FAQ

Tea should be made with boiling water, and only once-boiled water with a low mineral content if possible. If using a teapot, warm the teapot before adding the tea. Use one tea bag for each cup. For Black tea, pour the water as soon as it’s boiled to deliver the best taste.

For Green tea, allow the kettle to cool for up to two minutes before pouring over the tea bag.

For teas that take milk, add the milk, (2% is recommended), after the water to avoid hindering the infusion process. Leave the tea bag in for at least two minutes to let the flavour of the tea infuse, but this is a personal preference.

After removing the tea bag, leave the brew to cool for two minutes for a better quality taste.

To learn more about making the perfect cup of tea, visit The Perfect Brew.

Certain ingredients when utilized do not deliver the expected taste profile when they're dried as opposed to fresh.

Due to this, we utilize natural flavouring in some of our teas to deliver the taste profile that consumers expect.

Natural flavours are often a blend of different fruits and herbs (i.e., lemon, vanilla, raspberry, etc.), and are either naturally identical or are extracted from the source itself.

The majority of our products are now certified Kosher. Kosher products will be marked with a circled “U” or “K” on our packaging.

The majority of our teas do not contain expiry dates as tea does not expire and instead, can be enjoyed for a prolonged period of time.

Over time, tea will lose its intensity and may need to be steeped longer. However, if you wish to avoid this, we recommend only holding onto a box/canister of tea for approximately three years from its production date..

On our products, there is a production code number that indicates when the
box/canister of tea was produced.

On canisters, this number is found underneath, on the aluminum portion. On
boxes, this number is found either on the back or the side and is usually highlighted in a white or light blue coloured rectangle.

We use two types of production code numbers:

Type one: L7149. This production code number reads YDDD.

Type two: L 23 09 17. This production code number reads DDMMYY.

Therefore, both products were freshest until 2020.

The following Orange Pekoe products now utilize plant-based tea bags:

• Orange Pekoe 36 count/72 count/144 count/216 count/300 count.
• Orange Pekoe Decaffeinated 80 count.
• Orange Pekoe Bold 72 count.

Our plant-based tea bags are industrially compostable via food waste collection programs. However, we recommend checking with your local municipality as programs differ depending on where you live.

We are actively working to convert all our tea bags to plant-based. This will be a gradual process across our approximately 200 product lines. Our goal is to achieve a seamless transition without sacrificing quality.

No Tetley tea bags are made with these materials.

100% of our portfolio is in paper tissue format. Currently the majority of our tea bags are made from natural plant fibres with a thin inner layer of a plastic material called PP which enables the bags to be heat sealed to keep the tea firmly in the bag (0.03 g per bag).

Recently, we transitioned our Orange Pekoe range to plant-based tea bags which are made with PLA tissue. PLA is a bioplastic derived from plant sources.

Using plant-based tea bags across all our products is an important part of our sustainability strategy and commitment to reduce the use of non-renewable plastics in our business.

Unfortunately not. Garden compost bins don’t provide the conditions required so plant-based tea bags can break down completely.

A home compost environment does not have the conditions and temperatures needed to break down PLA.

Industrial composting facilities operate a multi-step process. Materials are usually shredded then move through the system where high levels of temperature, correct levels of moisture, and other conditions needed for materials to breakdown can be controlled.

Black tea (which includes Orange Pekoe), contains approximately 34 mg of caffeine for a 175 ml cup of tea (around 6 oz.). This is around 1/3 to 1/2 of the amount of caffeine found in a comparable sized cup of coffee.

Like black tea, green tea also contains approximately 34 mg of caffeine for a 175 ml cup of tea (around 6 oz.) of caffeine per cup of tea.

Rooibos tea (also known as Red tea) is naturally caffeine free. Herbal teas are also naturally caffeine free.

Herbal teas are naturally caffeine free as they're a blend of herbs, spices, and fruits. Rooibos/red tea is also naturally caffeine free.

Approximately 4 mg of caffeine is present in a 175 ml cup (around 6 oz.) of our decaffeinated black and green teas.

The Government of Canada has 3 approved methods of decaffeination: C02, ethyl acetate, and methylene chloride.

In order to provide the best tasting cup of tea, we decaffeinate our green tea with C02 and we decaffeinate our black tea (including Orange Pekoe) with methylene chloride.

News and current research is available at the following websites:

Tea & Herbal Association of Canada

Tea UK & Infusions Association

Tannins are flavonoids (antioxidants) that play an important part in tea's colour and taste.

Tannins are different from tannic acid which is not present in tea.

Tea naturally contains tannins. If the tea steeps for too long, more of the tannins are released causing what some find to be a bitter taste.

A dash of sugar or sweetener of your choice can help reduce this bitterness. Alternatively, adding milk reduces the pH level of the tea which can also help.

The decision to offer our teas is us up to each restaurant. Feel free to let the restaurant know you prefer Tetley and maybe next time you'll enjoy a great end to your meal!

We sometimes change or discontinue flavours due to consumer demand. Retailers may also delist certain products for the same reason.

You can find our full list of current products here.

If a certain product is sold in grocery stores but you’re unable to find it near you, we recommend asking the store manager to stock it. You can also contact us if you can't find your favourite tea in stores and we will do our best to help.

Also, you can now shop for your favourites easily on our website! We sell all of our available products and flavours.

Although Tetley is an international company, the teas sold in each country are produced for their respective markets. Therefore, the teas available in Canada are usually not sold elsewhere and vice versa.

However, if you'd like to confirm, please contact us.

You can now shop our teas conveniently right here, on our website!

We're also available online through different retailer websites like Amazon.ca, Walmart.ca, Sobeys Voila, Longo's Grocery Gateway, and more.

We currently do not have a collectibles program and do not have any future plans to reinstate the program. We appreciate all past collectors and apologize for any disappointment this may cause.

Thank you for your interest and continued support of our products.

However, at this time, we are no longer providing coupons via traditional mail. Instead, coupons for new product launches will be mentioned on our website as well as our Facebook page.

If you're subscribed to our email list, we'll also send you news about upcoming promotions on our website.

We’re aware of our responsibilities to the people who grow and pick our tea and the responsibility to help sustain the environment on tea estates.

Sourcing the quality of tea needed to maintain the standard of our blends requires first-hand knowledge of where and how the tea has been produced. Our Tea Buying team develops direct long-term trading relationships with producers in all the major tea-growing regions and visit the estates our tea is sourced from. As many tea purchases as possible are made on a forward contract basis which provides stability for the producer by guaranteeing future volume. We pay a sustainable price for each type of tea and the price reflects its quality.

We’ve been a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) since it was founded in 1997. The ETP is a non-commercial alliance of international tea companies whose vision is for a "thriving global tea industry which is socially just and environmentally sustainable.” We have two representatives on the ETP Board, meaning that we continue playing a leading role in its development. For more information on the ETP, please visit their website.

We’re also collaborators with Rainforest Alliance. All our black, green, and rooibos (red) teas are purchased from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ tea gardens. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms have met the environmental, social, and economic standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) Standard which covers ecosystem conservation, worker rights and safety, wildlife protection, water and soil conservation, agrochemical reduction, decent housing, and legal wages and contracts for workers. For more information
on Rainforest Alliance, please visit their website.

In addition to assuring where our raw materials come from, we’re also investing in global climate change, water management, and packaging management programs that directly or indirectly benefit tea producers.

At Tetley, we’re all about doing good. From producing refreshing great teas to doing business the right way and giving back.

Our redesigned Orange Pekoe cartons are compact by design, between 13-25% smaller. They’re also 100% recyclable and made from card and food grade inks.

As part of our ongoing sustainability efforts, our Orange Pekoe range now utilizes plant-based tea bags which are industrially compostable via food waste collection programs. However, we recommend checking with your local municipality as programs differ depending on where you live.

In addition, our factory is a highly efficient fully optimized factory and has been zero waste to landfill since 2013 and currently uses 100% green electricity, of which 94% is from renewable sources.

Together, these steps reflect our commitment to the planet as we continue to deliver the great-tasting teas you love in a manner that respects and prioritizes our environment.

For more information regarding our sustainability initiatives, please refer to our 2024 Spring Sustainability Report.

Nothing about our tea has changed. We’re still the same great tasting tea you know and love!

Our more compact and recyclable carton minimizes packaging waste, and our Orange Pekoe tea bags are now plant-based.

To communicate our smaller and more compact cartons, we’ve added a green ribbon to our packaging to make this change known. However, this green ribbon is only temporary and will be phased out over time.

We’re dedicated to our ongoing sustainability mission and are continuously looking for ways to reduce packaging waste as part of our commitment to the Canadian Plastics Pact. In line with this commitment, our new cartons have been designed without an outer plastic wrap or inner lining.

We understand the importance of maintaining the high quality and freshness of our tea. That's why, before launching these new cartons, we conducted thorough testing to confirm that the absence of an inner lining would not compromise the tea's quality or shelf life. Rest assured, the tea you love remains unchanged, and the shelf life is consistent with our previous packaging.