Buy loose-leaf tea online. True teas, herbal blends, yerba mate, and guayusa.
camellia & herbal
24 loose-leaf teas — true teas from Camellia sinensis, herbal blends, energy teas like yerba mate and guayusa, plus a small bench of brewing tools. Hand-blended in small batches at the Portland shop.
Best selling
about the shelf
Whole-leaf, no dust.
Every tea on the shelf is loose-leaf and whole — never the dust-grade fannings that show up in commodity bags. The flavor difference is night and day: more aromatic, more depth, and you can re-steep most of them three or four times.
The "true teas" (black, green, white, oolong, matcha) all come from one plant: Camellia sinensis. The differences between them are about how the leaves are oxidized after harvest, not which plant they came from. Everything else — rooibos, hibiscus, chamomile, our house blends — is technically a tisane rather than a tea, but who's counting.
Yerba mate and guayusa are caffeinated and worth knowing about if you want tea-strong energy without coffee jitters. The brewing tools section covers tea balls, cup-and-pot strainers, and the gear we actually use at home.
brewing guide
Tea infusion reference.
A quick chart for getting every cup right: how much leaf, how hot, and how long. Treat the ranges as starting points and adjust to taste.
Herbal
- Amount
- 1 Tbsp / 8 oz
- Water
- 180–212°F
- just shy of a boil to a full boil
- Steep
- 3–5 min
Black
- Amount
- 1 tsp / 6 oz
- Water
- 180–212°F
- just shy of a boil to a full boil
- Steep
- 2–5 min
Green
- Amount
- 1 tsp / 6 oz
- Water
- 175–180°F
- steaming hot
- Steep
- 1–2 min
White
- Amount
- 1 tsp / 6 oz
- Water
- 175–180°F
- steaming hot
- Steep
- 5–7 min
Oolong
- Amount
- 1 tsp / 6 oz
- Water
- 185–205°F
- below a full boil
- Steep
- 3–5 min
Red & Rooibos
- Amount
- 1 tsp / 6 oz
- Water
- 212°F
- full boil
- Steep
- 5–10 min
Maté
- Amount
- 1 tsp / 6 oz
- Water
- 160–180°F
- hot to steaming hot
- Steep
- 5 min
Chai
- Amount
- 1 Tbsp / 8 oz
- Water
- Match the base
- black or green, per the blend
- Steep
- 3–5 min
Matcha
- Amount
- 1–3 oz / 10 oz
- Water
- 160–180°F
- hot to steaming hot
- Steep
- Whisk, don't steep
Whole-leaf teas re-steep three or four times. Matcha is whisked into the water rather than steeped. Chai follows its base leaf (black or green). Adjust strength to taste.
tea faq