These are some of the questions we're most frequently asked about tea.

What are the three most important things to know about brewing tea?
1) Preheat your teapot, to keep the boiled water hot.
2) Use filtered water in your kettle, and pour it over the leaves at a full rolling boil.
3) Time your tea carefully. Steep it for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the tea and on your personal taste.
For more detailed brewing instructions, visit our tea brewing pages.

Why does Peet's recommend brewing loose leaf tea in a pot?
In a teapot, loose leaves have room to fully circulate and expand in the water while they steep, giving you a fuller flavor. Tea bags and tea balls tend to restrict extraction and flavor.

How should I store tea?
An air-tight tin, such as the tin Peet's tea is packaged in, is ideal. Tea must be kept away from light, heat, air, and especially moisture. It should never be frozen. Most teas will keep for up to six months. Green teas should be enjoyed within three months.

Do you carry flavored teas?
We carry some traditional flavored teas, such as Jasmine Green tea and Earl Grey. Most of our teas are not "flavored," but have unique flavors and aromas that come from how they're grown and processed.

Do you sell English tea?
All Peet's tea blends are proprietary, and are blended by Peet's. Peet's English Breakfast is in the style of an English tea, but it is a unique blend originally formulated by Peet's.

Is green tea good for you?
Current scientific research indicates that green tea contains beneficial ingredients that may fight cancer. Black teas have similar ingredients, but in smaller amounts.

Do different teas have different caffeine levels?
All teas have roughly the same caffeine content, from 40-70 mg. per cup (compared to coffee, which has an average of 100 mg. per cup). Black teas tend to have slightly more caffeine, and Oolong and Green teas tend to have slightly less. Herbal "teas," which are not truly teas but infusions of herbs, generally have no caffeine.

Do you sell a decaffeinated tea?
Yes, we do. We offer Decaffeinated English Breakfast, made with the best decaffeinated teas available.

Is herbal tea really tea?
No. Black, Green, or Oolong teas come from the camelia sinensis shrub, also known as the tea bush. Colloquially, any other hot beverage that is made of herbs or flowers may be called a "tea," "herbal infusion," or "tisane."

What is Orange Pekoe?
Orange Pekoe is a term that describes the "grade" of a tea leaf. This grade refers to size, not quality. This term's origin is now lost, but we know that it does not denote an orange flavoring. Peet's has multiple Orange Pekoe (Darjeeling Fancy, Assam Extra Fancy, Yunnan Fancy) and Broken Orange Pekoe (Irish and English Breakfast, Assam Golden Tip, Darjeeling Choice) grade teas.

What is First Flush?
A "flush" of tea leaves is the new growth of leaves on a tea bush during the spring harvest. The leaves are plucked by hand.

Is your tea Kosher?
Peet's coffees, teas and Dutch cocoa are certified Kosher and Pareve by the Kosher Supervision of America (KSA). This means that a rabbi has overseen our production facility and can vouch for the purity of our coffees and teas, including the fact that our storage and production facilities meet with stringent requirements of cleanliness.