Tea is the world's second most consumed beverage, after water, so it is perhaps not surprising that new online tea shops are appearing all the time. With so many tea shops to choose from, and each offering such a wide variety of tea gifts, how do you know if what you are buying is any good? This article has been written to help.

After water tea is the world's second most consumed beverage. Despite already being extremely popular its consumption is still rising, especially in Europe and North America where, whole and loose leaf teas are becoming increasingly preferred over the humble bag. Online retailers have been quick to notice this trend and online tea shops are appearing all over the web, each offering a wide assortment of teas and tea gifts from around the world.

Whilst choice can be a good thing with so many online tea shops now open, how do you know what you should be buying? Here are some pointers:

What is a tea?

All tea come from one plant only, the Camellia Sinensis Bush. Other hot drinks which are made by infusing different organically derived materials - such as herbs and spices - are therefore technically not teas. While often you may see these described as such, the correct definition for these drinks is Tisane. While these can be equally delicious, you'll only receive the wide-ranging health benefits found in teas by drinking real tea!

What are the types of tea?

While most people know of Black and Green Teas, there are in fact 6 different varieties. Different varieties are created by the various processing methods and oxidisation that can be applied to the fresh tea leaves after they have been picked. As a general rule of thumb, the darker the tea, the more processing it has had. The six categories are: White; Yellow; Green; Oolong; Black; and Pu'er.

White and Yellow teas are generally the lightest and least processed. Black and Pu'ers are the darkest and undergo the most processing. Green and Oolongs sit somewhere in the middle.

How do I know if it's any good?

The easiest way to know if a tea is any good is to taste it. If you like it and you consider the shop to be offering it at a reasonable price then it's a good for you. When buying online however it may not always be possible to taste the tea first. In such situations there are some tips we can offer.

Look at how much it costs? Good tea is not cheap, even in China and Taiwan. If someone is claiming to offer a large quantity of an exclusive oolong, for tea bag prices, the chances are isn't as good as the online shop is suggesting.

Email the shop owner about the tea. Most legitimate online tea shops will be delighted to talk about their product with you. They should be able to tell you a little about where it came from and most importantly when it was harvested? If they cannot, or do not want to answer this last question, you need to begin questioning how fresh the tea may be?

Online shops have made the world of artisan whole leaf teas more accessible than ever before. By following the simple rules in this guide we hope that you'll be able to discover a whole world of teas from tea producers around the world.