Pure or Pre-Mixed? Choosing the Right Loose Leaf Teas for Your Business 🌱

Did you know? With more customers looking for clean, natural, and refreshing drink options, cafes and restaurants are rethinking what goes into their tea menus.

If you’re building or updating your summer drink lineup, now is the time to look closely at what kind of teas you’re serving and what they say about your business.

🍃 What Is Pure Loose Leaf Tea?

Pure loose leaf tea is exactly what it sounds like: high quality tea leaves, harvested and processed with care, and served in their natural form with nothing added. That means no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or chemicals. Just tea, as it was meant to be.

These teas can be served hot or cold, and when brewed properly(especially cold brewed), they offer freshness that blends or powders simply can’t match. Now, you might be wondering what is the difference between pure loose leaf teas and pre-mixed loose leaf teas 👀

🔍 Pure Loose Leaf vs Pre-Mixed Flavored Teas

	Pure Loose Lead(HOKUSAN)	PreMixed or Flavoured Teas
Ingredients	100% Tea leaves	Often contain oils, sugars, sweeteners or artificial flavors
Flavor	Clean, Authentic, Complex	Artificial
Brewing	Hot, Cold	Often inconsistent in cold brew
Appeal	Matches premium or health forward branding	Overly sweet
Transparency	Easy to explain and market	Often vague or unclear origins

🧊 Why It Matters for Iced Teas

Iced teas are served cold and cold brewing brings out everything, including imperfections. With pure loose leaf teas, what your customers taste is exactly what’s in the cup - clean, refreshing, and high quality. If you’re cold brewing sencha or hojicha, you want the natural sweetness, umami, or roasted depth, not to be masked by sweeteners or chemicals.

Offering clean label drinks also aligns with what younger consumers want - real ingredients, low sugar, and high quality flavor.

🌿 Recommended Teas for Your Menu

If you’re looking to upgrade your iced offerings, start from:

Cold Brew Sencha - Light, grassy, and smooth with a natural sweetness
Hojicha - Roasted, low caffeine, and delicious over ice or with milk
Genmaicha - Nutty, comforting, and great for pairing with desserts
Yuzu Sencha Blend - Add yuzu peel or fresh herbs for a custom twist

These can be served as is, or used as a base for creative drinks. 💡

✅ Serve your values, not just a beverage.

Looking to upgrade your menu or need help choosing the right teas? We’re here to assist you with sourcing, samples, and brewing methods tailored to your business.

Explore our teas from here!