Guayusa (pronounced gwhy-you-suh) is only starting to make inroads into the U.S., but it's hardly new. The flavor is similar to yerba mate, but with a more plush, fruity flavor and a complete lack of bitterness. Tasting invites comparison to green tea, but the flavor is less tannic and the texture is more creamy. Unlike green tea, drinking it on an empty stomach won't give you a stomach ache. And just as important, it's nearly impossible to overbrew, and leaves can be resteeped half a dozen times before their flavor starts to wane. Have you ever tried it? More

This smooth and earthy Chinese tea has buttery flavors and hints of cocoa—it's mouthfilling, satisfying, and stands up well to multiple infusions. The first comes out lush and soft, the second deeper, wrapped in dark-caramel flavors, with a bit more malty grassiness coming out in subsequent steepings, though by the fifth and sixth it circles around, growing velvety and fruity. This tea just keeps going. Brewed in a gaiwan, it's light on the tannins—a delicate black tea but not a wimp. More

$12 can buy you an afternoon-long tasting of some world class Chinese and Taiwanese tea in Flushing, Queens—tea that's brewed by experts with years of experience and monastic dedication. Tea that would otherwise cost you hundreds of dollars a pound for the privilege of a sip. More

I tend to associate jasmine tea with the warm cups poured at local Chinese restaurants—those teas tend to be delicate and floral, not big or bold in flavor. But the Jasmine Pu-erh tea from Numi Organic Tea is quite a robust cup, bringing together savory black Pu-erh with green tea and jasmine flowers. The tea is earthy enough to keep the perfume from taking over. Though Pu-erh purists might wince to see these blended teas, most of the combinations make for very tasty infusions. More

The Earl's Garden is a blend of Black Ceylon tea, bergamot, dried strawberries, and black currant. Taken straight, it has a distinct but mild strawberry flavor up front followed by the citrus notes of bergamot and the earthiness of black tea. Fans of Celestial Seasonings' fruit teas will enjoy this blend, with its red berry flavor and light body. More

Fortnum and Mason is a dangerous place for me. They have walls (walls!) of three of my very favorite things: tea, coffee, and jam. I've recently discovered that they ship to the United States, which is both a very good, and very bad, thing. More

Looking back on my early tea drinking days, it's clear that I was a total noob. I took my tea, regardless of type, morning, noon, or night, loaded with milk and sugar. But since then, I've come to appreciate the dry astringency of Scottish Breakfast Tea and the nutty roundness of Genmaicha. The simple act of getting older is mostly to credit for my change in habits, but I did have a crutch during my transitional phase: Yogi teas. These teas are the most naturally sweet of any I've tried. More

For serious devotees of Chinese and Japanese tea—and for curious tea drinkers who want to learn more—it's surprisingly hard to find a retailer in Manhattan with both quality selection and helpful service. Sure, you can get some decent Dragonwell at plenty of merchants, but most in this city cater to the Western-style milk-and-sugar set. Not so at Sun's Organic Garden, a source for specialty tea and exotic herbs, located in the heart of Chinatown. More

I'd never noticed a box of Japanese Twig Tea before, but it seems to be the hot new thing in the Whole Foods tea aisle, so I nabbed two boxes to try it out. Kukicha, also known as bōcha, is actually made from the twigs and stems of the tea plant, sometimes with some leaves mixed in. The woody bits are roasted to bring out a nutty flavor that reminded us a bit of Kashi cereal in liquid form. More

The handsome, hefty tetsubin. Is it a teapot? Is it a water kettle? Can it help heat your house? Is it best kept on the shelf? First things first: the name tetsubin is used, unfortunately interchangeably, to refer both to a cast iron pot used as a water-boiling kettle, and to a small cast iron pot used strictly to brew tea. More