Frequently Asked Questions and Other Tea Trivia
What is Tea?
Tea in the most general definition is any beverage that is brewed or steeped from the leaves or flower parts of plants.
A “True” tea is brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant.
Teas that are made from herbs, spices, or other plants but lack any leaves from the C. sinensis plant are technically called tisanes as they are not “True” teas.
What is the difference between a white tea, green, oolong, dark or black tea, etc.?
So this is a fascinating answer that requires a bit of reading and explanation. Did you know that all types of tea across the globe are made from the singular Camellia sinensis plant? There are several sub-varieties of the C. sinensis plant that have been bred and selected for over the centuries by different cultures but all oolongs, greens, whites, blacks, pu-erh teas, etc., all come from the same leaves of C. sinensis. The differences come in how the leaves are dried and processed. As the leaves are prepared, they start to oxidize. Tea leaves that aren’t allowed to undergo oxidation and are simply dried move on to become white teas. This lack of oxidation explains why white teas have the lowest caffeine content of any true teas. This also explains why white teas have such a light and delicate tea flavor. Green teas undergo very minimal oxidation, releasing more caffeine and tannins than white tea while still maintaining that light and earthly flavor. Oolongs can vary widely in their oxidation levels ranging from close to greens up to almost black or dark teas. Because of this, oolongs vary widely in flavor and caffeine content. Black or dark teas are almost fully oxidized, yielding their classically strong flavor and high caffeine content. Pu-erh tea leaves undergo an additional microbial fermentation process after oxidation to further develop unique flavor profiles.
Are any of your teas medicinal grade or homeopathic?
No. While there are some studies out there that promote the health benefits of certain herbs and teas, we do not promote our teas as cures, tinctures, remedies, or alternatives to any medications or treatments. Our teas are delicious and are meant to be enjoyed year round as a beverage. Please do your own research and consult with your doctor if you have any questions regarding the health benefits of certain teas or herbs.
Do you sell any decaffeinated white, green, or black teas?
No. Because all “true” teas are brewed from leaves of the C. sinensis plant, all “true” teas contain some level of caffeine ranging from low caffeine white teas to full caffeine black teas. Decaffeination requires the tea to undergo a series of chemical treatments to remove the caffeine which impacts the quality and flavor of the tea. This is why we don’t offer decaffeinated teas here at Cornerstone.
However, because all of our herbal teas (tisanes) contain no C. sinensis leaves, all of our herbals are 100% naturally caffeine free.
Do you grow the tea used in your blends?
The actual C. sinensis tea plants? No. C. sinensis requires a very specific climate, high elevations, and highly fertile volcanic soil to grow and develop the complex flavor profiles that we all love. There are places in the U.S. that grow C. sinensis but not on the scale or quality that you find in the tea belt of China, Japan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and India. Because of this, we use purveyors who work directly with farmers in those countries to deliver the highest quality tea leaves.
We use local farms and producers in and around WNC to source high quality ingredients for our blends. Farms in WNC and the surrounding Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia provide apples, peaches, berries, mints, and other herbs. Cornerstone grows tulsi (Holy) basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon and lime basil, lemongrass and other herbs used in our teas using starters from some of these local farms. We’ve even contracted with a local artisanal chocolatier for cocoa nibs in our seasonal chocolate chai and our hazelberry decadence pu-erh.
Can you re-steep tea?
It depends on the tea. Pu-erhs and some of our herbal and blooming teas can be re-steeped once after the first use. However, you may need to re-steep for longer and you may get a different flavor profile as most of the tannins and antioxidants have been released from the leaves during the first steeping.
After purchase, how long should I store my tea?
Haha, we hope that our tea is so delicious that it’s gone in a few days! However, if you keep the tea dry and sealed in a dark, cool, dry place such as a cabinet or pantry, it should maintain its highest quality for about 3 months. The quality will degrade the longer it is stored. We are constantly crafting small batches and turning over our inventory so your product is never sitting on our shelves for months on end waiting for purchase.
Some people choose to store used tea leaves to re-steep again at a later time or date. We don’t recommend this so be careful if you do as not all teas hold up to being re-steeped. If you do choose to do this, place the used leaves in a clean ziploc bag or other sealed medium and place in the fridge for no longer than a couple days.
There is a tea that I love but I don’t see it in your store.
Please feel free to reach out to me with the name of the tea and I will definitely see if I can get it for you and will contact you with pricing. I will generally require a minimum volume to purchase for teas that I don’t normally stock or carry.
Do you do custom blends for people?
This is a tricky question. Yes and no. If you want a unique blend of commonly used ingredients I have in stock that isn’t one of the blends listed, then message me and I will see what I can come up with for you. If you want a custom blend using rarer or more exotic ingredients, or a blend that I am unfamiliar with, I will have to source those ingredients and experiment with ratios to get the flavor right. This is generally more expensive as I am having to source smaller quantities of ingredients I don’t normally use and will take much longer to prepare and ship. I try to avoid custom blends for customers during peak business months such as autumn and the holidays due to the volume and demand I have to keep up with. But feel free to message me and we will talk.