Ceylon Rainforest Green

This could be the gateway tea that tempts even the most resolute coffee drinker to give up their morning cup of joe.

Hailing from a magical-seeming country and boasting a fascinating preparation process, Pu-Erh tea is one of the most unique ways to enjoy one of mankind’s oldest hot beverages. Even the name is special: Pu-Erh comes from a trading post that was often used to barter for such products as tea in the Imperial China. The leaves for this tea are grown on trees in China’s Yunnan Province, a gorgeous rolling land covered with greenery, foothills, and mountains. Classically beautiful terraces provide rich earth in which luscious crops grow, waterways wind through misty mountains, and temples sit against cloud-draped vistas.

Tea does indeed contain caffeine, however the story doesn't just end there.

ROY-bus. Though it make not look like it, next time you walk into your favorite tea shop, it’s the right way to ask for a cup of that yummy “rooibos” stuff. But the way you say it’s just the start—Rooibos, that deliciously sweet herbal blend that seems to be cropping up at every tea (and now, coffee!) shop has got a pretty sweet story, too.

In celebration of Hot Tea Month and to help combat the dark and chilly days of winter, we asked our Tea Sommelier, Alicja, for her top five winter warmers from the Shanti Collection

What is hibiscus, what does it taste like, why is it so good for you and what is the best way to prepare it?

Even if you haven’t traveled the world, you likely know about the storied place mint tea holds in Moroccan culture. Just the name Moroccan Mint brings to mind the labyrinthine markets and smoky bazaars of Marrakesh, the sand-swept deserts and the jade oases of the countryside. Is there any sight more marked of hospitality than the standard mint tea pour, starting at the base of the cup and rising to head level in one continuous, unbroken steaming stream, spilling nary a drop?

Once considered a great rarity in the West, tea is now about as commonplace as earth or air. Like both, however, it has the ability to be ordinary and humdrum, or – as is the case with our artisanal Canadian tea company’s Wuyi Rock Oolong – to be rare, uplifting, and inspired.