There are hundreds of online tea stores. I've narrowed down the list to some of the best tea shops where I buy tea online.
Over 700 tea brands sell tea online. My personal experience and recommendations for the best tea shops selling quality loose leaf tea are here. I often shop online for my tea because I can't always purchase quality loose tea near me.
The Best Tea Stores
My criteria:
- Every tea store specializes in something different, whether it be single estate tea, flavored, herbal, green, black, Puerh, matcha, or origin-specific tea. The types of tea available are quite varied and well represented on this list.
- The websites listed here all sell premium tea. I've categorized them by tea specialty so you can get to know each shop.
- The online tea shops I've listed carry the best loose leaf tea, sell at the retail level, plus ship internationally. They are all trustworthy tea brands that I personally shop when I buy tea online.
This list is an excellent place to get acquainted with the world of specialty tea. As you refine your tea palate, you might become a little fussier! Fortunately, there are many choices in online tea stores.
Where to buy tea online? Read on for my favorite 15 tea stores.
Best Tea Online: Editor's Choice
1. Adagio Tea
Adagio Teas specializes in an expansive variety of loose leaf teas and teaware. They source directly from the artisan grower. The teas I have tried are always fresh and have a superb flavor. You can find almost any tea from herbal tea blends to premium single estate teas in their Masters' Collections. Adagio is one of my favorite shops to buy tea online.
Adagio depends heavily on reviews, which are very helpful when buying their teas. They also include information about the origin of the tea and brewing guides. A New Jersey-based company owned by a mother and son team. Adagio is strictly an online tea shop with international shipping.
The Masters' Collections from Adagio Teas offers the best loose leaf tea - which I highly recommend. Premium loose tea is sourced directly from the artisan farmers who tender them.
2. Harney & Sons
Harney and Sons is a popular New York-based tea store specializing in single estate, flavored teas, and herbal teas. They have a wide variety of quality fresh teas from tea estates worldwide. In addition to superb loose leaf teas, Harney & Sons have a Wellness Division including nootropic teas (substances to boost brain performance) and hemp teas infused with CBD, to further diversify your tea selections.
John Harney founded Harney and Sons in 1983. Today sons Michael and Paul Harney continue the traditions of the company founded by their father. I absolutely love their teas and how they're packaged. I highly recommend them.
3. The Tea Spot
The Tea Spot is an online and retail tea shop in Colorado, selling handcrafted teas and innovative Steepware, offering some of the best tea available online. The Tea Spot specializes in loose gourmet tea, signature blends, single-estate whole leaf teas, and wellness teas.
You will find many health-focused tea unique blends on their tea website. Every order comes with a loose tea sampler. The company was founded in 2004 by Maria Uspenski, a cancer survivor drawn to the health benefits of whole leaf tea during her recovery.
The Tea Spot message is simple and powerful: tea in its freshest form renders premium flavor and unmatched health benefits. With a steadfast mission to foster health and wellness through tea, The Tea Spot donates ten percent of all sales in-kind to cancer and community wellness programs. The Tea Spot is a Colorado-based Certified B Corp, woman-owned and operated philanthropic. Another one of my favorite shops to buy tea online.
Best Herbal Tea Shops
4. Mountain Rose Herbs
Mountain Rose Herbs is one of the best sources of herbal tea. Their quality control is excellent, sourcing sustainable herbs. Mountain Rose is impeccable about what they do.
The philosophy of Mountain Rose Herbs is "people, plants, and the planet before profit." They follow the ancient traditions of the botanical world's natural gifts and the healing beauty of nature. I've received some excellent herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs online tea shop.
5. Rishi Tea & Botanicals
Rishi Tea & Botanicals was founded in 1997 by Joshua Kaiser and remains independently owned today. Rishi imports directly from organic artisan growers and specialist producers. They make artful botanical products inspired by ancient herbal traditions.
The Rishi team travels worldwide to source and study rare tea and botanicals. Rishi works with farmers to verify how their organic teas are grown and trace each lot back to the farm. Rishi Tea was among the first to earn organic certification under the USDA's Natural Organic Program in 2002.
Chamomile Medley is one of my favorites from Rishi, among other botanicals. Their chamomile blend highlights golden chamomile blossoms sourced from Croatia in the Mediterranean.
Best Matcha Tea Stores
6. Matcha Source
Matcha Source tea comes in different grades. Alissa White is the Founder of Matcha Source, an online retailer of premium matcha tea and specialty utensils to prepare and enjoy matcha. This unique tea shop focuses strictly on matcha, from ceremony grade to kitchen grade and everything in-between.
Young leaves plucked early in the harvest produce delicate and vegetal flavors. Mature leaves contain coarser matter from stems and veins and taste more astringent. MatchSource teas are hand-picked by the Yahagi River in Japan. International shipping.
7. Pique Tea
Pique Tea offers ceremonial grade matcha completely pure and free of toxins. Not only is it certified pure, but it's also the highest ceremonial grade matcha.
Pique Tea screens their matcha for specific microbes, heavy metals, radioactivity, and mycotoxins.
It is well-known that high-quality matcha comes from Japan. Mostly from Uji, Japan. But there is another matcha from Japan to consider. The Pique brand matcha sources their matcha from Kagoshima, Japan. Soil and local weather conditions affect the flavor of tea as much as the varietal and processing methods.
Pique Tea Sun Goddess matcha may seem a little expensive, but if you're drinking tea every day, it's well worth the peace of mind knowing it's clean matcha. It's less costly than some other organic ceremonial grade matcha's I've seen, and the taste is smooth and delicious. It's not bitter like some lower-grade matchas.
8. Naoki Matcha Uji
Naoki Matcha Uji crafts the highest quality matcha green tea. Naoki Matcha sources authentic Japanese first harvest ceremonial grade matcha green tea powder from Uji, Kyoto. If you love matcha, this is one of the best shops to buy matcha tea online. Naoki Matcha works directly with local farmers, tea estates, and tea blenders.
Naoki Matcha teas are one-of-a-kind and extremely rare: less than 100kg are produced every year. Spring grade matcha from the first harvest is the highest quality matcha.,
Their product range offers several products that meet all needs, from beginner to expert. They have Matcha and accessories.
Best Indian Tea Stores
9. Vahdam Tea
Vahdam Tea specializes in garden-fresh Indian teas. Vahdam is another one of my favorite places to buy tea online. All their teas are procured directly from plantations and tea growers within 24-48 hours of production, packaged garden fresh, and shipped directly from India's source.
Vahdam Tea eliminates all middlemen sourcing fresh, high-quality teas and selling directly to the consumer. Vahdam makes sure that the growers can retain all earnings in the region where these divine teas are grown. This process helps every farmer get a better price for their produce—a truly ethical, fair-trade tea shop to buy tea online.
10. Teabox
Teabox is an Indian-based online tea company specializing in high-quality single estate Indian grown loose leaf black tea. Teabox sources the freshest teas from Indian tea estates in Darjeeling, Assam, and the Nilgiris and freshest teas from Nepal.
Teabox Darjeeling and Nilgiri black teas are some of my personal favorites. And you can't make a good English Breakfast tea without a good Assam. Try the Margaret's Hope Moonlight Spring White Tea! Ships internationally.
11. Teatulia
Teatulia specializes in Indian teas. A Denver-based tea company co-founded by Dr. Kazi Anis, and Linda Appel Lipsius focuses on sustainability. Teatulia is one of the few 100% organic tea brands produced by the women of Bangladesh. Teatulia teas are single garden teas grown, and hand-plucked in the Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate's beautiful tea gardens in Northern Bangladesh then delivered directly to the consumer.
As tea gardens go, this one is relatively new. The gardens were cultivated from virgin land nestled against the Himalayas in 2000. They offer a wide variety of teas and have won many awards at the North American Tea Championships. Y
Teatulia has cooperative programs they developed for the people's economic prosperity in the region—international shipping.
Best Chinese Tea
12. Tea Drunk
Tea Drunk is based in New York City and specializes in rare authentic Chinese Teas working directly with small tea farmers. Tea Drunk runs the Tea Drunk Academy offering extensive education online and in-person classes. This is the place to go if you want to learn the art of gongfu-style tea.
Tea Drunk is founded by Shunan Teng. You can learn directly from her in her New York tea studio.
All of Tea Drunk's teas and philosophy are sourced by Shunan Teng herself. She is known for her work preserving Chinese tea traditions and sourcing traditional fine Chinese tea. Tea Drunk sells excellent whole leaf tea online and in the shop.
13. TeaVivre
TeaVivre specializes in authentic Chinese teas, carrying a wide variety of unflavored teas, loose leaf green tea, and teaware. TeaVivre is a group of tea lovers and aficionados from China, Canada, and France. All living in China frequently visit China's tea plantations tracking down only exceptional teas.
TeaVivre means Tea for Life. I buy a lot of my Chinese tea online from TeaVivre. They are known for their green teas, some rare green teas such as Ming Qian Long Jing. TeaVivre is an excellent source to buy green tea online.
China also produces some of the best black teas, of which you will find many here. Samples are available. It is compliant with the European Union, which has much more stringent allowances for residues than the United States. High-quality teas - ship from China internationally.
14. Verdant Tea
Verdant Tea is a marketplace for small family tea farmers, directly from their farm to your cup. This Minnesota tea shop has a unique approach to tea shopping. You don't shop by the tea type or country - you shop by the farmer.
The estates are listed, and you virtually meet the family growing the tea. Verdant Tea specializes in Chinese oolong tea, black, green, white, Puerh, and herbals.
Their teas have gotten some outstanding ratings. Verdant Tea always provides steeping instructions for the western brewing and gong fu style. They also have some beautiful gaiwan teaware.
Best Pu Er Tea
15. Yunnan Sourcing
Yunnan Sourcing is a top online tea store for Pu Er tea. Excellent selection of ripe and raw Pu Er, oolongs tea, black tea, and white tea. They also sell some unusual teas like purple tea and yak butter tea. Pu Er samples are available. Their raw Pu Er teas are produced mainly from a single village or mountain source in small batches.
All raw cakes are processed at every stage in the traditional method to ensure the best possible long-term aging outcome. Their ripe Pu Er is selected based on their taste profile, fermentation degree, leaf quality, and future aging potential. Ships internationally from China and the United States.
Of course, this is purely a representative list. I hope you find it helpful and enjoy some of the best tea brands I've recommended. If so, please share this list with your tea-loving friends.
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What tea shops have you tried? What are your favorite tea brands? Share in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!
Tea for Beginners Start Here >>
There is one Chinese tea producer’s shop you may want to check, helloteababy.com, the point I love is about the knowledge they share, all first hand in and out, some may different from what we heard in English world, it’s a real master’s work.
Their teas are quite interesting too, as they are not just buy-then-sell, they create their teas, they even show you how can a bush be made into black tea and oolong tea too.
I am kind of fans of their Instagram, real people, farmer’s daily life, their challenges etc, you will see why their teas are so unique as the producer thinks a lot. Cheers!
They do look interesting. They have a different business model to support the small tea farmer from what I can tell. It looks similar to a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture that's popular in the US farm to table movement. By purchasing a CSA membership you actually own a piece of the harvest from the farm. You become part of the local farm. It's a way for small farmers to stay in business. Basically they are selling future crops.
You missed two great, online tea shoppes. One is Arbor tea, and they are one of my favorites. Not only do they have quality teas but they are sustainable. All of their packaging is biodegradable including the bag, glue on the bag for the label, as well as they label. So you can feel good knowing that no part of their shipment ever need be tossed in the trash.
The second favorite to me is Golden Moon Tea. This is a special tea company. They pride themselves on being pure and that is what you get. You will never find any natural flavors on any of their teas. One of my favorites id the madagascar vanilla/black tea blend. It is just what it sounds like. They take whole vanilla bean pods and mix them with large barrels of tea. This tea sits for several weeks while the essence of vanilla inhabits the leaves. No natural flavors. They also have a wonderful jasmine tea and jasmine perals. I buy a lot of tea from these folks as it is nice knowing that I'm just getting pure tea. Oh, and their sinharaja, which is a ceylon tea, is my daily go-to tea.
Nice! I'll check them out. Thank you!
I have been looking for Orchestral Tea since I had some years ago in New England and I cannot find it anywhere. PLEASE HELP
I've never heard of them and they don't come up in a simple Google search. Rate Tea has a very comprehensive list of tea brands and they don't show up there either.
Hi Wanda,
https://colnect.com/en/teabags/list/country/225-United_States_of_America/brand/10246-Orchestral_Tea/series/0-Unknown
The link above takes you to a selection of overwraps picturing several flavors of Orchestral Tea. Catawiki also lists the brand:
https://www.catawiki.com/catalog/tea-bags-and-tea-labels/manufacturers-brands/546845-orchestraltm-tea
The tea does not appear to be in production.
Dan
My favorite tea company is Lumbini Tea. I stumbled upon them while searching for a unique tea gift for a friend. I was taken about by their teas from my first sip. Their Sinharaja Wiry Tips is the finest tea I have ever had. Little wonder it is the world's most awarded black tea. They also are very generous with their samples. It allowed me to journal their different varieties for future ordering. I'd definitely try them.
Yes, I've had Lumbini Tea's Sinharaja Wiry Tips before and I agree they are excellent.
The Stone Leaf Teahouse has many fine teas and a very informative website. They are located in Vermont and ship anywhere. https://www.stoneleaftea.com/
Thanks for sharing. Their website looks beautiful!
Tea sommeliers love Camellia Sinensis from Montreal. They deliver in most countries. They have a book on teas: Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne. I am taking the whole year certificate to become a tea sommelier myself and love going to their shops! Their book was one of the highly recommended book from the Academy of Tea as well.
Yes their book is excellent. I do have a copy of it. Congratulations on your upcoming tea sommelier certification!
You should check out DavidsTea
I assume you are joking right? Might as well buy Lipton in the store and pour some fake flavouring over it.. LOL!
Wonder if it will work this time... David's Tea is sawdust in a bag... might as well just buy lipton in the store and add some fake flavoring..... BLEH!
I recently bought from Quintins tea Emporium in Virginia and was quite impressed. Prices were very reasonable and they even threw in two samples that I got to try. I’m not the biggest fan but my wife loved their Creamy Earl Grey.
This was such a useful list! Thanks for sharing. Love Indian teas by Teatulia organic teas!
Good to know this list is helpful!
You might want to research Tin Roof Teas in Raleigh, NC. They have been in business for almost 10 years and they are styled after the European tea shops. No cupcakes, tiny sandwiches, just tea, accessories, and honey. Most of their teas are organic and fresh with many that are only weeks old. I have been shopping with them since they opened and they started with 150 teas and today they custom blend and sell over 300. It is a destination where people spend hours...strong internet presence. Sometimes I can't get to Raleigh so I have them ship.
Have you tried Mansa Tea? Their stuff is pretty amazing you should definitely check out some of their Pu'ers. I tried one them in the amber collection they had and WOW I was so impressed. Thanks for the article!!
Thank you for the article, was useful. For European readers, tea drinkers I would recommend Zhao Zhou tea in Budapest. Great sheng puer selection, also other goodies from China, Nepal, Taiwan and Japan. Best regards
not sure if you have come across http://www.teacupsfull.com they are a tea boutique which is run by tea planters who have worked in Badamtam Tea Estate, Thurbo Tea Estate, Barnesbeg Tea Estate, Castleton Tea Estate. To sum it up they have spent a lifetime in tea and it is not a commercial brand.
I always enjoy discovering new tea shops. Thanks for sharing!
PuerhShop.com is my go-to for puerhs. Very good selection at great prices.
Thanks for sharing Jenna.
The Tea Time Shop. I am in love with their loose leaf tea and they always offer free accessories during their promotions. Their customer service is fantastic as well as their packaging. My tea always arrives beautifully packaged and with a free sample included. I've ordered new teas I never would have tried just because of the samples I've received. I just found out it is owned and operated by women! Power to the ladies for a wonderful, inexpensive and delicious selection of tea.
These are really the best online tea shops which have an incredible source of tea collections. Very nice article. You can also try out healthy loose-leaf teas from Healthzarp online tea shop from the USA, which has been specially made with 100% pure natural blended ingredients. You need to try Healthzarp tea collections once for all your health problems. Get one Now!
Hi Mary Ann,
Great overview. Some of these inspired us to make our own shop.
Best wishes!
Thank you. Best wishes for success in your tea shop!
Harney & Sons gets my vote. They have a huge selection of excellent teas at reasonable prices and their customer service is great.
Agreed! Harney & Sons have some excellent teas at reasonable prices. I see they now have international shipping as well. Thanks!
I'm in love with Harney & Sons "Paris", "Victorian London Fog" and "Earl Grey Supreme."
**Bonus: The ingredients in Harney's Victorian London Fog tea make for a most SMASHING London Fog Latte. (Black tea, lavender buds, bergamot, vanilla. Add the milk and you're ready to go!)
I have to agree. The Harney & Sons Victorian London Fog is a favorite of mine too!
I have been buying from Rishi Tea for some time and feel so connected with there products. Am I missing something? Can I get the same selections and quality elsewhere for less expensive? Thank, I am enjoying your site.
Rishi Tea offers excellent products. I’ve recommended them in some of my other posts. Most recently the Best Gifts for Tea Lovers Guide. Since I have readers from around the world I only included tea companies with international shipping in this post. I just checked Rishi’s website and I see now they have a special form to fill out for international shipping. I’m glad you are enjoying my website.
Hey
Great Article you've written
This article has a lot of ideas for corporate gifting.
Yes, it would!