Loose Leaf Tea

Rare Tea is an independent UK tea company, who work globally. We supply loose tea across the world finding tea lovers everywhere and routes to market that support tea farmers... Read more

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Loose leaf tea is the only answer to truly sustainable tea. Teabags use precious natural resources for single use and often contain plastics, bleaches and glues. Even biodegradable tea bags must be processed using industrial chemicals to turn trees or corn into bags that first go into us and then into the bin. Loose tea leaves in a teapot waste nothing, add nothing, and can last generations.

All of our precious, loose tea leaves are bought direct from independent tea gardens. Ethical, direct trade tea is the heart of what we do. We work with people who grow and craft their tea for the highest quality. We don't buy low grade industrial product from brokers or middlemen.

About our loose tea

Our teas are sourced directly from farmers, from a range of amazing places and people across the world, including Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, China, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand, Malawi, Ethiopia, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and the UK.

All of our loose tea is vegetarian, vegan, Gluten Free, and calorie free - being completely natural.

We work directly with tea farmers and tea communities, securing unique harvests with full traceability. We know our farmers. We know where our tea comes from and how it is grown and crafted. Our focus is, and always has been, on ethical and responsible relationships with producers.

We have a range of tea that's great with milk here. We also sell loose herbs. Our tea gifts are perfect as a special present for an avid tea drinker or someone new to loose leaf tea.

If you would like a regular order of loose tea, then we have a curated tea subscription here.

Loose Leaf vs Tea Bags

Loose leaf tea is the most environmentally friendly way to drink tea. Loose tea is 100% plastic-free - unlike most tea bags which are an unsustainable use of precious resources for single use.

Think of the forests cut down to make paper tea bags – even the few, truly biodegradable ones. Used just once and then thrown away. Think of the fields of corn used to make “silken” plastic mesh, not to mention the virgin plastics used to make many of the most expensive tea bags. Think of the glues, the bleaches and the industrial chemicals used to turn wood pulp, plastic or corn into tea bags. Then there is the industrial waste and carbon use in production.

It can all be done, sustainably and simply with a teapot, or infuser, and loose leaf tea. And our pure tea leaves can go straight in your compost, food waste or under the roses.

You can read our full comparison article here: Loose Tea vs Tea Bags.

How to Choose Your Tea

Please have a roam around our website and watch the short films, or have a look at our social media @rareteacompany and choose the first tea you fall in love with. We have travelled the world to curate this collection which we truly believe are the most delicious loose leaf teas available anywhere. You really can't go wrong. Just jump in!

But if you are really lost, or dont know where to start, we have a collection of products that we recommend for those new to loose leaf tea here.

Tea Brewing Instructions

People often choose tea bags for convenience. But making loose leaf tea is no more complicated. You’re either fishing out a boiling hot tea bag from your mug, squishing it, and then dripping it to the rubbish bin, balanced precariously on a spoon, to drip all over the bin lid OR infusing your loose leaf tea in a teapot and pouring it into your cup. It's no harder than a French Press. We have a selection of loose leaf teapots or a tea steeper for your chosen tea. For more details please watch our little film on how to brew the perfect cup of tea here.

All our teas and herbs are available for global delivery.

Types of Leaf Tea for Sale

The Rare Tea Company travels the world to curate collections of the best loose leaf tea, including: