7 Best German Teas
In the world of tea, there are tons of different kinds of teas out there. You have iced tea and sweet tea and then a variety of hot teas.
Some of them are English, others are German, and then others come from different regions as well. All of these different teas have unique qualities about them that set them apart.
If you like black tea, many German teas fall into that category.
There are different brands and even flavors of German tea out there. One of the defining factors of German tea is the strong flavor that you get. The teas you like will definitely depend on your own flavor preferences.
What are the best German teas? The best German teas are from authentic German brands and use traditional, popular German tea varieties, like black tea (Schwarztee) or fruit tea (Fruchttee). East Frisian teas and loose leaf tea are especially popular.
There are many great options to choose from. You can choose different brands or flavors and then, of course, your own tastes will come into play as well.
In this guide, we will share with you the 7 best German teas.
We’ve sorted through the options to try to find you the very best out there and these are the choices that we came up with. We will share all of the details that you need to know for each tea so that you can decide what will be best for you.
Keep reading to learn about the 7 best German teas, and more!
How To Choose The Best German Tea
Before we get started, let’s talk about some of the things that will be important to you when you pick out your tea. This buyer’s guide is designed to give you some thought to help you make an informed decision.
Flavor/Type
One of the most important elements of choosing the best tea is knowing what type of flavor interests you or you are most likely to enjoy.
You can buy simple black tea but you can also buy German black tea (Schwarztee) with an assortment of different herbs and spices.
Even black tea is not always made exactly the same so you should pay attention to the ingredients and what is in the tea to have a small grasp of what you can expect from the flavor.
If you normally like herbal and fruity teas, you’re better off trying fruity and herbal German teas. But if you only love black tea, don’t assume you’ll magically love a chamomile just because it’s German!
You can keep it simple with an original German tea or you can look for different herbs, fruit, and even spice infusions in the tea that change up the flavors.
Consider the flavors that you like, or perhaps don’t like and this will help make your decision in the end!
Preparation Requirements
Some teas take more steps to prepare than others.
While you might assume you just need hot water, there are loose leaf teas out there that might require more work.
If you really want to make your tea special, this includes knowing how hot your water needs to be, how long to steep it, and having some form of steeping tool.
It is true that most tea will require hot water in some form but how it is prepared and the time it takes might also differ from tea to tea.
Take just a moment to glance at these details on the tea and make sure you are comfortable with the instructions for preparation.
Learning to prepare tea properly makes a world of difference but if you’re not interested in doing more than adding hot water and waiting, you’re better off buying tea bags.
In fact, a lot of German tea comes loose as that is actually how they prefer their tea most of the time.
These are just minor details but it’s certainly something to be aware of.
Popular German Tea Choices
There are some specific tea categories are Germany that are more popular than others. You will see some of these here.
Here are some of the common tea names you might see when looking at German tea brands and what they mean in English:
- Schwartzee – black tea
- Fruchttee – fruit tea
- Kamillentee – chamomile tea
- Fencheltee – fennel tea
- Hagebuttentee – rosehip tea
- Pfefferminztee – peppermint tea
You might see some of these labels in our options so this lets you know what to look for and what the labels mean.
For example, if you want peppermint, you can look for ‘pfefferminztee’ if the label is not in English..
The 7 Best German Teas Around
Now, let’s get down to business. We’ve sorted through a ton of options to try to find you the best German teas on the market. We tried to find the best flavors while also bringing you a variety of choices.
Here are our top picks for the 7 best German teas around:
| Rank | Tea | Type of Tea |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Teekanne Winterzeit Winter Time Tea | Fruit/herbal, loose leaf |
| 2. | Pantenger Chamomile Tea | Chamomile/herbal, tea bags |
| 3. | Meßmer Klassik German Tea | Black tea, tea bags |
| 4. | Teekanne World of Fruits Variety Box | Fruit/herbal, tea bags |
| 5. | Vahdam Black Tea Sampler | Black tea, loose leaf, sampler |
| 6. | Teekanne Peppermint Tea | Peppermint/herbal, tea bags |
| 7. | Ostfriesische Teemischung East Frisia Tea Blend | Black Frisia tea, loose leaf |
We’re sure you can find something here that sounds appealing to your taste buds. Let’s take a closer look!
1. Teekanne Winterzeit Winter Time Tea
Think wintertime spice and cozy flavors with this loose leaf wintertime tea.
This winter tea is infused with gingerbread, lemon, apple, and cinnamon to bring you a cozy spicy and sweet flavor that just warms you from the inside out.
If you’re familiar with the speculoos cookie, this is designed to mimic that but in tea form.
This is a very popular winter tea because of the flavors. It just seems like a really great fit. The brand describes the flavors as being a fruit and cookie flavor. Kind of like we mentioned just a moment ago.
This falls into the elderberry flavor category so it is rich and deep in flavor. This will most definitely be a treat with distinct, warming flavors. It also smells delightful so you really can’t beat that!
Pros:
- Spicy and sweet flavor
- Made with elderberry
- One of the most popular winter teas
- Very good, crisp flavor
- Tastes like cookie and fruit
- Herbal
Cons:
- The flavor of the cloves/spices is really strong for some people. Not a light tea.
2. Pantenger Chamomile Tea
If you’re a fan of chamomile tea, this one is for you!
It’s got that special relaxing flavor of chamomile with ginger and lemon verbena for the perfect well-rounded taste. This brand sends you their tea in little pyramid sachets so you don’t have to worry about the loose leaves.
The tea comes in a metal tin that is decorated and has a panther on the front for their brand representation. The tin is totally reusable and even clasps shut.
This organic tea is pungent and warming at the same time. Chamomile is designed to help you relax and is common for nighttime teas.
Chamomile is really great because it has a subtle flavor to it but is still deep enough not to be bland. It also has a lot of health benefits like relaxing, sleeping, headache relief, and even digestive properties that may be beneficial to you.
Pros:
- Made with organic ingredients
- Comes in a sealing tin
- Chamomile has many health benefits
- Pungent odor with light flavor
- Comes in tea sachets for preparation
Cons:
- The chamomile flavor itself is stronger than the other additions like ginger and lemon.
3. Meßmer Klassik German Tea
This next option is a super simple, classic black tea. If you want to keep it fresh and not worry about flavors, herbs, or spices, this one is for you.
It’s a classic (Klassik) black tea that is simple but flavorful. It’s rich in flavor and aroma so you really can’t go wrong.
Since it’s a simple black tea, you can always add sweetener or milk or any other type of flavor you prefer. Of course, it’s perfectly delicious straight, too.
These come in tea bags so they are easy to prepare with hot water. The instructions are simple.
You get 25 tea bags from this box. One bag might be strong enough to brew a small pot of classic tea rather than just a single cup. It really depends on your preferences for flavor and how long you brew it.
Pros:
- Classic black tea
- Comes in tea bags
- 25 tea bags included
- Strong, rich flavor
- Simple tea with no added flavors
Cons:
- It’s a bit expensive for the amount of tea that you get.
4. Teekanne World of Fruits Variety Box
If you’re looking for fruit flavors, take a look at this delightful option from Teekanne.
It comes with 6 different flavors and you get 5 of each flavor in your box. These are black tea infused with fresh fruit flavor.
The flavors include ‘fresh orange,’ ‘fruit kiss,’ ‘garden selection,’ ‘forest fruits,’ and ‘black currant.’
Your ‘fruit kiss’ is a cherry and strawberry blend. ‘Garden selection’ is more similar to a chamomile with the floral and lemon flavors in it. ‘Forest fruits’ is made with fruits common in forests, like all of your berry fruits.
These come in a nice box that is separated out by the flavors. They are all in individually wrapped bags. Inside of the box you can also find descriptions with flavors and aromas for every single type of tea in this selection.
Pros:
- 6 different fruit flavors
- All of the flavors are in individually wrapped tea bags
- Long-standing brand for German teas
- Black tea infused with fruit
- Full of flavor and easy to prepare
Cons:
- Some of the flavors are almost too strong, so you may need to dilute them.
5. Vahdam Black Tea Sampler
If you’re not really sure what kind of tea you like best, but you know you like, or want to try, black tea, this is a great option for you.
This particular tea sampler comes with 10 different teas to choose from so you get a little bit of everything. There are dark teas and light teas to fit a multitude of flavors.
This package would even make a great gift for someone you know that loves German tea or black tea in general.
You get 50 total tea servings in the sampler package. Each of the 10 teas is a black tea and all are available fresh in loose leaf form.
The flavors include English Breakfast, Assam, Daily Darjeeling, Darjeeling Premium, Earl grey, Himalayan breakfast, Smoky Souchong, Unitea, Assam Gold, and Blooming Rose. Each of these is pretty unique.
Vahdam is considered to be a climate-neutral as well as plastic-neutral certified company so they care about the economy. They believe in fair and ethical trade.
Pros:
- 10 different flavors of teas
- 50 tea samplings
- Loose leaf
- Black tea
- Climate-neutral company
- Makes a great gift or parts of gifts
Cons:
- Loose leaf requires more work and time.
6. Teekanne Peppermint Tea
Who doesn’t love a good peppermint tea?
This peppermint from Teekanne is light and refreshing with the perfect minty flavor. This comes with 20 tea bags, all black tea with peppermint infusions.
This is an all-natural tea. It is also caffeine-free.
They use fresh peppermint leaves in the tea bags so you get minty fresh mixed with tea and it’s the perfect combination. Pompadour Peppermint is this brand’s top herbal tea available.
Just like the other teas from this brand, they use 100% all-natural ingredients and don’t add sugars, artificial flavors, or anything like that to the mix. It’s simple but reliable.
Pros:
- Perfect peppermint flavor
- Simple option in tea bags
- One of their top flavors
- Easy to prepare
- 100% all-natural ingredients
- Caffeine-free
Cons:
- The peppermint is not super strong so it may be too weak in flavor for some people.
7. Ostfriesische Teemischung East Frisia Tea Blend
This last option is an authentic German tea that will even be labeled in German.
It’s an East Frisia tea blend. It is black tea from Westminster. This is a unique blend that is associated with the Ostfriesentee ceremony.
The flavors are considered to be robust and not bitter at all, which can certainly be a common challenge of black tea. It’s got a strong flavor without being overwhelming. It tastes rich and smooth.
This tea will come to you in a bag of loose leaf tea. You will need to brew it based on the instructions on the tea. One bag has about 250 grams of tea in it, which should last awhile.
Pros:
- Authentic Ostfriesische tea
- Made in Westminster
- Smooth and not bitter
- Comes in a bag as loose leaf
Cons:
- The costs vary regularly.
In Conclusion
We hope that you find this guide to the best German teas to be a valuable resource. Depending on your location and where you are ordering from, it can be more challenging to get some authentic teas.
However, you should know that some companies will ship internationally so you can always check that way for some additional options.
Related Questions
Take a look at these common questions and answers for some additional details that might be useful for you.
How Do You Prepare Loose Tea?
People make it different ways. Tea in Germany is often made with loose leaf. The tea is then served in a small porcelain teapot.
Most of the time, the loose pieces are simmered to brew and extract the flavor. Then, those loose particles are sifted out before the tea is served.
How Is Tea Served In Germany?
Traditionally, tea in Germany is made from loose leaves. It is then served from a small porcelain teapot using small porcelain cups.
These cups usually have rock sugar in the bottom of them. Most of the time, a little touch of heavy cream is also added to the tea.
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