Although the choice of teas available from supermarkets is ever expanding, connoisseurs of tea (or those who would like to be) might prefer to source their beverages from a more direct authentic producer. I've recently discovered iTeaworld, a platform for tea lovers all over the world who want to learn about and try a variety of teas from a variety of tea species.
iTeaworld is dedicated to the transmission of the most traditional Chinese farming methods, the recovery of ecological diversity of tea gardens and the improvement of the soil and other environments. They ensure there are no pesticides, chemical fertilizers, synthetic auxins, etc. in their safe and high-quality organic tea. Their aim - to contribute more to the recovery and development of the ecological environment.
iTeaworld has been working to protect the variety of tea tree species and support the development of regional and group-growing tea gardens. They try their best to reduce energy consumption in every phase from production to sales, insisting on using eco-friendly packages that can be recycled. Their express boxes use no tape.
If you feel intimidated by authentic Chinese tea and don't know where to start discovering your favourites, the iTea website offers a variety of ways to start sampling. From flavour notes, levels of caffeine, tea category (like black or oolong) or planting method you can find teas which might even help with inflammation, digestive issues and other health issues.
You can read about how the type of tea tree and location can affect the flavour and compounds in tea. For instance I read on the iTeaworld website that tea leaves picked from modern high mountain tea gardens are tender, abundant in nutrients and won't have been exposed too much in the way of pollutants. The intense sunlight at altitude also gives tea grown in these locations a rich flavour and aroma. Isn't it fascinating?
I've opted for one of their selection boxes (gifted) which will allow me to sample a variety of teas- I can't wait to start brewing and I promise I'll come back and tell you how I got on.