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Tea Only – huge selection of tea online

Tea Only – huge selection of tea online.

Our main mission is to provide our customers with the best quality tea from around the world.

We are constantly researching new world tendencies and combining them with our customer’s wishes.

Our range of products is a result of a very hard work of the best tea manufacturers from Germany, China and Ceylon.

Our Tea Shop is offering a very fine collection of classic (black and green) teas, flavoured teas, fruit blends, ethnic teas (rooibos, lapacho and mate), herbal teas and blooming teas.

Little bit about tea:

A tea manufacturer can usually be recognised by the deafening noise of the machines. As a rule, it is the husband of the tea pluckers who use their strength and skilfulness to manufacture tea. The production of orthodox black tea comprises 5 processes that overlap each other. Right after plucking, the fresh leaves are spread out on long grates in the halls made to wither by using hot air. In more modern factories, this is done in closed hot air channels. On rolling up the leaves after that in the “cutter”, the cell walls are broken and the cell juice is released and combines with the oxygen available in the air. The process of fermentation and oxidation is set off and the leaves turn copper-red. When later drying them, the leaves become darker and darker and we talk of black tea. The next step is to sieve the leaves whereby the different grades of leaves are separated from each other. We differentiate between leaf teas (e.g. FTGFOPI), in broken teas (e.g. BOP) or fannings (Fngs.), which are the smallest fragments and are used for the production of teabags. Preparation: Depending on where they are grown, the various types of black tea differ in the intensity of taste and thus require individual preparation. Fundamentally, all black teas are brewed with boiling water. The lighter the tea, the shorter the brewing time. A flowery Darjeeling should be brewed for a maximum of 3 minutes, a malt, strong Assam tea on the other hand up to 5 minutes.

When producing green tea in China, the freshly-plucked tea leaves are heated in large pans at a temperature of approx. 80°C right after harvesting. In Japan, the freshly plucked leaves are steamed over hot water for a moment. The split ferments are destroyed, the fermentation interrupted. The leaves keep their natural dark-green colour. After heating/steaming, the tea is rolled up loosely and then dried immediately and packed. In China and Japan one says: “Drinking green tea conduces the care of life”. You can find green tea in every variation. Whether small and round with long, light-green leaves or dark-green and wiry – not to mention the variations in taste. Preparation: The tannin in green tea is released faster than in black tea. In order to avoid the bitter taste, boil the water once and then cool it down to 80°-90°C. In the case of the Japanese teas, let the water cool down to even 60°-70°C before brewing the tea. Green tea can be infused several times from the same leaves.

Flavoured teas look back at a long Far Eastern tradition. Since 18th century teas have been flavoured with e.g. jasmine-, rose- and peach petals. Earl Grey tea, which was named after the British Prime Minister Edward Grey, Earl of Falladon, is probably the most famous flavoured tea; bergamotte oil is added to it. The enthusiasm for flavoured teas has been constantly increased since the 70s. The harmonious combination of tea, ingredients and aromas greatly depends on the abilities and sense of taste of the tea-taster. The teas offered in our range are assembled on the basis of excellent black tea compositions especially made for the specialised trade and then flavoured with essences of the highest of quality in a process, which we developed for this purpose that is very gentle to leaves and aromas. Our teas are only produced in small batches and constantly monitored by our quality control. The freshness and elegance of our products is often the cause for copies, yet hardly any company can reach the actual quality of our products. When speaking of aromas, we clearly differentiate between natural, nature-identical and artificial aromas. Natural aromas are concentrated extracts from the skin or the fruit pulp of the respective fruits. Nature-identical aromas are identical to the actual aromas of the fruit in their chemical or molecular structure. They are used when the intensity of the aroma-giving substances are too weak. As a rule, these aromas are cleaner and more stable than natural aromas as they are not exposed to agricultural pollution. Artificial aromas are not used.

Flavoured teas look back at a long Far Eastern tradition. Since 18th century teas have been flavoured with e.g. jasmine-, roseand peach petals. Earl Grey tea, which was named after the British Prime Minister Edward Grey, Earl of Falladon, is probably the most famous flavoured tea; bergamotte oil is added to it. The enthusiasm for flavoured teas has been constantly increased since the 70s. The harmonious combination of tea, ingredients and aromas greatly depends on the abilities and sense of taste of the teataster. When speaking of aromas, we clearly differentiate between natural, nature-identical and artificial aromas. Natural aromas are concentrated extracts from the skin or the fruit pulp of the respective fruits. Nature-identical aromas are identical to the actual aromas of the fruit in their chemical or molecular structure. They are used when the intensity of the aroma-giving substances are too weak. As a rule, these aromas are cleaner and more stable than natural aromas as they are not exposed to agricultural pollution. Artificial aromas are not used.

Fruit blends have been a refreshing supplement to green and black teas for many years. Even in Grandma’s days, the beneficial effect of “red tea” was known. That is what refreshing brews from rosehip, hibiscus, apple pieces and other dried fruits were called and that were usually served as a supplement to the diet when ill or at the evening meal. Nowadays, the fruit blends have left the area of only being used when ill and make up their own important segment of most tea shops. Fruit blends contain neither caffeine nor tannin and are thus easy to prepare and are an ideal alternative for young and old. They are versatile, can be drunk cold and hot and can be combined well with other drinks. Fruit teas are not only drinks for the summer months but are also for any time of the year. Besides the classic fruit blends, we also offer fruit blends that are low in acid. Consult our sales team. Preparation: 1 properly heaped teaspoon per cup. Good fruit teas need 10 minutes to brew, in order to unfold the full aroma. In general we recommend to brew fruit blends only with boiling water and one should leave to infuse the fruit blend for at least 5 minutes. Thus you will achieve a secured beverage.

The home of the green as well as of the red rooibos is situated at the South African west coast close to the Cedar Mountains. Even the natives of this region used the rooibos shrub to make tea. The plant has been cultivated since 1930. The rooibos plant grows to a height of about 1.5 metres and is similar to a gorse shrub. Rooibos tastes soothingly fresh and has a fruity malt note. It does not contain any caffeine or sugar, but it has traces of fluorine, iron, potassium, copper and rutin instead, as well as vitamin C and flavonoides. Similar to black tea, rooibos has gone through the complete process of fermentation (oxidation of the leaf cells through contact with oxygen). In the process of this, it obtains its typical red-brown colour. In the case of the green rooibos, the process of fermentation is avoided due to immediate drying the raw material. Nowadays you can get rooibos in many different flavours. Many positive qualities in supporting a healthy diet are awarded to it. Rooibos is made from thin, chopped up twigs and the needle-type leaves. For green rooibos we recommend a brewing time of 3-5 minutes, for rooibos approximately 5 minutes. It does not affect the taste negatively if the brewing time is longer as the tea does not get bitter only the taste will be more intense.

The evergreen Paraguay tea tree has an oval pointed crown and a light grey trunk with a diameter of up to 30 cm. Its leaves are oval with an emarginated edge and become up to 20 cm long and 8 cm wide. In bloom, thick clusters of 30 to 40 white blossoms with four blossom husks each grow on it. In the South American winter (May-September), whole branches are cut off optimally with two year old leaves. Paraguay tea is a popular drink in South America, which is made from brewing finely chopped dried leaves. The brew is yellow- green, and depending on how strong it is It contains caffeine, theobromine, chlorophyll, tannic acid, etheric oil and vanillin. In addition, vitamins A, B1, B2 and C can be found. It can be brewed many times and the brew water is kept warm to do this. The Paraguay tea leaves are regarded as used if no bubbles form when pouring the hot water over and individual leaves rise to the surface. This means the tea is washed out. When preparing, the water must not boil. When brewing, the gases are released by the water and the water absorbs more and more flavour. The effect would be a few bitter brews. It can, however, be brewed like conventional tea and be drunk with milk and aromatised. Preparation (as a breakfast tea for children) is as follows: First of all, sugar is caramelised in a pot, then the Paraguay tea leaves are added, stir for a moment and then pour water over it and heat it up.

Herbal blends are considered to be reliable household remedies and taste nice both hot and cold. They usually contain no caffeine and seldom tannin, so that they are easy to prepare and suitable for almost everyone. We differentiate between mono herbs and herbal blends. Mono herbs are single-variety, dried and cleaned plants, which are either picked in the wild or cultivated in contract farming production. Herbal blends are mixtures of different plants, which are combined by our tea tasters in consideration of various aspects. Decisive for the creation of a herbal blend are taste and look. We recommend to use always boiling water for herbs and herbal blends. The brewing time should be at least 5 minutes. Only this way you will receive a safe food.

The amazing blooming teas are in fact handmade “tea balls” made of delicious white tea leaves (quality similar to silver needle from the Chinese Hunan canton) which surround for example a jasmine flower, a chrysanthemum or a lily flower. These unique Chinese teas provide not only a delicious sweet and flowery flavour but are also a true delight for your eyes. Preparation: Pour approximately 3-4 dl boiling water (90-100°C) in a transparent teaglass and drop gently the blooming tea into the water. The blooming tea will start open up after a few minutes. Let the blooming tea brew for 10 minutes, a longer brewing time will not spoil the tea, on the contrary, the flavour will rather improve and the blooming tea will develop a beautiful “tea bouquet” and a subtle perfume. One piece of blooming tea can be used three times by adding 50 to 100 ml hot water each time.

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