FAQs– Leilani Fine Tea

Every story has a beginning. Leilani Fine Tea is the result of an epic journey, twenty plus years in the making, born from a dream, a singular vision to purvey the top five percent of the world's finest teas to those who always seek the very best of everything; to those who demand exclusive and limited edition products, and to those who have everything, but still seeking something truly extraordinary. For those who measure success not just in material wealth, but also in the richness of experiences. And for those chosen few, Leilani Fine Tea represents one of life’s finest rewards.

It is a fact that the teas at Leilani Fine Tea cost more than most tea merchants, but by no means they are expensive. A product being “expensive” is a product that lacks or in the absence of true value. The entire company at Leilani Fine Tea is based on its Seven DNA of Revelations which we use as a guiding light into the future.

Tradition

Even though Leilani Fine Tea is a new company, the story began in 1999 with its co-founder Gregory Lui. It is the legacy born out of the experience and passion of countless generations before him that safeguarded and passed down the art of tea making. Gregory closely holds the noble artisan techniques of century old tea making traditions while on a constant search to reinvent this ancient beverage for modern time.

Innovation

Without enduring innovation, the noble tea leaf may one day be irrelevant as a refreshing beverage. Leilani constantly test the frontiers of tea making artistry through its avant-garde achievements with cutting edge of gastronomic techniques at which artistry, aroma, taste, mouth feel, and context play a defining role. Through this innovative approach in tea making, Gregory Lui has the honor of receiving 200+ global accolades at the annual Global Tea Championship in the span of 21+ years.

Quality

It’s time for a different path to absolute quality. One that begins from a place of refinement. Because when you craft passion with the same attention to detail you apply to crafting indulgence, you don’t merely reiterate history, you write your own destiny. Leilani Fine Tea is single-minded, abrupt and unapologetic. A rejection of conventions, preconceptions and everything that’s expected of it. At the center of its maverick heart lives a belief of absolute quality without compromise. It is a sensory performance of gastronomic refinements.

Rarity

Leilani Fine Tea has always conceived its teas as exclusive indulgences. Sourced exclusively from remote artisan tea gardens of esteemed quality and vintages. Only the top 5% of teas in a given category make it into the Private Reserve Collection while the Family Reserve sits at the top 1%. And for blended/scented teas, the production time could take up to three months before the teas are released for sale versus the industry average of only fifteen minutes. To ensure its exclusivity and rarity, every single Reserve Collection is serialized and signed by Gregory Lui himself. Leilani Fine Tea is for those who value rarity in its most authentic form, those who seeks unique tea beverages coveted by true connoisseurs.

Value

In math, value is a number signifying the result of a calculation or a function. In fine art, value refers to luminosity, the visible lightness or darkness of a hue, while the commercial value of art is based on collective intentionality. One may think that Leilani’s value is the sum of its DNA parts or its aura of perfection and artistry. But it is not.

At Leilani Fine Tea, we measure value differently. We believe a cup of tea is a timeless journey for all the senses. A meeting place. Where enlightened experiences escape from everyday routines, where daily chaos gives way to tranquility, where two souls surrender and the world stood still. A fleeting moment in an expedient reality, this moment is met again and again with each sip of Leilani Fine Tea, in a place that transcends and inspires pure happiness.

Emotion

Leilani Fine Tea is a modern tea company with an ancient soul. When customers talk about their tea purchases, they tell stories about passion, aroma, taste, mouth feel and terroir. After all, Leilani is far more than just a beverage company that quenches thirst. It is a luxury tea brand that is steeped in history, authenticity, and heritage, yet ground-breaking in its modernity. It helps open the door to time and a toast to patience.

Craftsmanship

All of Leilani Fine Tea collections start its life on some of the highest remote mountain tea gardens in the world and finish its journey after the final refinement process at Leilani’s boutique studio workshop in the hills of Burke Mountain just outside Vancouver, Canada. Leilani celebrates the beauty of craftsmanship in all its form.

There is an innate tie between fine art and fine tea. True art represents creative freedom, a strong vision and the focus of self expression in order to make that vision a reality.

Leilani craftsmen and artists share the same spirit. Whether it is developing a new flavor profile, or analyzing aromatic nuances from a new tea discovery, each of these mediums have a significance and presence far greater than itself. At the end, each detail has been perfected to create the ultimate luxurious tea indulgence.

In its purest form, Competition Grade Tea is the pinnacle of excellence of a particular tea, a specific vintage to be entered in a tea competition or has already won at a tea competition. Competition is a great thing. Competition leads to innovation. Competition shakes off complacency. Competition generates clarity and validation. In the tea world, there are several accredited tea competitions.

They are generally divided into two different categories: regional or national garden/farm specific such as the annual tea competition sanctioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, or the annual Tea Growers Co-op in Lu Gu township of Taiwan. The second category of tea competitions are those administered by national or international tea trade associations such as the Global Tea Championship (formally known as the North American Tea Championship) accredited by the World Tea Conference + Expo or the Tea Masters Cup.

All men are created equal. All Competition Grade Teas are not. The term “Competition Grade” is not regulated, accredited or validated. It is currently a fashion forwarded open phrase used by countless tea companies signifying a perceived level of quality. The term Competition Grade and Ceremonial Grade (used in Matcha) is just that ... a term ... caveat emptor (Latin) ... let the buyer beware. If that is the case, why do you use it in many of your collections?

The founders of Leilani Fine Tea love and breathe competitions. We take great pride in our Competition Grade teas because it is the embodiment of our co-founder’s achievement. Gregory Lui has spent over 21 years in the tea industry and over the span of two plus decades, he was awarded 200+ top accolades at the North American Tea Championship and at the Global Tea Championship. He was also awarded 96 Point for a Bespoke Lapsang Souchong black tea, the highest point ever awarded in history at the Global Tea Championship.

Leilani Fine Tea’s Competition Grade are the exact same quality teas Gregory Lui would use if he were to compete at an international tea competition. Any tea company could call their teas Competition Grade, but how many of them actually compete and how many of them actually win consistently. There are no guarantee any of our teas will win a future competition but at the very least, we have an amazing history of achievement.

There are countless tea merchants offering an endless array of tea blends, some extremely amazing, some utterly ridiculous.

Tea blending and tea scenting is an extraordinary art unto itself. Each master tea blender must possess not only a profound knowledge of the finest ingredients, but the creative curiosity and technical virtuosity to awaken an unimagined gastronomic experience in each individual tea blend.

Most of our teas are non-blended, unadulterated, direct from the tea gardens then refined in our studio workshop; however, for the few blended and scented options our team blends all our teas by hand in small batches in Vancouver, Canada.

The creation of each Leilani tea blend begins with a study of the extraordinary – the finest tea base and the rarest botanicals in the world. Expertly chosen for their superlative quality, these hallmark ingredients are the sparks that ignite the imaginations of Leilani’s artisans, who work closely with Gregory Lui to transform each individual tea blend into collective works of culinary arts. The end results are tea blends of gastronomic beauty. And that is why there are so few tea blends at Leilani Fine Tea.

We source organic ingredients whenever possible from the finest tea gardens and artisan producers around the world including China, Taiwan, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and the USA. Over 40 percent of our tea portfolio are sourced from USDA Certified Organic gardens and producers; however, Leilani Fine Tea does not hold an organic processing certification, therefore, we are not able to display the USDA Organic Logo with our organic tea collection. Only those companies that has the complete supply chain certified will be able to display the organic logo (USDA/COR). Beware of imitators and swindlers. If someone claims they do, ask them for their current Organic Certificate and certifying agency.

One ounce (28 grams) of tea makes approximately 7 cups of steeped tea. It’s important to note all our teas are ultra-premium full leaf and can be brewed for several infusions. Even our most expensive tea is still an affordable luxury.

For example, even at the upper end of the price/quality spectrum (Family Reserve), a tea costing the equivalent of $2,000 per KG, your serving costs is only $8 per cup based on 4 grams of tea leaf per cup of tea. At $8 per cup for the world’s finest tea, a tea that represents the pinnacle of rarity and perfection for its category, that is not expensive at all. It is an affordable luxury for many or an aspiring indulgent for a few.

All Leilani’s tea collections are stored at a state-of-the-art cold storage facility. For example, Matcha is stored at a constant temperature of -10°C / 14°F and green tea is stored at 3°C / 37.4°F.

To retain the freshest cup of tea at home remember the five simple rules and use the guide:

Tea must be kept free from excess oxygen.Tea must be kept from any heat source.Tea must be kept away from light especially sunlight.Tea must be kept away from any odors.Tea must be kept away from moisture including humidity.

Green Tea:   1 year
Matcha:   6 months – 1 year. Best stored in the freezer.
Yellow Tea:   1 year
Oolong Tea:   1-2 years. Best stored in the freezer.
Black Tea:   3 years
Pu’erh Tea:   indefinite, like exceptional Bordeaux wine. Best stored at constant room temperature of 20°C / 68°F
White tea:   1 year, although some white teas are designed to age like Pu’erh tea.

We do not accept return or exchanges on any of our products due to the perishable nature and safety of our employees.

All details are made to ensure your order is 100% accurate. Items are packed and double checked by another employee before being sent out. Please make sure your order is correct before submitting.

Once your package leaves our facility, we cannot be held responsible as this is out of our control. However, if the items arrived damaged please make sure to keep all wrapping, packaging materials, invoices and damaged items. These all may be required for us to process a claim against the logistic company on your behalf. Send us an email to service@leilanifinetea.com along with the invoice number and a brief description so we can then follow up.

Orders are normally processed within 1-2 business days after receipt of payment.

After placing an order, you will receive an automated email to acknowledge it is in que to be processed. Please allow at least 1- 3 business days for your order to be picked up by the shipping agent. We will email you a tracking number once it becomes available.

Some of our Limited Reserve teas are purposely stored at origin and are refined and or roasted to order and will require 2-5 weeks before you get to enjoy it.

Note: We do not process orders on Canadian statutory holidays or BC provincial holidays, so that our employees can spend time with their families.