Core to our offering is our own branded authentic Chinese teas grown in the traditional way to help you to a healthier and happier life.
In addition to this we purvey other good organic teas which bring their own unique experience.
Good wholesome natural tea has endless health benefits, which is why on this website we provide something very beneficial to everyone: An information service that lists most common ailments and how tea can act as a remedy. All based on research from the worlds leading medical and academic authorities.
Chinese people have known for centuries teas from the Camellia sinensis plant boost energy while many academic studies have confirmed that drinking tea has many health benefits.
Our Chinese tea range comprises genuine Puerh, Oolong and Green teas. They all come from the Camellia sinensis plant and if taken in place of ordinary mass produced teas (particularly without milk and sugar) they will help with weight and digestive issues.
Being rich in antioxidants these teas limit cell damage and help control the build-up of fatty tissues. They have a subtle and rewarding taste that regular drinkers come to adore.
Tea Cargo Authentic Puerh Bags and Tea Cakes
Puerh tea is drunk by celebrities and everyone wishing to aid digestion, feel good, look slim.
Our Puerh tea comes from the Yunnan province in South West China. Many people drink Puerh tea for its excellent slimming properties but the real key to this special tea is how it can aid digestion. Puerh tea is rich in Lactobacillus bacteria and Polyphenols. Lactobacillus bacteria is particularly effective at breaking down fatty foods and Polyphenols work by eliminating free radicals, which are known to cause a number of health and digestion problems.
Puerh tea has a long and distinguished history and is named after the market town in Yunnan Province where this tea has been traded for centuries. This is the area where all Tea Cargo Natural Authentic Teas come from. Made from the larger leafed variety of the Camellia sinensis tree, this tea captures all the flavours of the rich loamy soil and the moist and misty mountains on which the trees grow, randomly as nature intended.
Puerh leaves are aged in special moist conditions and allowed to mature. The leaves are steamed and compressed into cakes (as is the case for our genuine Puerh tea cakes) or left as leaves (as used in tea bags from Tea Cargo)
This is the key to Puerh tea because, just like a good wine, the tea cakes mature with age. Some become very valuable in time.
The ‘fermentation’ of the tea contributes to its unique earthy taste. The leaves change from green to red and then to a dark brown. As the tea ages the taste becomes sweeter and smoother which is why Tea Cargo Puerh tea is allowed to mature for at least two years.
Tea Cargo Authentic tea bags capture the essence of this product and are the modern way to enjoy this traditional beverage. None of the goodness is lost in the process when converting the larger leaves into the ideal size to go into our tea bags. So dedicated are we to not spoiling the occasion and being alive to sustainability issues that we use only natural materials and we do not use metal staples.
Tea Cargo Authentic Oolong
Known for its slimming properties. Oolong is known all over the world for its aid to keeping slim and looking good. In fact slimming is just one benefit you will enjoy from drinking this healthy tea. Like all genuine China teas it has an acquired taste all of its own with neither the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea, nor the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea. It is commonly brewed to be strong.
While Oolong tea comes from the same Camellia Sinensis tree as Puerh tea but results from a very different process. Oolong tea is semi-fermented by allowing it to dry firstly outdoors and then indoors on bamboo baskets. This allows some of the moisture to evaporate and speeds up the maturing process. The leaves are turned every two hours, shaken and finally dried before being converted to the smaller pieces that go into our tea bags.
Tea Cargo Authentic Green Tea
An everyday drink that will help mind, body and soul. Green tea has been part of the Chinese diet for centuries helping to maintain a healthy body and to provide energy. Green tea is rich in polyphenols which can assist a weight loss program since it induces thermogenesis (lower body temperature) and stimulates fat oxidation.
Whereas Puerh tea is fermented and Oolong tea is part fermented, Green tea is prepared as soon as it is harvested. Often the leaves are left to ‘wither’ for a short time, then the leaves are subjected to a drying process.
Tea Information
“The British consume more than a billion cups of tea every day. It is a pity that not more of these are free from sugar (about 30% of total) and particularly milk (98%).”
Chinese people have known for centuries that teas infusions the Camellia sinensis plant boost energy while many academic studies have confirmed that drinking tea speeds up the oxidation of fat and increases the body’s metabolic rate.
New drinkers of these authentic Chinese teas become aware of an alertness of mind. This is attributed to many things but certainly theamine increases alpha brain-wave activity, something very beneficial for anyone working or studying hard.
There are subtle differences in each of our teas created by the way each of them is carefully nurtured and prepared.
Preparing your tea
Brewing tea is a personal thing and producing just the right balance of strength and flavour takes practice. In China the preparation of tea can be a painstaking ceremony fully respectful of the importance of good healthy tea drinking. In the UK, modern life does not always afford us such luxury of time.
However, here we give you the benefit of our knowledge of good tea brewing practice to help you create the perfect ‘cuppa’:
The water used can affect the taste and purity of the tea as most tap water contains chemicals and residues that are usually harmless in themselves. If the taste is affected by the water in your area you could experiment with filtered water ideally with a pH of 7.
Using a teapot will help you enjoy your tea drinking experience even more.
Green Tea and Oolong Tea
- Heat the water and just before boiling use a little to swill out and heat the teapot.
- Put the bags into the warmed pot and again, once the water has boiled and been left to stand for a short while, pour on to the tea bags. DO NOT USE BOILING WATER. The ideal temperature is 65-70ºC (150-175ºF).
- You should use 190-200ml (6.5 – 7.00 fl. oz) of water per bag (roughly a cupful).
- Allow 3-5 minutes for the flavour to infuse, depending on personal taste.
- Pour on more off-boiled water for further cups but do not leave standing for too long as the tea can become bitter in taste.
- Before pouring dispense with the tea bags unless you intend to pour on more water for further tea. Once you have finished adding water remove the tea bag.
- You can keep your tea, without the tea bags, warming gently on a low heat such as a candle.
- Apply the same guidelines when preparing your tea in a cup or mug.
- A little honey can be added.
Puerh Tea
Puerh teas can be generally infused more than once and will retain their goodness and taste:
- For tea bags, heat the water to boiling. Use a little first, to swill out and heat the teapot.
- Put the tea bag(s) in (roughly one per required cup) and pour on half a cupful of the off-boiled water.
- Allow the bags to infuse for just 15 seconds, gently swill once and then pour the water away.
- Now add the boiling water and allow to infuse for 2-4 minutes depending on taste.
Puerh Tea Cakes
Using these Puerh tea cakes is a very different tea experience. Here you enter the spirit of Chinese tea drinking with a ceremony befitting the tradition and history of this ancient beverage. Each cake is compacted dried mature tea which has been ‘fermented’ for more than a year. It is the way the tea cake is made that influences its usage.
This authentic tea can be likened to a good wine because it matures and improves as it gets older. It has an earthy taste in the way that some wines adopt an aroma of oak reflecting the way they are fermented. Each tea cake is a drinking opportunity. The amount of cake you break off at any time is dependent on how many people will be taking tea and also on how many cups will be drunk. This is because the Puerh tea cake can be infused many times:
- Heat the tea pot.
- Pour on half a cupful of boiling water.
- Allow the leaves to infuse for just 15 seconds, gently swill once and then pour the water away.
- Pour on boiling water again, allow to infuse for less than 30 seconds and drink the tea.
- Repeat the process for a further helping and so on.
- You can experiment to find the right amount of tea cake, the time allowed to infuse and the number of repeat infusions to suit your own personal requirements.