Here we answer some of the most common questions we get asked regularly. If you have a question that we have not answered below please contact us to let us know.
Where can I buy your tea?
Noble & Sunday Tea Merchants are an online and wholesale retailer. You can place your order directly from our online store or find us at select retail stores, cafes, restaurants and hotels.
Where can I find Noble & Sunday Tea near me?
If you are looking for Noble & Sunday Tea we encourage you to check your favourite cafe or Stevens Homeware Store. If you are interested in seeing N&S Tea Merchants in your favourite cafe, or store, please share with your local merchant!
Tea's Shelf life
The majority of our teas have a shelf life of 2 years. (But please store it away from light, moisture and air.)
Does tea go bad?
Tea leaves that are kept away from moisture sources and dry will not spoil or go bad but will loose flavour and aroma after the best by date. With the exception of Puer teas & vacuum packed tea.
How should I store my loose leaf tea?
The majority of tea leaves are best kept away from light, air, and moisture. (The exception here is Puer teas.)
Light Sunlight and light has been shown to decrease the intensity of aromatic compounds in the stored loose leaf tea. It is best to use a storage vessel that will not allow light in, such as ceramic or steel, which is ideal. (As good as it looks glass is not an ideal storage container.)
Air Store your loose leaf tea in its original packaging or in an airtight container to prevent further oxidation. Tea can also absorb strong flavours from other things stored nearby, so be sure to store it away from coffee, spices, garlic, onions, etc.
Moisture The relative humidity of your area where the tea is stored is also a factor in determining how long your tea will stay fresh and tasty. For example, if you live in a dry area it is more probable that your tea will stay fresher for longer than it would in a humid or tropical environment. This is due to tea being hygroscopic (this means that the tea will absorb moisture and aromas from its surrounding environment)
*A note on puer storage: unlike most tea, puer improves with age and maybe enjoyed for years. For best results, we recommend storing puer in a cool, dry place that is temperature-controlled.
Where are your teas from?
We buy our tea from friends all over the world. From India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam; Our herbal ingredients too are sourced from all over the globe, depending on where they grow and taste best. For example, our Peppermint comes from USA, our Chamomile comes from Egypt or Bulgaria (depending on the time of year) our Lemongrass from Sri Lanka or Thailand and so on. If you have any questions about the ingredients please get in contact with us on our contact us page.
Working with all of our partners/friends from the start of Noble & Sunday Tea Merchants and have been fortunate enough to visit and stay with most of the friends we purchase from. Alan's relationships have developed over time and those that were suppliers are now our good friends.
Looking for new partners, we base our assessment on the quality of ingredients grown, how it is grown and the relationship between both the supplier, community and our team.
Is your tea organically grown?
Primarily the teas that we source are organic. Most are purchased with organic certification and to a lesser extent, some teas are purchased without a certificate.
Grown organically is our primary filter for purchasing teas because the tea is better for the environment, those that grow it and us that drink it. Organic teas price point is higher which encourages and rewards the grower to continue on that path and to strive for the best tea possible. Some of the tea we source was from previously certified organic and ethically sourced tea farms but due to the recent challenges the growers have faced and the costly audits some are choosing not to continue with the expensive certification but rather to allow them to keep employing and paying their staff. These smaller farms/gardens that we purchase from will continue to operate in a sustainable organic manner, recognising that nurturing the soil and the plant is the only way to create a sustainable crop that is better for all.
Having travelled to the countries of origin and continuing close contact with where we purchase our tea/herbs allows us to review the whole process right from the start; plucking the leaves/flowers and the harvest of the spices/bark that are used in crafting our blends, along with seeing how the workers are treated fairly.
Note: Occasionally we come across an incredible conventional tea that we will stock. We have these tested to make sure that they fall far below the toughest restrictions out there. (see below)
Are pesticides used in the growing process?
No. With organic tea, this is of utmost importance to us as 'you are what you eat' so there are no inorganic pesticides used.
With the conventional teas we stock yes there will have been pesticides used. But with these teas, we aim to purchase high grown first flush teas only which dramatically reduces the amount of pesticide used. We ensure the farmers we work with that use pesticides are done so in a responsible manner that is in line with the toughest EU & FDA regulations (whichever is greater). The suppliers we purchase from providing us with Certificates of Analysis and we test for pesticides through certified labs. These teas are also packed in a separate area.
Caffeine in tea, how much is in my cup of tea?
Caffeine naturally occurs in all true tea: white, green, oolong, black & fermented. The caffeine content in tea will vary from plant to plant and from season to season. Caffeine is made and used by the tea plant as a natural defence against insects.
From our research and testing some factors such as the list below will affect the amount of caffeine found in your cup of tea:
• age of plant • type of plant (cultivar or seed grown) • part of the plant (the new growth tends to have more caffeine in) • elevation of plant grown (low grown teas have higher insect populations whereas high grown tea has less insect activity) • water temp (temperature speeds up the brewing process) • time in water • tea to water ratio
Note: Caffeine is not inherently bad, everyone reacts differently to caffeine. Read more about how the caffeine in tea is different to coffee in our journal article here.
As a general rule tea has around 33% or 1/3 the amount of caffeine than in coffee, roughly around 20 to 30 mg found in tea.
The exception to this is matcha, which is about the same or 1.5x the amount of caffeine in coffee as you consume the whole leaf and not just the extracts from it) and all of our herbal infusions are caffeine-free (Each product notes on the website/packaging the amount of caffeine in it)
We do not source any decaffeinated teas, as the flavour of these teas is generally not up to our standards nor the method of decaffeinating the product.
The tea tastes sweet does it have sugar in it?
Some of our teas taste like they are sweet but there is no added sugar. The perception of sweet comes from some ingredients like licorice root, honeybush, stevia or carrot bits. Our teas are free of calories and sugar (but if there is a limited blend that does have candied fruit bits in or the likes we will state on the website/packaging)
Pure tea brewed on its own is a calorie-free beverage. This is also true for herbal infusions.
What is natural flavour?
At Noble & Sunday Tea Merchants, we are committed to using naturally sourced ingredients for our flavourings and use only non-GMO compounds that are derived through natural processing. Much like in the production of fine chocolates and wine, these “natural flavours” are derived naturally and provide unique flavour attributes that help our teas maintain their consistency in taste profiles and aromas.
