We're a family-run company focused on a single, narrow thing: rare and underrepresented powdered teas. Stone-ground tea dates back to the Song dynasty, but as matcha became ubiquitous, the other powdered teas with their own regions, histories, and flavor profiles were left behind. Teawerx exists to reintroduce what's been forgotten. We visit farms, work directly with producers, and seek out powdered teas lost to history. Teas that deserve to be tasted again.

Directly. We visit farms and work alongside the producers themselves, selecting teas with care and intention. In some cases that means going to extraordinary lengths to keep a tradition alive — our Afterglow fermented tea is made in partnership with the only remaining producer of it in Japan. As we grow, we're curating a collection that stays versatile, underexplored, and genuinely good.

Yes. Our teas are tested by an independent third-party laboratory for heavy metals, so you can drink with confidence. Because our teas are consumed as whole, stone-ground leaves rather than steeped and discarded, this testing matters to us, and we hold every batch to that standard.

Because powder is the point. When you whisk and drink the whole leaf rather than steeping and discarding it, you taste the tea more completely and you take in everything the leaf has to offer. Stone-grinding is also the older tradition — the one that faded as matcha came to stand in for the entire category. Each of our four teas shows what that method can do beyond green tea alone.

A cultivar is a specific cultivated variety of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, bred or selected for particular qualities, such as flavor, aroma, color, resilience. It's much like grape varieties in wine. Our Emerald Cove matcha is made from a single Saemidori cultivar, prized for its vivid green color and deep umami, while Red Onyx is made from Benifuuki, a hybrid of Darjeeling and Benihomare. The cultivar shapes the cup before anything else does.

Both are Japanese tea powders, but they begin and end in different places. Matcha is shade-grown green tea, while Red Onyx is made from Japanese black tea. The leaves are lightly steamed, then fully oxidized and roasted in nine controlled stages. The result isn't grassy and umami-rich like matcha, but a deep red infusion, full-bodied and lifted by citrus, spice, and floral notes.

All three are stone-ground powders, but only matcha is fresh green tea, fixed by steam at first flush. Terracotta is houjicha — green tea transformed by fire. Made from more mature parts of the tea plant and slow-roasted, it turns toasty and lightly sweet, with very little astringency and naturally low caffeine.

Afterglow goes further still: green tea allowed to evolve, fermented with kurokōji black mold until the leaf is entirely softened and its character fundamentally reshaped — smooth, earthy, and grounded. Where matcha preserves the leaf at its freshest, these two reveal what happens when it's transformed.

Our Afterglow fermented green tea is smooth and rounded, distinctly earthy, with a grounded, subtle sweetness. We taste notes of lotus leaf, black sugar, and malt. The closest reference points are a light roasted grain tea or a very mild aged pu-erh, though neither comparison is quite right. It's unlike anything else in the collection, and it comes from one of Japan's rarest tea traditions.

Tea is an agricultural product. Climate, soil, harvest timing, and season all shape the final cup, and subtle variation between batches is part of working with something natural. For that reason, and in line with standard practice for food and beverage, we can't accept returns on opened items based on personal taste — flavor, aroma, color, or general dislike. If you have questions about a tea before you open it, reach out at help@teawerx.com. We're glad to help you find the right fit, and bundles are a low-commitment way to explore.

Once opened, powdered tea is best enjoyed within 1 to 3 months, before its color and taste begin to change. Store the tins in a cool, dry place away from heat and sunlight, and reseal them tightly after each use to limit air exposure. Always use a dry spoon, and for longer storage, keep the teas in the refrigerator.

Orders are processed within 3–5 business days (Monday–Friday, excluding federal holidays). Standard shipping typically takes 3–7 business days within the US. Orders over $40 ship free. See our shipping policy for full details including processing times.

Yes! For wholesale and bulk orders, contact us at help@teawerx.com and we'll work out the details with you.

Currently we ship within the United States only. If you're writing from outside the US, contact us, we may be able to help on a case-by-case basis.