full so the tea leaves have enough room to infuse (expand) properly.

Centuries ago the inventive Chinese, who created the earliest banking system with coins and paper bank notes, found that their currency had no value when trading with people in far away Mongolia and Tibet. Their solution to this problem was to turn their most valued product, tea, into bricks. The tea bricks were even scored so they could be broken to make change.

Today, these sculpted tea bricks with traditional Chinese motifs, are mainly used for decoration as the quality of the tea is very poor. They make very unique gifts and interesting conversation pieces.

Tip: If you choose to purchase a tea brick you may want to apply a coat of clear lacquer to protect it from humidity.

How do you brew the Matcha tea?

Are Stash Teas gluten free?

There are more than 3000 varieties of tea, each has its own distinct character and is named for the area in which it is grown. For example, Assam from Assam in India, Formosa Oolong from Taiwan, Ceylon from Sri Lanka, Darjeeling from Darjeeling, India, and so forth.

All of our teas are kosher through KOF-K. There are also a few other items in the catalog that are kosher.

• Honeysticks - KOF-K
• Nikki's Cookies - Circle K
• Stash Tea Bread - Square K

So what exactly is Chai?

Chai means tea in many languages. In India, the generic word for tea is chai. The word is derived from the Chinese word tea, cha, which the British turned into tay, which then evolved into tea.

Indian Chai is enjoyed in both cities and the smallest of villages, and is offered to every visitor to a home. In Northern India, where Chai is the beverage of choice, tiny tea stalls line the streets where all day long chaiwallas (tea vendors) brew and serve tea.

Chai is usually brewed very strong with lots of sugar and milk and often concentrated. Traditional Indian Chai combines very black tea that is boiled in milk and flavored with local spices such as sweet cinnamon, sharp clove, penetrating cardamom, and occasionally black peppercorns, pungent ginger and hot red chilies, and sweetened with sugar. This spicy tea is brewed in a samovar-type vessel and is always served very hot.

Chai has become very popular in recent years capturing the crowd that is beginning to feel over stimulated by too many tall lattes and shots of double espresso. There are many variations and preparation choices for Chai, but fresh brewed (vs concentrate or ready-to-drink) delivers the best tasting Chai as it unlocks the black tea and spice flavors immediately upon infusion.

What are the Flavor Characteristics of Green Tea varieties?

There are more than 3000 varieties of tea. Each has its own distinct character and is named for the area in which it is grown.Producing black tea requires 5 steps - withering, rolling, oxidation, drying/firing, and sorting. Green tea skips the oxidation process and is sometimes referred to as the "virgin of tea" as it is closest to the tea plant in its natural state.

Sencha: Sencha is the most popular type of tea in Japan today. This tea has a mixture of subtle sweetness, bitterness and fresh green scent. The color is light green. Sencha has a wide variety in both quality and price. This is a good afternoon tea.

Gyokuro (Precious Dew): This tea is considered the most refined of Japanese teas. While Gyokuro looks like high quality Sencha, it has a darker green color. Each tea leaf is also thicker. It has a smooth taste which remains long in the mouth, and has less bitterness than Sencha. It is usually a little more expensive compared to other green teas.

Matcha Uji (Froth of liquid jade): This is a powdered tea which is made from Gyokuro leaves and is used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The Matcha Uji has a jade green color in the cup that is concentrated and nourishing. It makes a great iced tea.

Genmaicha (Japanese Rice): This tea is a medium quality green tea and is mixed with toasted rice. It is a typical Japanese specialty.

Red Tea is also known as Rooibos (pronounce roy-boss). It is an indigenous herb of South Africa that is made from the fine needle-like leaves of the "Aspalathus linearis" plant. At the turn of the century in the Cedarberg Mountain wilderness just north of Capetown, the locals harvested the wild plants with axes and hammers, leaving them to oxidize before drying in the sun. In 1904 Benjamin Ginsberg, a Russian immigrant from a family who had been in the tea industry for generations in Europe, began to sell this "Mountain Tea". By 1930 Dr. P. Le Fras Nortier, a well known medical doctor, had discovered the health benefits of Rooibos and cultivation and production began. During the plant's ripening process the leaves develop a reddish brown color, explaining why it was given its name "Rooibos" or "Red Bush".

Today, Rooibos has been growing in popularity because of its refreshing taste and health benefits. Like green tea, Rooibos is high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which help reduce the risk of many chronic health problems. These antioxidants are reported to suppress cancer producing cells, slow the aging process, increase our natural detoxification defenses, and lower blood pressure. Rooibos also contains an anti-spasmodic so it helps to relieve digestive distress. African women enjoy Rooibos during pregnancy because it is high in iron, contains no caffeine, and relieves heartburn and nausea. In addition, their babies are given Rooibos to relieve colic.