Frequently Asked Questions
Just when we thought we’d heard it all, someone asks us a question nobody’s ever asked before. So, if we don't answer your question here, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Tea Questions
• Where does tea come from?
• How should I steep my tea?
• What accessories do I need to steep my tea?
• How many servings of tea can I make per ounce?
• How should I store my tea?
• What’s your suggestion for making iced tea?
• How much caffeine is in tea?
• What are the health benefits of drinking tea?
• I’ve got a question about your teas, can I ask your tea specialist?
Product Questions
• Are all of your teas USDA certified organic?
• Why aren’t all of your teas Fair Trade?
• How do you ensure that your products are high quality?
Order Questions
• Is your tea sold loose or in teabags?
• How can I pay for my order?
• How do I redeem a gift certificate?
• How do you keep your site secure?
• Will you distribute my e-mail address or other personal information?
• I’m not comfortable ordering on-line, how else can I order from you?
• Do you have a printed catalog?
• What if I’m not happy with my order - what’s your return policy?
Shipping Questions
• What shipping options do you offer?
• How quickly will my order reach me?
• Can I check on the status of my order?
• What makes your Earth-Friendlier Parcel Post Shipping better for the environment?
• How can I qualify for free shipping?
• Why do you use packing peanuts to pack your orders - aren’t those bad for the environment?
• What makes your tea packaging better for the environment?
Miscellaneous Questions
• I own a tea shop, can I buy your tea wholesale?
• Why does Arbor Teas partner with CarbonFund.org?
• Are "Arbor Teas" and "New World Tea" the same company?
• I think Arbor Teas is a pretty neat company, how can I help out?
Tea Questions
Where does tea come from?
Tea consists of the processed leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Camellia sinensis is an evergreen shrub indigenous to Southeast Asia that thrives in subtropic and highland tropic regions. The leaves and buds (and sometimes even the stems) of Camellia sinensis are harvested and processed in various fashions to produce the range of tea varieties available today (such as black, oolong, green, white, and pu-erh).
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How should I steep my tea?
There are three main considerations when brewing loose tea: tea quantity, water temperature and steeping time. Start by measuring 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup of water (fluffier blends such as white teas and chamomile may require as much as a tablespoon or more, while denser teas such as gunpowder may require less than 1 teaspoon). Next, heat your water to the temperature suggested below. Use fresh water whenever possible - water that has been sitting in your kettle overnight may impart a flat or stale taste to your tea. Finally, steep your tea for the amount of time shown below. Keep in mind that brewing your tea too long can extract undesirable bitterness from the leaves, so steeping time matters! For a stronger brew, don’t steep longer, just use more tea.
Black -- 212° F 3-5 minutes
Oolong -- 195° F, 4-7 minutes
Green & White -- 180° F, 2-3 minutes
Herbal/Fruit/Tisanes -- 212° F, 5-7 minutes
Click here to learn more tea preparation techniques.
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What accessories do I need to steep my tea?
While there are all sorts of teapots, infusers, and other tea accessories to help you brew the perfect cup, all you really need to brew loose tea is a vessel to hold the hot water, and a way to remove the tea leaves before they over-steep. This could be as simple as a mug with an infuser or a do-it-yourself teabag, to something as sophisticated as a teapot with a built-in infuser, an adjustable loose tea measure, and a specialized timer to boot!
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How many servings of tea can I make per ounce?
Generally speaking, an ounce of tea should make about 12 servings of tea.
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How should I store my tea?
Tea easily absorbs moisture and scents, so it's imperative that tea is stored in an airtight container, away from strong-smelling items. For instance, avoid storing tea in the spice cabinet. Because light can also impair the quality of tea, storage containers should be opaque (unless stored away from light). When stored properly, tea can usually be kept for up to a year (beyond one year tea will begin to lose its flavor).
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What makes your tea packaging better for the environment?
We teamed up with a group of graduate students studying Industrial Ecology at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment to evaluate the environmental impact of our previous packaging and look at greener alternatives. Our previous packaging involved a combination of tin-plated steel canisters (an old-standby in the tea industry) and glassine-lined paper bags. As it turned out, the steel tins we used were no friend of the environment, but our paper bags were actually pretty good. In response to this news, we kept our glassine-lined paper bags, but replaced our steel tins with recyclable, parchment-lined paperboard canisters. They’ll keep your tea safe and sound while generating less than one-fifth of the carbon emissions of the traditional tea tin (not to mention generating far less water and air pollution)!
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What’s your suggestion for making iced tea?
We suggest that you start by steeping your tea as you would normally, but use half the amount of water. To drink immediately, pour directly over ice. To refrigerate, dilute with an equal amount of room temperature water. This allows the tea to cool gradually, which helps avoid clouding caused by chilling most teas too rapidly. One quart of iced tea generally requires about 1/2 ounce tea. To sweeten, add sugar or honey while the tea is still hot, allowing the sugar to dissolve completely.
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How much caffeine is in tea?
Tea contains far less caffeine than coffee. While the typical serving of black tea contains approximately 40mg of caffeine, a serving of coffee can contain 80mg or more! Because caffeine content in tea depends (in part) upon the length of oxidation, lesser oxidized teas contain even lower amounts of caffeine. Oolong, green and white teas, for example, contain roughly 30mg, 20mg and 15mg, respectively - however these levels will vary depending upon the method of manufacture and brewing method. It is important to note that even decaffeinated teas contain small amounts of caffeine. Only herbal and fruit teas are completely free of caffeine (the notable exception being yerba mate).
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I’ve got a question about your teas, can I ask your tea specialist?
Absolutely! Please don’t hesitate to e-mail your questions to TeaAdvice@ArborTeas.com, or just call us at (734) 994-7698.
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Product Questions
Are all of your teas USDA certified organic?
Yes, we are very proud to offer an entire line of organic teas certified to the standards of the USDA National Organic Program.
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Why aren’t all of your teas Fair Trade?
Well, there are a couple of key reasons. First, the Fair Trade movement in the tea industry is still growing, and many authentic varieties remain unavailable in a Fair Trade Certified® form. However, we search constantly for new Fair Trade Certified® products meeting our standards, and will add them to our inventory as they become available. Additionally, it’s important to note that because Fair Trade focuses on the developing world, teas from Japan (where fair market and labor conditions already prevail) will not be found under the Fair Trade Certified® label. If you find a "Japanese" tea somewhere bearing the Fair Trade Certified® logo, it’s probably been grown somewhere else.
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How do you ensure the quality of your teas?
We at Arbor Teas perform extensive comparative tasting whenever we consider adding a new tea to our catalog. If a particular tea isn’t up-to-snuff, we simply won’t offer it. In addition, we manage our inventory of teas meticulously so that we can deliver the freshest, best-quality tea around.
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Order Questions
Is your tea sold loose or in teabags?
All of our teas are sold in loose form. Those interested in steeping their teas in a tea bag should consider using our T-sac. That way, you get the best of both worlds, top-quality tea with the convenience of a tea bag!
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How can I pay for my order?
Arbor Teas customers can elect to pay using all major credit cards (Visa, Master Card, Amex and Discover), or their PayPal or Google Checkout accounts.
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How do I redeem a gift certificate?
To redeem an Arbor Teas gift certificate, simply enter the gift certificate’s number and PIN at the bottom of the checkout page. We’re sorry, but gift certificates may not be redeemed in conjunction with orders placed using Google Checkout.
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How do you keep your site secure?
To protect your online transactions, we’ve implemented Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology on our server. If your browser is capable of SSL (most are), your personal information will be automatically encrypted using 256-bit encryption before it is sent over the Internet. Our SSL certificate is provided by GeoTrust, which can be verified by clicking the GeoTrust icon in the lower left hand corner of every page on our site.
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Will you distribute my e-mail address or other personal information?
No. We never sell, rent, lend or otherwise provide your personal information to any third parties UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. We will only share personal customer information with our agents, representatives and trusted service providers and/or contractors for the limited purposes of fulfilling customer orders, completing credit card transactions, communicating to customers, providing customer service, providing a personalized shopping experience, and offering certain products and services in connection with our website. Click here to view our entire Privacy Policy.
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I’m not comfortable ordering on-line, how else can I order from you?
For those customers who are uncomfortable ordering on-line, we are happy to accept credit card orders over the phone. Just give us a call at (734) 994-7698.
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Do you have a printed catalog?
No. We’ve elected to save the paper (and the trees!) and keep our catalog on-line.
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What if I’m not happy with my order - what’s your return policy?
We stand by the quality of our products. If, for any reason, you aren’t completely satisfied with your purchase, you may return it to us for an exchange or a full product refund - no questions asked. It’s that simple. Click here to view our entire Return Policy.
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Shipping Questions
What shipping options do you offer?
We are pleased to offer a variety of UPS, FedEx and USPS shipping services, as well as free local delivery in the City of Ann Arbor. These include: UPS Ground, UPS 2nd Day Air, FedEx Ground (Home Delivery), FedEx 2nd Day, USPS Priority Mail, and USPS Parcel Post (our most earth-friendly shipping option). With the exception of our Earth-Friendlier Parcel Post shipping option, all shipping rates are calculated in real-time based on your shipping address and the size of your order. Click here to view our entire Shipping Policy.
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How quickly will my order reach me?
Delivery speed depends upon the shipping carrier and service you elect during checkout. A summary of the shipping times provided by each carrier is provided below. To estimate the arrival date of your order, please allow 1-2 business days for order fulfillment prior to shipping.
• UPS Ground: 1-5 business days from day of shipment
• UPS 2nd Day Air: 2 business days from day of shipment
• FedEx Ground: 1-5 business days from day of shipment (for most U.S. locations)
• FedEx 2nd Day: 2 business days from day of shipment
• USPS Priority Mail: 2-3 days from day of shipment
• USPS Parcel Post: 5-12 days from day of shipment (excluding Alaska and Hawaii)
• Free Delivery in the City of Ann Arbor, MI: 1-2 business days.
Click here to view our entire Shipping Policy.
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Can I check on the status of my order?
Yes. Those customers who have created an account with Arbor Teas may login using their e-mail address and password and check the status of past and pending orders.
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What makes your Earth-Friendlier Parcel Post Shipping better for the environment?
Generally speaking, package delivery that utilizes jet transportation is relatively fuel inefficient, resulting in higher emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases than ground methods of freight transit. USPS Parcel Post is the only shipping option available that eliminates the use of all jet transportation. Please note: USPS Parcel Post can take up to twice as long as some of the other shipping options we offer. Click here to view our entire Shipping Policy.
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How can I qualify for free shipping?
Free shipping is available for all orders over $50.00 in value, and for all local deliveries within the City of Ann Arbor. Arbor Teas reserves the right to choose the shipping carrier and service used to deliver all orders electing free shipping (which could include USPS Parcel Post, 5-12 business days). Click here to view our entire Shipping Policy.
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Why do you use packing peanuts to pack your orders - aren’t those bad for the environment?
In addition to recycling boxes for shipping our orders, we reclaim packing peanuts from local businesses and the local Materials Recovery Facility, giving them a second life before finding their way back into the waste stream (we call this our "peanut soup")! This way, no virgin materials are wasted to pad our shipments.
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Miscellaneous Questions
I own a tea shop, can I buy your tea wholesale?
We do not currently offer a formal "wholesale" program, however we work with some local businesses on an individual basis. We anticipate that a formal wholesale program will become available sometime in 2008. Please contact us to check on our progress.
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Why does Arbor Teas partner with CarbonFund.org?
We’ve taken a number of steps to minimize our contribution to global climate change, like offering exclusively organic teas, greener packaging, eco-shipping options, using green energy, and the like. Despite these actions, our business continues to generate a certain amount of carbon emissions that we just can’t avoid (yet). Until we can eliminate these carbon emissions entirely, we’ve teamed up with CarbonFund.org to offset them by promoting green energy, energy efficiency and reforestation. We agree whole-heartedly with CarbonFund.org’s motto, "Reduce what you can, offset what you can’t."
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Are "Arbor Teas" and "New World Tea" the same company?
Yes! As of October 2007, Arbor Teas is the new company name for New World Tea. These days, it seems that unless your company moniker involves some computer-generated mumbo-jumbo, there will undoubtedly be another business out there with a confusingly similar name. Well, unbeknownst to us, that seems to have been the case with our former name, New World Tea. So, after a few tears, we decided to go back to our roots to find our new name. Our hometown – the delightful City of Ann Arbor, MI – has nurtured this company from the start, so why not pay homage to it? Thus, “Arbor Teas” was born. Same company, same owners, same philosophy – new name!
But that’s not the end of the story! During the transition, we decided to celebrate our new name by making a variety of other improvements:
1) We decided to move to an all-organic line of teas, and substantially increased our inventory of Fair Trade Certified offerings.
2) We launched a new, improved website (you're looking at it!).
3) We introduced new, greener packaging based on a study conducted by a group of grad students studying Industrial Ecology at the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems.
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