Tea, outside the mainstream.
Rare, small-batch teas and the stories behind them, written from New York City since 2011.
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Latest
Then and Now: Oregon Tea, 10 Years After the Bet on American-Grown Tea
Read the post →: Then and Now: Oregon Tea, 10 Years After the Bet on American-Grown TeaIn 2016 an Oregon farm bet great tea could grow in the US. A killing winter, $38-an-ounce tea and the 2025 tariffs: what happened next.
In my cup this week
Milky Blue Absolu
By Mariage Frères: a silky oolong scented with milky notes, sweet like caramel and crème brûlée.
Updated November 3, 2026 · ★★★★★ · Shop Mariage Frères (links to their Marco Polo tea) · Past cups →
From the archive
Sagan Dayla: The Siberian Rhododendron Tea
Sagan Dalya is a Siberian rhododendron tea drunk in Buryatia as a tonic: what it tastes like, how to brew it, and its safety limits. Read it →
A series from @TeaAndWar
War and Tea
The best flavors often come from things that were never meant to go together. Soldiers, hunters and campaigns from history, each paired with a tea, and the true stories of what people drank at war.
Latest from War and Tea
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The Danish Tea Trade: Copenhagen, British Smugglers and the 1807 Bombardment
Copenhagen grew rich shipping tea that smugglers sold in Britain. Then in 1807 Britain set the city on fire. The Danish tea…
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Tea in the Vietnam War: Smokeless Stoves, Brew Ups and Beer
Tea in the Vietnam War: smoke gave soldiers away. How a Vietnamese army cook hid his fire, how Australians brewed up on…
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What Cossacks and Russian Soldiers Really Drank: Wine, Vodka and the Fight for Tea
A Cossack was the first Russian to describe tea, yet most Cossacks drank wine and vodka. Russian soldiers wanted tea, and whether…
Recently updated
Older posts I have revisited, with new notes, prices and links.
More stories
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The Danish Tea Trade: Copenhagen, British Smugglers and the 1807 Bombardment
Copenhagen grew rich shipping tea that smugglers sold in Britain. Then in 1807 Britain set the city on fire. The Danish tea…
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Tea in the Vietnam War: Smokeless Stoves, Brew Ups and Beer
Tea in the Vietnam War: smoke gave soldiers away. How a Vietnamese army cook hid his fire, how Australians brewed up on…
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Where to Drink Real Loose-Leaf Tea in NYC, Beyond the Milk-Tea Chains
Loose-leaf tea in NYC beyond Mixue and HeyTea: four tea rooms worth the trip, from Té Company and Kettl to Puerh Brooklyn…
About
Writing about tea from New York since 2011.
I started Humble Tea Leaf when talking about tea in New York was mostly limited to Chinatown and a few niche corners of the city. I write about teas from around the world, from organic Japanese matcha to the Sagan Daila of Central Asia, and the traditions behind them.