Beyond the Leaf

Welcome to Beyond the Leaf, the TeaSource blog.

Tea is more than a beverage—it's a story of people, places, tradition, and craftsmanship. Here you'll find tea education, thoughtful discussion, steeping guides, recipes, tasting notes, tea travel, sourcing stories, industry insights, and updates from the TeaSource team.

Whether you're just beginning your loose leaf tea journey or have been enjoying specialty tea for years, Beyond the Leaf is a place to deepen your knowledge, discover new teas, and explore the world behind every cup. Drawing on decades of experience sourcing and tasting exceptional teas, we share practical advice, firsthand experiences, and a passion for tea that we hope inspires your next cup.


Travels in Tea: India, Part 4 - Livestream Broadcast

“I’ve never heard of that kind of tea before.” Bill Waddington     Milk tea being made at the Rohini Estate, Darjeeling, India. It’s not very often that I say... Read More

A little bit about a lot of Indian tea

India grows a lot of tea. It is the second largest tea producer in the world (China is first) – making over one million metric tons of finished tea per... Read More

The Lumbini Estate – 1st Place Winner

The Lumbini Tea Factory The tea profession is old.  Not the oldest (we all know what that is), but still old.  It has been a part of global trade before... Read More

Did someone say "Ceylon"?

Tea pluckers in Sri Lanka     Tea from Sri Lanka is immediately identifiable – bright, brisk, quenching, fruity - except for the fact that after gaining independence from the... Read More

"I'm Dealing Darjeeling"

Goomtee Tea Estate in Darjeeling   Darjeeling is one of the best known “brands” in tea. Even those who don’t drink or care about tea have at least heard the... Read More

New Teas for a New Year

Two days before New Year’s Day we received our annual big shipment from China by sea.  Two days after New Years we received our annual big shipment from India, also... Read More

They said we were crazy… with good reason.

Manufacturing tea is an art, it’s poetry in motion, it’s farmer-chef-craftsman-mechanic-chemist, all melded together. A few weeks ago, I did it in a conference room in Atlanta, GA. And "they"... Read More

Using a Gaiwan

What is a Gaiwan? A gaiwan is a small vessel for brewing tea that takes the place of a teapot. Gaiwans have been used in China since the Ming Dynasty... Read More

Pairing Tea with Cheese: a Breese

As the Tea and Cheese Pairing Class drifts into history, the flavors are still lingering in our minds. On the afternoon of October 26th, Steven Levine, a local cheese Guru,... Read More

Oxidation is the New Black

Black tea is black tea (as opposed to purple tea) because of oxidation. If you cut an apple (or banana or zucchini etc.) in half and let it sit, within... Read More

Why Black Tea?

To confess, when I was growing up, all "tea" was "black tea" to me.  Boring.  And as far as I knew, it grew in tea bags that hung from Lipton... Read More

The Big Cheese: Tasting Things You’ve Never Tasted Before

I love it when an experience totally takes me by surprise; especially over the course of a wonderfully fun night. TeaSource manager Jess Hanley and I recently spent an evening planning,... Read More

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