FAQs
Our teas
From the outset, Curious Tea has aimed to provide the highest quality teas at an accessible price that is fair to the farmers. We want everyone to experience and enjoy the vast range of teas that exist in the world, as we believe it is as diverse and interesting as wine.
In the UK, tea has long been seen as a cheap commodity often accompanied by milk or sugar from tea bags that are thrown away after one use. Even if you enjoy that way of drinking tea, there is a whole world of artisanal teas that are complex and delicious without adding anything, except for a few traditional flavours like jasmine or bergamot.
A lot of traditional eastern teas also have a strong flavour or a large leaf that can be re-brewed multiple times and which give a different taste profile with each round.
We don't sell any herbal teas as of yet because we don't believe that any real difference in quality can be found between sources, as the herbs are just dried and not processed like camellia sinensis. However, if we find some rare yet interesting herbs we think our customers would enjoy, that could change.
Similarly for flavoured or fruit teas, the ingredients are usually cheap and just mask any cheap low quality camellia leaves within. For us, the tea plant gives such a varied and interesting range of taste that we only supply the small range of flower or citrus blended teas that have passed our quality test.
We specifically created two introductory boxes to guide you into trying a basic selection of loose leaf teas. If you have an interest in a particular type of region of teas, our gifts box selections also work in giving a broad overview of what teas you can try in that range.
We have some introduction to tea pages coming soon.
Brewing different styles of teas can be a little complex, but a general rule of thumb is the darker the tea leaf, the higher the temperature you can use.
Pu'erh and black teas can be 90º-100º for about 3 minutes.
Oolongs are generally 90º for 3 or more minutes.
Green and yellow are 80º for 2-3 minutes.
White teas can be brewed cooler at 70º or 80º for 4 minutes or longer, or hotter at 90º for a shorter time.
All of these parameters are to your own taste so you should experiment; further brewing of the same leaves should either go up in temperature a little each time or be left to steep for longer.
Gaiwans are used in gong fu brewing which was developed in China as the original method for brewing tea. It works well with a large amount of big leaves with a hot temperature and faster brewing times. There is no reason why all of our teas cannot be brewed in this style. Gong fu brewing is ideal to really smell and taste all notes in depth of a tea to analyse its character. However, a consideration is that smaller leaves may infuse too quickly and strongly this way.
Matcha
Matcha and powdered teas are the fastest to deteriorate. Hojicha is an exception as it has already been roasted, but most powdered teas should be kept well sealed in air tight packaging and used with a year of purchase.
Green tea and yellow tea
Green and yellow teas will start to fade and loose their freshness also with a year. They are still drinkable and do not go mouldy, but any grassiness or umami noes will definitely change into dully vegetal flavours.
Oolong, black tea and pu'erhs
These types will last the longest; black teas can last many years if stored in dry conditions as it is already fully oxidised. Oolongs are often slightly roasted and can even be aged to improve flavours. However lighter, greener oolongs will start to loose their verdant, creamy and herbaceous flavours as they transform into mellow fruity, roasted favours.
Finally, pu'erhs are always best when aged and there is an art of storing for ageing for decades to produce vintage, expensive teas. Pu'erhs are fermented and the microbes involved will transform astringent and bitter leaves into mellow, earthy and woody flavours. As long as you store pure away from light and in not too hot an area, it will last you a very long time.
Yes! We have direct trade with many farmers and cooperatives all over the world. For all of our producers, tea is their livelihood and high quality loose leaf tea is a labour intensive product. We are in the business of promoting tea as a premium created product and not a cheap commodity. The farmers set their own prices which allows them to work fully in their profession, to give the consumer the best they can and also innovate with new cultivars and processing methods.
At the moment we are only an online tea store, with an office in Battersea, London.
Google requires us to put an address and opening hours in order to show up as a legitimate business, but it's only storage for our products and where we work.
For this reason, collect in person orders are by appointment but if you want to come for tea tasting or looking for yixing teapots we can try to arrange an appointment for you.
All of our postage packaging is made from card and paper, with paper-based adhesive tape and any padding is from biodegradable plastic. Our gift boxes contain only paper and card with no lamination, as well as any gift notes or compliment slips.
Unfortunately our tea pouches are not recyclable. We need a waterproof airtight seal inside the pouch to keep air and moisture form spoiling the product. Though we are constantly looking for an affordable and reliable replacement and will update our blog once we have something suitable.
Shipping and refunds
We have a number of shipping options depending on your location and basket total.
In UK, basket totals over £30 receive free 2nd class shipping. For Europe, £70 and over receive standard untracked airmail and for the rest of the world it's baskets over £90.
A full table of costs can be found on our delivery information page.
Subscription shipping
Delivery within the UK is included in the total monthly price.
International delivery is charged at £4 per box for delivery within Europe and £6 per box for delivery to the rest of the world.
For countries within the Europe zone please see the list used by Royal Mail.
Yes, we do. You will be charged an additional shipping fee at checkout for international delivery depending on destination. For subscriptions, we currently charge £4/month delivery for our European zone and £6/month delivery for our international zone. A full table of costs can be found on our delivery information page.
Delivery outside the UK takes around 5-20 working days. Our tea is supplied in sealed foil pouches so will not be affected by long transit.
Please check with your local authorities whether importing of tea for personal consumption is permitted in your country, as we cannot be held responsible for any non-deliveries due to actions of your country’s customs.
In the UK, orders are usually sent same or next working day and will take 1-3 days on average depending on service purchased. It can take as long as 2 weeks for some packets to arrive if they are misplaced. We are a very small company so please be patient as once we have posted it, it is out of our control and we cannot claim from Royal Mail for replacements.
Outside of the UK can take anywhere from a few days in Europe to a few weeks worldwide.
Please note that standard delivery services do not come with tracking, unless specifically purchased. Royal Mail 24 and 48 have limited tracking, which is only visible after they have tried to deliver the parcel.
Due to perishable nature of tea unfortunately we are unable to offer refunds if the tea pouches have been opened. If you have changed your mind and have not yet opened the tea pouches, please return your teas to our usual address and we will arrange for a refund.
If you are unhappy about any of the teas that we supply or for any other reason, please first contact us and we will do our best to resolve any issues.
Undamaged tea ware can also be returned in secure packaging. If part of your infuser or pot is broken, we can try to replace that part if you want to keep it.
Subscriptions
When you buy one of our tea subscriptions you will receive on a monthly basis a box containing two or four types of high-grade premium loose tea. The contents of the box are different each month, so that way you will be able to experience a wider variety of tea. This is perfect for broadening your tea knowledge and for trying out new types of tea.
You can buy a recurring one month subscription, or a recurring 3 month subscription for nearly 10% discount. Either of these can be cancelled after receiving the first box, but we cannot refund part of a 3 month subscription; therefore you will still receive all 3 boxes.
Either of these can be bought as a gift - just put an alternate name and address for shipping with an optional gift message for the first box. Alternatively a pre-paid 3, 6 or 12 month subscription is a good option, as they will not renew after the chosen period ends.
Once you have an active subscription, you can go into your account area and pause and resume when you wish. To make sure you don't get a subscription for a particular month, try to pause before the 10th of any month, as that is when we start creating boxes for that calendar month.
Our subscriptions start from less than £12/month. This cost varies depending on subscription type, length and whether it is recurring or a one-off subscription. For example a 12 month discovery subscription works out at £11.67/month. The price includes free delivery within the UK.
When you buy one of our recurring subscription plans you will be billed immediately for the first month (or three months depending on subscription length). All subsequent payments will be taken automatically on the 10th of every month (or on 10th of every third month).
You do not have to do anything for the subscription to be renewed but you are of course free to cancel at any time. We do not offer refunds for subscriptions cancelled part way through a period, so you will receive all boxes until completed.
Payment methods we currently accept via Stripe are: Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Our transaction will appear as ‘curioustea.com’ on your statement.
When you buy one of our one-ff subscription plans you will be billed immediately for the whole subscription term (currently 3, 6 or 12 months). This is not a recurring payment and your subscription will end automatically at the end of the subscription plan term.
Payment methods we currently accept via Stripe are: Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Our transaction will appear as ‘curioustea.com’ on your statement.
We aim to dispatch your first box of tea as soon as possible after you first subscribe. If you subscribe before the 15th of any month, that month's box will be dispatched on the 15th of that month. If you subscribe after the 15th of any month, that month's box will be dispatched immediately, normally within 1-2 working days. All subsequent boxes are sent out around the 15th of every month.
For example, if you subscribe on the 5th of January, your first subscription box will be dispatched on the 15th of January, with subsequent box sent out on the 15th of February. If you subscribe on the 25th of January, your first box will be dispatched 25-27th January, with subsequent box sent out on the 15th of February.
Please allow 2-3 days for delivery within the UK and 5-20 working days for addresses outside the UK.
If you haven’t received your tea box, please get in touch with us at [email protected] and we will do our best to make sure you get your tea box as soon as possible.
We only source high-grade premium loose tea. Some teas that we feature are very special and rare and are impossible to find in shops. This ensures that we supply to you a truly unique tea tasting experience.
Our Discovery Subscription delivers four 10g taster packs of different teas. This box features a wide variety of tea and will feature any of the main tea types: white, green, yellow, oolong, black, pu-erh.
When you subscribe to a Classic Subscription you can choose three types of tea: light, dark and mixed.
Light tea boxes are perfect for those who love green tea or similar teas of lighter colour and character. These boxes typically feature green, white, yellow, lightly oxidised oolong or other similar types of tea.
Dark tea boxes are perfect for those who love black tea or similar teas of darker colour and character. These boxes typically feature black, red, pu-erh, heavily oxidised oolong or other similar types of tea.
Mixed tea boxes are perfect for those who love all kinds of tea. These boxes feature one of the teas from the Light box and one of the teas from the Dark box. Perfect for broadening you tea experiences.
My account
We are looking into ways in which customers can login using Apple, Google or other methods, and we have just changed our policy so that guests can checkout using Apple Pay etc, without having to create an account.
However, for subscriptions, accounts are required as we need to keep track of which boxes have been sent, and prepare boxes based on subscribers at the beginning of each month.
We only keep basic information, your name, billing and shipping details; and an email and telephone number in case of order problems. If you sign up to receive emails from us then you will receive a maximum of 4 promotional email form us per year and those are to announce sales and discounts. You can unsubscribe form those at any time.
We do not keep any payment card details on our website, except for displaying the last 4 digits and expiry date for you to identify past payments. Only payment merchants like stripe and PayPal have access to full card details.
Yes, we are required under GDPR compliance to erase any data we hold about you on request.
To request, simply email us and you shall receive a reply to confirm the request. When you accept the confirmation the system removes all data form our server.