The Size of the Leaf
There are at least ten different grades of tea leaf in terms of shape, size and quality of leaf. The teas you find on your supermarket shelf are usually teabags containing the lowest grades - tea dust. These are the tiny particles which break off from the leaves during processing and produce a very dark liquid with relatively little taste.

The Age of the Leaf
When the tea is picked there are different sizes of leaves on the plant. All Tea Palace teas are made from the tea plant’s youngest and most tender leaves, which give the finished tea a delicate and rounded flavour. The larger older leaves with a harsher taste, are those that end up in the supermarket.

Single Estate Teas
Like wines, the best and ‘purest’ black teas come from single tea gardens in India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) China and Japan.

Blends
Most popular brands of teabag contain between 15-30 different teas blended together, many of which are cheaper lower quality teas. Those teas that are blended with other ingredients (eg Earl Grey or Lemon), often use artificial flavoured oils in order to flavour the tea.