Tea Cultures tea: organic, individually wrapped tea bags
Tea Cultures tea is organic tea and herbal tea from a Dutch tea brand based in Haarlem, sold as the numbered Tea Leaves Collection: 25 tea bags per box, each individually wrapped in a paper envelope. The envelope keeps the aroma in until you brew, and makes it easy to take a few bags to the office or away. Every bag holds 2 g of full-leaf tea, enough for one cup. All the blends are organic, and most are Fairtrade too.
The easiest way to choose is by moment: English Blend for breakfast, a chai with hot milk when you want something spiced, and Red Rooibos Chai or Vervain for a caffeine-free evening. To try several flavours or give a gift, start with the Discovery Box.
How Tea Cultures tea is packed and how to brew it
The envelope around each Tea Cultures tea bag is made of paper with no coating. The bag itself is a non-woven material of plant fibres and is biodegradable, and the box is recyclable.
- Water: the maker recommends soft water, low in minerals.
- Temperature: 80 °C for the green teas, Green Lemon and Finest Jasmine; 100 °C, so freshly boiled, for black tea, rooibos and herbal tea.
- Brewing a pot: allow 12 g of tea per litre, which is six bags.
The brand works with hospitality partners, runs tea training and, by its own account, works directly with tea farmers in Sri Lanka.
Which Tea Cultures tea for which moment?
Choosing a Tea Cultures tea comes down to the time of day and whether you want caffeine.
- English Blend (No. 01, organic and Fairtrade): a full, strong black tea from Sri Lankan estates, made to be drunk with milk. A classic breakfast tea.
- Pacific Dreams (No. 03, organic and Fairtrade): a smooth, gentle black tea with notes of red fruit and fresh blossom that does not turn bitter or astringent, good on its own in the afternoon.
- Black Forest Fruit (No. 02, organic and Fairtrade): a fresh, bold black tea with the flavour of wild forest fruits, strawberry leaf and raspberry leaf, for any time of day.
- Green Lemon (No. 10, organic and Fairtrade): sencha with lemongrass, lemon peel and lemon essence, fresh and thirst-quenching.
- Finest Jasmine (No. 12, organic and Fairtrade): Chinese green tea scented with jasmine blossom, soft and floral, good with a light meal.
- Original Black Spice Chai (No. 04, organic and Fairtrade): black tea with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cardamom and cloves, on its own or with hot milk as a sugar-free chai latte.
- Red Rooibos Chai (No. 06, organic and Fairtrade): caffeine-free rooibos with cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper and cloves, for a chai latte, even late in the day.
- Vervain (No. 15, organic): a caffeine-free herbal tea of vervain with a fresh lemony taste, for the last cup of the evening.
Black Forest Fruit and Green Lemon also make good iced tea: brew it a little stronger, let it cool and pour it over ice.
Tea Cultures as a gift or for the office
The Discovery Box (No. 16) introduces the collection: 25 individually wrapped tea bags of 15 different teas from the Tea Leaves Collection, organic and with Fairtrade tea, with and without caffeine. As a thank-you for a colleague or a box next to the kettle at work, it works well because everyone picks their own envelope.
The shop also has more tea bags and a separate selection of chai tea.