Top 55 European Teas and Herbal Infusions

Soalheiro is a renowned winery located in the northern region of Portugal, particularly known for its exceptional Alvarinho wines. The winery has a strong tradition of innovation, with its origins tracing back to João António Cerdeira, who was the first to plant a full vineyard of Alvarinho in Melgaço.

The family-run winery, now managed by the third generation, continues to embrace both tradition and innovation in its winemaking practices. In addition to its wines, Soalheiro also produces herbal teas, which are a part of the region's rich cultural heritage. They offer a variety of herbal infusions such as Lemon Verbena, Spearmint, and Rosemary, which are celebrated for their natural flavors and therapeutic benefits. Soalheiro places a strong emphasis on sustainability, with eco-friendly practices in both viticulture and packaging, and provides immersive experiences like wine and herbal tea tours, gastronomic journeys, and tastings to introduce visitors to the unique traditions of the Minho region.Expand

Flora Tea is a brand that specializes in premium flowering teas, offering a unique and artistic tea experience. Known for its elegant and vibrant blooming tea, Flora Tea provides a selection of high-quality teas that unfurl into beautiful flowers when steeped.

Their range includes carefully hand-tied blooms made from the finest ingredients, offering both visual and sensory delight. Flora Tea also offers elegant teaware, including glass teapots and cups, to enhance the blooming tea experience.

The company’s commitment to craftsmanship and creativity is evident in every product, making it a great choice for tea enthusiasts seeking a more artistic and visually engaging tea time. Whether you are looking for a special gift or a personal indulgence, Flora Tea ensures a memorable tea experience.Expand

Galerie Du Thé specializes in high-quality loose-leaf teas, including black, green, oolong, matcha, and white tea. Their selection is curated to provide an exceptional tasting experience, with a focus on freshness, craftsmanship, and small-batch production. The brand emphasizes its commitment to "fresh" teas, vacuum-sealed for optimal freshness, and shipped in protective packaging to ensure that each tea retains its full flavor profile.

They also offer a selection of award-winning blends, such as their Great Taste Award Collection. Additionally, Galerie Du Thé offers exclusive gift sets, tea accessories, and packages to explore different teas. They have received positive reviews from top chefs and customers for the quality and uniqueness of their products.Expand

Birchall Tea is a British tea company operated by Imporient Ltd and based in London. The company specializes in high-quality black teas sourced primarily from East Africa, including Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda.

Birchall Tea is recognized for its commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing, holding Rainforest Alliance certification. The company was established in 1872 and remains a family-run business.Expand

OMGTEA Ltd specializes in producing high-quality green tea products. The company focuses on sourcing top-tier tea leaves and implementing meticulous processing techniques to ensure superior taste and nutritional value.

They offer a range of green tea products including matcha, which is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves.Expand

Novus Tea is based in England and is known for its range of premium teas, including green tea. The company focuses on sourcing high-quality tea leaves and maintaining strict quality control standards.

They offer various green tea blends aimed at providing a superior tasting experience.Expand

Tea People is a UK-based social enterprise that produces and sells a variety of high-quality specialty teas. The company is known for its commitment to ethical sourcing and sustainability.

A significant portion of its profits is directed towards educational and social projects in tea-growing regions. Tea People offers both loose leaf and bagged teas, focusing on delivering a rich and diverse tea experience.Expand

Tea Shirt Teas is a British company focused on providing high-quality, eco-friendly, and ethically produced teas. Their range includes a wide variety of organic and plastic-free loose-leaf teas, including black, green, oolong, herbal, and Ayurvedic teas.

The company stands out for its commitment to sustainability, using recyclable and compostable packaging to reduce its environmental footprint. Tea Shirt Teas is particularly proud of its innovative blends, such as "Chocolate Cloud" and "Apple & Grapefruit." All teas are carefully selected and ethically sourced, supporting fair trade and sustainable practices within the tea industry.

In addition to the exceptional quality of their products, Tea Shirt Teas is recognized for its high level of customer service and its contribution to environmental preservation.Expand

English breakfast tea is one of the most popular tea varieties in the UK and the world. It is a blend typically made with Assam, Ceylon, Chinese, and Kenyan black tea. Its birthplace—as well as the origin of its name—is quite vague and often disputed. One theory claims that the blend was invented in 1892 by a Scottish tea master Drysdale. Allegedly, this version was favored by Queen Victoria—who promoted the blend, and it is believed that the tea was then given its current name. Another theory credits Richard Davies for the invention of the name and the blend. He was a British tea merchant based in New York who supposedly started to sell his blend in 1834. Regardless of its exact origin, black tea became a breakfast staple in Great Britain sometime in the 18th century, and the somewhat weaker blends were then replaced by the strong English breakfast tea in the 19th century. Because of its full-bodied, robust, and strong flavor, the tea is usually sweetened and served with milk. Expand

Earl Grey is a type of tea traditionally made with black tea flavored with bergamot oil. As the name is not trademarked, there are several varieties that may appear under the same name and which use different tea varieties or additional flavorings. Earl Grey is sold in the form of loose tea leaves or tea bags, and it typically yields a slightly tannic tea that has intense aromas of citrusy bergamot. It is believed that the tea was named after Prime Minister Charles Grey. Although the name Grey’s Tea probably appeared before, the first written reference of Earl Grey Tea dates back to the 1880s, while the researchers at Oxford English Dictionary argue that a variety of bergamot-flavored tea was first mentioned in 1824. Despite numerous theories of its origin, it is likely that the tea was already familiar among some Chinese tea masters, and it was then given to the Prime Minister, or it was a simple way to show respect to the nobleman. Some theories claim that it was Grey’s wife who was smitten by this fragrant combination and eventually promoted the tea among the British upper classes. The company Twinings is mostly cited and credited as the first distributor of this aromatic tea. Apart from its regular use, Earl Grey can be used as a flavoring in savory and sweet dishes. Although it is a classic afternoon tea, Earl Grey also pairs well with desserts and can be a surprisingly good match to curry dishes. Expand

Russian Caravan is a tea blend that is typically made with Chinese oolong and black teas. The blends may vary, but it mostly consists of at least two tea types, while the most common combinations include Keemun black tea, the smoky Lapsang Souchong, and oolong teas. Although the exact selection may vary, Russian Caravan is based on fully or partially oxidized teas, and the final character is typically dark, smoky, spicy, and malty. Traditionally, Chinese black teas were used in the blend, but as there are no set ingredients, the variations may include Indian (Assam) or Taiwanese teas. The intriguing name is linked with the origin of this tea. It is associated with the ancient caravan route used to transport Chinese tea to Tsarist Russia. The route was long, and it went through roughed Siberian terrain. Although there was a shorter route, it was avoided due to the unfavorable climate. The Siberian route was cold and dry, which preserved the quality of the tea. It is said that during these long journeys, the tea would sit next to a fire, and it usually attained subtle smoky notes. As the Russian Caravan blend is an effort to re-create these teas, it traditionally has a smoky note, which is generally acquired with Lapsang Souchong, but it is not mandatory. This tea would pair well with red meat, game, lamb, and lemon-based desserts. They can also work well with BBQ dishes and smoked salmon. Expand

Chamomilla bohemica is a dried flowerhead of the chamomile plant from the Flos chamomilla vulgaris species, produced in the Bohemia area in the Czech Republic, consisting of Prague, Central and South Bohemian, Plzeň, Karlovy Vary, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, Hrádec Králové and Pardubice regions. The designated area of production is characterized by loamy and sandy soils and the average annual rainfall of 500-700 mm/m2, providing favourable conditions for growing the chamomile plant of an excellent quality, where it was grown before the 1950s. As there is lots of sunshine in the region, it influences the essential oils and chamazulene content in the plant. It is harvested in a gentle way, and there is even a special machinery developed especially for the harvest of the flowerheads. The product is mostly sold in tea bags, and used in the preparation of herbal teas, consumed hot to take full advantage of the beneficial properties of this unique plant.Expand

Mursalski chai is a herbal infusion that originates from Smolyan Province, Bulgaria. The infusion, or tea as it is usually called, is brewed from Sideritis scardica, a perennial plant endemic to the Balkan Peninsula. The plant is mainly found in the Rhodope Mountains. The preparation of the drink is simple and includes steeping the dried plant in boiling water. The brew is strained, and it is traditionally sweetened with honey. Many believe that this herbal tea has numerous health benefits. It is said that it eases respiratory problems, reduces risks of cardiovascular diseases, has anti-inflammatory effects, and acts as an antioxidant. Expand

Alföldi kamillavirágzat is a wild chamomile flower grown on the saline soils of the Great Hungarian Plain. This fragile cultivar is hand-picked, dried in central Hungary and then used in tea sachets or infusions. It has a strong, sweet, intense smell and tastes slightly bitter. Since the essential oils in wild chamomile are preserved much better than the ones in normally cultivated chamomile, Alföldi kamillavirágzat is also prized for its medicinal purposes and used in treating gastrointestinal pain or externally, for treating the gums and mouth sores.Expand

Wild lily (Lilium martagon), Turk’s cap lily, or Martagon lily, known locally as bar tamthi, has traditionally been gathered in early to mid-summer from the alpine meadows by the Kelmendi community in Lëpushë, a mountainous village situated in the Northern Albanian Alps. Distinguished by beautiful, turban-like flowers, this wild plant has been harvested for its bulbs and leaves, which are dried and used to prepare traditional teas, infusions, and decoctions. Regarded as "herb of the liver" in traditional medicine, the plant’s bulbs are believed to help with various liver diseases and digestion problems.Expand

Söderblandning is a tea blend invented in Sweden. It is based on black tea blended with tropical fruit and flowers. The blend was invented in Södermalm, Stockholm—hence the name. It remains one of the most popular teas in Sweden. The exact ingredients are unfamiliar, and there are some differences among brands, but the base is made with Ceylon and Chinese black tea, while the additions may include citrus fruit and various flowers. Söderblandning was allegedly a lucky invention at the Tea Center in Stockholm. The story says that the owner Vernon Mauris accidentally dropped a batch he was working on. His workers refused to throw it away and used it to brew tea. The blend tasted so good that Vernon immediately tried to recreate the combination. It was originally called Misstagsblandningen (The Mistake Blend), later changing its name to Söderblandning to commemorate the district where the tea shop was located. Expand

Kalmyk tea or chai is a creamy tea made with pressed green or black tea, usually brewed with butter, milk, and salt. The variations include nutmeg and sometimes other spices such as peppercorns. This tea is mainly made with pressed green tea that includes stems, stalks, and twigs. As the name suggests, Kalmyk tea originated among the Kalmyk, the Mongolian nomadic people in Russia and Kyrgyzstan that make a majority in the Russian region Kalmykia. The tea was most likely initially made with melted butter, salt, and camel milk. It was traditionally enjoyed as a filling and nourishing drink. When paired with bread, it was meant to replace a meal. The tea, and its variations, is still regularly consumed in the region. Expand

Diktamo (lat. Origanum dictamnus), widely known as Cretan dittany, is a branched aromatic perennial plant endemic to the island of Crete in southern Greece. Archeological data and textual remains from Mediterranean antiquity document its continuous usage, with representation in Minoan fresco iconography at Knossos and written analyses by Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Dioscorides, who recorded its topical application for wound healing and its consumption for gastric relief. The plant grows natively in rocky calcareous soil formations, anchoring inside the vertical crevices of limestone cliffs, steep ravines, and mountainous gorges such as Samaria at altitudes up to fifteen hundred meters, though modern commercial yield is supplemented by organized agricultural cultivation in the rural districts of Heraklion. The biological structure features small, round, greenish-grey leaves covered in dense velvet-like white hairs that function to minimize moisture loss under intense solar radiation, producing pinkish-purple flowers during the summer blooming phase. Preparation protocols require harvesting the aerial components during the flowering period, followed by dehydration in shaded, low-humidity environments to preserve the volatile essential oils, which contain high concentrations of carvacrol, p-cymene, and thymol. For consumption as a herbal infusion, three to five grams of the dried leaves and bracts are steeped in water heated to approximately ninety-five degrees Celsius for five to seven minutes, then strained and served hot or cold in standard ceramic vessels. Diktamo's high concentration of carvacrol, an organic phenol compound that imparts a sharp, pungent flavor profile combining elements of wild oregano, thyme, and pepper, led to its inclusion as a primary botanical flavoring agent in the formulation of commercial European vermouths, bitters, and herbal liqueurs. This herb is consumed as a dietary beverage across specialized health networks, domestic Greek households, and international culinary establishments, and it is also utilized topically in modern dermatological cosmetics for its antimicrobial properties. The intense, warm, slightly bitter taste profile of the brewed herbal infusion provides analytical pairings for natural honey, fresh citrus fruits, toasted nuts, and mild goat cheeses, while its use as a dried culinary seasoning pairs precisely with slow-cooked lamb, roasted root vegetables, tomato-based stews, and grilled fish drizzled with olive oil.Expand