Toronto · Shipped Across Canada
Premium loose leaf tea in Canada
Tea Pilgrim is a Toronto-based tea company sourcing the finest loose leaf teas from gardens around the world. From bold black teas to delicate whites and caffeine-free herbals, every blend is hand-selected, ethically sourced, and shipped fresh to your door anywhere in Canada.
Shop All TeasWhy loose leaf?
Whole tea leaves hold onto the essential oils and aromatics that give tea its character — the very things lost in the broken dust that fills most tea bags. Loose leaf tea gives the leaves room to unfurl and infuse fully, so you get a brighter, more layered cup, often from multiple steeps of the same leaves. It is fresher, better value per cup, and kinder to the planet.
Brewing Basics
Getting started with loose leaf tea
Six families from one plant
Black, green, white, oolong and pu'erh teas all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. What separates them is processing — above all, how much the leaves are allowed to oxidize after picking. Green and white teas are barely oxidized and taste fresh, vegetal or delicately sweet. Oolong is partially oxidized and spans everything from floral to toasty. Black tea is fully oxidized, giving a malty, robust cup, and pu'erh is fermented and aged for deep, earthy flavour. Herbal teas and rooibos are made from other plants entirely and are naturally caffeine-free.
Brewing basics
You do not need special equipment to start: a roomy infuser or a teapot with a strainer, a kettle and a timer will do. A good rule of thumb is 2–3 g of leaf (about one heaping teaspoon of most teas) per 250 ml of water. The two things that matter most are water temperature and steeping time — the chart below gives a starting point for each type. Delicate teas need cooler water; herbal teas and black tea need it at a full boil.
Fresh, cold, filtered water makes a noticeable difference, especially in hard-water areas. Taste as you go and adjust: if a cup is too weak, add more leaf rather than steeping longer, and if it is bitter, lower the temperature or shorten the steep.
Getting more from every gram
One of the joys of whole-leaf tea is re-steeping. Most green, white and oolong teas, and many pu'erhs, will give two to five infusions, each a little different from the last. Simply add 30–60 seconds to each round. Loose leaf also makes excellent iced tea: cold brew 2–3 g per 250 ml in the fridge overnight for a smooth, naturally sweet result.
| Tea | Water | Steep | Leaf | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 70–80°C | 1–3 min | 2–3 g | Low–moderate |
| White | 75–85°C | 3–5 min | 2–3 g | Low–moderate |
| Oolong | 85–95°C | 3–5 min | 2–3 g | Moderate |
| Black | 95–100°C | 3–5 min | 2–3 g | Moderate–high |
| Pu'erh | 95–100°C | 2–4 min | 2–3 g | Moderate |
| Herbal & rooibos | 100°C | 5–7 min | 2–3 g | None |
Loose leaf tea questions
What is loose leaf tea?
Loose leaf tea is whole or large-piece tea leaves sold without a bag. Because the leaves are unbroken, they retain more essential oils and flavour than the dust and fannings found in most commercial tea bags — giving you a fresher, more aromatic cup that can often be steeped more than once.
Why choose loose leaf tea over tea bags?
Loose leaf tea delivers fuller flavour, higher quality leaves, and better value per cup. The leaves have room to expand and infuse properly, and you can control the strength of your brew. It is also a more sustainable choice, with far less packaging waste.
Do you ship loose leaf tea across Canada?
Yes. Tea Pilgrim is based in Toronto and ships loose leaf tea to every province and territory in Canada. Orders over $49 ship free.
How should I store loose leaf tea?
Keep loose leaf tea in an airtight container away from light, heat, moisture and strong odours. Stored properly, most black teas stay fresh for up to two years, while greener and more delicate teas are best enjoyed within a year.
How many cups will a bag of loose leaf tea make?
At 2–3 g per 250 ml cup, a 50 g bag makes roughly 17–25 cups and a 100 g bag about 35–50 — more if you re-steep greens, whites and oolongs, which often give two or three good infusions from the same leaves.
Which loose leaf teas are caffeine-free?
Herbal teas, rooibos, honeybush and most fruit blends are naturally caffeine-free. Every tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant — black, green, white, oolong, pu'erh and matcha — contains caffeine, and even decaffeinated tea keeps a small trace.