Loose Tea From All Over the World, Made and Packed in Hamburg - Welcome to GAIWAN

GAIWAN Tea Factory offers more than 300 loose leaf teas, most of them in organic quality (DE-ÖKO-005) and a selection of handmade glass products for tea preparation and enjoyment.

Our teas are carefully packed in Hamburg, the tea capital of Europe. As far as possible, the teas are produced at the place of origin and further processed in Hamburg. We only use the best ingredients for our teas, which we carefully select.

Do you have any questions about the ingredients or preparation? The preparation instructions, number of teaspoons per litre, water temperature and infusion time are printed on the front of the packaging. For tea preparation we recommend soft filtered water or spring water. The ingredients and the origin of the tea leaves are indicated on the back of the packaging. We will be happy to answer any further questions or suggestions you may have and will be happy to get in touch with you.

If you are satisfied with our tea, please feel free to pass it on. If you are dissatisfied, please feel free to contact us and help us to improve our products and services. We want you to be satisfied and give our best for it.

Gaiwan is, by the way, a cup with a lid in which tea was made thousands of years ago, long before the invention of today's popular teapot.

Your GAIWAN Tea Manufactory Hamburg

Buy Loose Tea

• Tea history: Where does tea come from?
  • Country of origin: China
  • Tea in Japan
  • Tea trade with Europe
  • Tea and Cha: Why there are only two main terms for tea
• What is tea?
• The different types of tea
  • A word about quality
  • Production and preparation
  • Green tea
  • Yellow tea
  • White tea
  • Oolong Tea
  • Black Tea
  • Pu Erh Tea
• Loose tea or tea bags - which is better?
  • Tea bags
  • Loose tea
  • The bottom line
• Is Tea healthy?
  • Teaeine or caffeine?
  • How does caffeine work?
  • Which tea has more caffeine?
  • Vitamins, minerals and trace elements
  • Essential oils
  • Secondary plant substances
• Loose tea - a word in conclusion

Tea by Ingredient

Pineapple, Anise, Apple, Valerian, Basil, Beetroot, Birch, Nettle, Blackberry, Cassia, Chili, Cistus, Cranberries, Strawberry, Safflower, Fennel, Lady's Mantle, Goji Berries, Mate, Guarana, Oat Straw, Rose Hip, Hemp, Hibiscus, Raspberry, Elder, Hop, Ginger, Jasmine, Currant, Cocoa, Chamomile, Caramel, Cardamom, Cherry, Coconut, Kombucha, Coriander, Cornflowers, Brittle, Caraway, Turmeric, Lapacho, Lavender, Lime, Phillyrea, Mallow, Tangerine, Almonds, Lemon Balm, Melon, Mistletoe, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Clove, Orange, Oregano, Osmanthus, Papaya, Parsley, Pepper, Peppermint, Puffed Rice, Rhubarb, Marigold, Rose, Raisins, Rosemary, Sage, Sea Buckthorn, Yarrow, Sunflower, Ribwort Plantain, Licorice, Thyme, Hawthorn, Lemon, Lemongrass, Lemon Verbena

Tea by Leaf Grade

The leaf grade is a quality characteristic typically used for black teas from India. It is an indicator of the production, appearance and taste of a tea.

• Orange in Orange Pekoe stands for royal.
• Pekoe denotes short and thick leaves, usually with white hairs on the underside.
• Broken stands for broken leaf due to processing.
• Flowery stands for flowery and means the small delicate buds (tips).
• 1 denotes an even more special quality.
• Special denotes the very best quality.
• Golden stands for the golden shimmering leaf tips, which make the tea even finer and milder.
• Tippy denotes the tea types that contain a particularly high proportion of golden and white leaf tips.

The teas can be ranked by quality and price category as follows up to the very highest quality SFTGFOP1: