At Blue Willow Tea, we source premium loose-leaf teas from sustainable family farms. From bold, rich flavors to delicate, nuanced infusions, find the perfect tea for your cup. Explore our collection and sip sustainably.
Simply put, loose-leaf tea tastes better! It offers a richer, more nuanced experience with deeper flavors and complex aromas. Plus, you control the steeping process, ensuring the perfect cup every time.
Beyond quality, loose-leaf tea is often the more sustainable choice—less waste, less packaging, and no worries about microplastics. It’s a cleaner, more eco-friendly way to enjoy your tea.
Ready to upgrade your tea experience?
Why choose sustainable tea?
Every tea leaf tells a story. At Blue Willow Tea, we partner with small farms that honor their land, tea artisans, and local communities. That means every cup you enjoy delivers not only exceptional flavor but also a commitment to healthy ecosystems and fair wages for farmers.
By choosing sustainable tea, you’re making a meaningful impact—supporting generations of tea growers and preserving cherished traditions, one sustainable steep at a time.
Where do you source your teas?
Since 2012, we’ve partnered with sustainable, family-owned farms in renowned tea regions—from the misty hills of Japan to the ancient forests of Yunnan. Our deep relationships with growers ensure every tea reflects our commitment to quality, ethical sourcing, and environmental stewardship.
What makes matcha special, is it a loose-leaf tea?
Matcha is a finely ground green tea powder made from kabuseicha, a shaded tea that enhances its vibrant color and flavor. Unlike loose leaf teas, which are steeped and then strained, matcha is whisked into water, allowing you to consume the entire leaf along with its rich nutrients and antioxidants.
Traditional and ceremonial-grade matcha comes from from Japan. At BWT, we ethically and sustainably source our premium, stone-milled matcha from the finest Japanese gardens. Freshly milled and shipped monthly, our ceremonial and culinary matcha offers vibrant flavor, natural vitality, and the perfect balance of energy and calm.
Start with fresh, filtered water and heat it to the ideal temperature for your tea. Measure the perfect amount of loose-leaf tea and add it to your teapot or infuser. Then, steep for the recommended time.
For teas like oolong, puerh, and some green varieties, you can even re-steep the leaves, enjoying multiple infusions from a single batch.
To begin your loose-leaf tea journey, a teapot or infuser is essential. Explore our tea accessories to craft your perfect tea experience.
How much caffeine is in loose-leaf tea?
The least processed teas retain the most caffeine, meaning white and green teas actually have higher caffeine levels than black or oolong tea. However, several factors influence how much caffeine ends up in your cup:
Leaf size: The smaller the leaf, the higher the concentration of caffeine. Larger leaves tend to have higher sugar content, meaning the tippier the tea, the higher the caffeine.
Processing: Heat, oxidation, and aging break down caffeine. Highly oxidized and roasted teas—like black and oolong—contain less caffeine than green teas. Aged teas like Puerh also experience caffeine breakdown over time.
Temperature: How you steep matters.Hotter water extracts more caffeine. Although white and green teas naturally contain more caffeine, their lower steeping temperatures result in a milder caffeine release.
Steep Time: Most caffeine is released within the first minute of steeping. If you steep Gongfu style (short, multiple infusions), the initial 60 seconds is divided into several steeps. This longer process of consuming the tea helps moderate the caffeine's impact.
Caffeine levels by tea type: Black and matcha teas tend to have more, while green and white teas have moderate levels. Herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free.
If you're sensitive to caffeine, consider enjoying your tea earlier in the day or opting for a naturally caffeine-free option.
Are your teas organic?
Some of the farmers we work with are certified organic, while many of our teas are grown using organic practices. You can find these in our "Organic & Wild Teas" collection. Although we are no longer certified organic, we believe that organic labels don’t always guarantee low-impact growing or long-term environmental stewardship. That’s why we prioritize sustainability at every stage of our sourcing process, working closely with farmers who share our values of ethical and environmentally responsible practices.
We partner with farms dedicated to responsible, low-impact growing methods, ensuring that every cup is pure, clean, and made with care for both people and the planet’s future.
