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
Tea in the Trenches: Petrol Tins, Rum and the French Who Drank Wine
Read the post →: Tea in the Trenches: Petrol Tins, Rum and the French Who Drank WineTea in the trenches of WWI: petrol-can water, chloride of lime, rum in the brew, Tommy cookers, and the French poilus who stuck to wine.
In my cup this week
Thé du Matin N°24
By Kusmi Tea: an organic breakfast blend of Yunnan, Assam and Ceylon black teas, balanced and subtly chocolatey.
Updated November 10, 2026 · ★★★★★ · Where to buy · 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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Tea in the Trenches: Petrol Tins, Rum and the French Who Drank Wine
Tea in the trenches of WWI: petrol-can water, chloride of lime, rum in the brew, Tommy cookers, and the French poilus who…
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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…
Recently updated
Older posts I have revisited, with new notes, prices and links.
More stories
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A Gold Samovar in the Window: Dammann Frères, Strasbourg
A gold samovar, Strasbourg’s own Thé de la Cathédrale, and France’s oldest tea house: a window-shopping stop at Dammann Frères in Strasbourg.
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Tea Gifts: Small, Thoughtful Gifts for Tea Lovers
Small tea gifts that get used: teas with a story, simple tools, a few bigger treats and the free part of the…
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Then and Now: Oregon Tea, 10 Years After the Bet on American-Grown Tea
In 2016 an Oregon farm bet great tea could grow in the US. A killing winter, $38-an-ounce tea and the 2025 tariffs:…
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.