<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi All~~

I posted to the list for suggestions of where I might find GF loose tea. The
health food store I frequent was not immediately able to verify the GF
status of their teas. Since I posted, however, they called me to tell me
that Frontier is in the process of obtaining gluten free certification
status for their teas. I have no financial interest in that company, but
must say that I've not found better gluten free flours...they are amazing!
(Pricey, but wonderful!)

Thank you to all of the tea lovers out there who were kind enough to send me
their suggestions. You'll notice that several brands are mentioned below by
different people - I thought it was worthwhile to include the notes people
made on the brand of tea they use, even though it appears there's some
redundancy.

My concern re: the GF status of tea is one of cross contamination between
bins in stores selling tea in bulk. There is one person, however, who notes
that many loose green teas can contain barley....I learn something new and
useful from this list almost daily!!! Thanks, again, to all who replied.

Cheers~~Ayn in Kansas

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I am a tea lover! I only buy loose teas and I'm always careful to check the
source - as many loose green teas can contain barley - I've been told (not
sure how or why). Check out Bird Pick Teas. http://www.birdpick.com/  Their
Silky Green is a favorite of mine. Also Genmycha. Tranquilitea is the best
blend of camomile and lavender I've ever had.
_____
I adore fine tea. I drink it black, no milk, sugar, flavors. I find I do
best with the finest, plainest, light teas-- Darjeeling, Ceylon. I like Mim
Estate Darjeeling and Lover's Leap Ceylon and Ran Watte Estate Ceylon.
Darjeeling may get a bit hard to get, because there is unrest in that region
of India.

My favorite places for getting tea:
English Tea Store  http://www.englishteastore.com/
Visit their blog to learn about tea at http://englishtea.us/

I order Dilmah Ran Watte tea at Amazon.

I would not get tea from a health food store. All they have is packaged and
not good brands, and sits far too long.
_____
They should be a naturally g.f. product.  Getting them from the bulk section
of a health food store would have a rist of cross-contamination from people
mixing scoops, etc. Getting them from a tea shop, if possible, would be
safer since there would be no grains on-site.  Short of that, getting tea
from a new bag at the health food store would be safest.
_____
Try www.teavana.com  I love their teas and have always gotten quick straight
answers.* [suggested by 3 respondents] *
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I really enjoy cups of loose leaf tea and do try to remember to check the
ingredients list before purchasing it.  Most of the teas I've had were just
straight blacks with some flavoring added (earl gray is one of my
favorites).  I usually use Teavana since they have a store in my local
mall.  They can be a little pricy, but they have a great selection.  Their
catalog is pretty good at disclosing everything in the various blends and
I've picked out wheat in one or two blends over the years.

Culinary Teas is where my husband orders from.  He likes their prices a
little better.  But he also isn't interesting in their gf status, so he
doesn't ask.  And unless it's something weird, I generally feel tea is GF.
Might be a risky move, but I haven't felt sick.
 _____
What someone else checked six months ago is really no good but when I
checked I was told it is dry and does not need flour on the lines  that
unless tea has flavoring it would not have gluten in any form in.  The
flavored teas you could not guarantee  would be if the firm did not make
their flavorings. I only tried two firms. None I have tried have bothered me
but I am not super  intolerant . What a company  puts in their products
in April is not necessarily what they will put in three months later.
_____
I generally avoid buying things in bulk. It can be hard to find out what
they shared containers with along the way or who handles them (the factory,
the shipper, the store, etc).  I don't buy bulk for those reasons of
cross-contamination potential, but I do enjoy Republic of Tea loose teas.
They have a wide variety (honey ginseng green tea is my favorite). You can
order online or find them in some health food or specialty stores.
_____
The Republic of Tea has Certified Gluten-Free Teas. They have both loose and
in tea bags. The Certified Gluten-Free Teas are labeled with a Circle GF. Go
to http://www.gfco.org/products.php, on the right side of the page, select
the arrow by Select a Product Category and then scroll down to select
Beverages.
_____
I like Republic of Tea's selections, and all but one of their flavors are
gluten-free. They have both loose tea and unbleached tea bags. I find them
at my co-op, Whole Foods, but the best selection is online (
www.republicoftea.com).
_____

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