Glancing up at a framed glossary of tea terms, I realise I have a lot to learn. There’s “Crepy: a term used to describe tea which is crimped in appearance, usually a BOP [Broken orange pekoe] grade” and “Baggy: an undesirable taint found in both dry leaf and liquor of tea withered on inferior hessian.” Help! Despite drinking at least seven cups a day, I don’t speak tea.

Absolutely! It's easy to make tasty iced tea with loose leaf. It can be brewed "hot" by steeping the loose leaf tea in hot water, straining out the leaves, and adding cold water to the concentrated hot tea water. The other method is "cold brewing," where you let loose leaf tea steep in cold water for up to 12 hours before serving. An iced tea maker simplifies and may even speed up the process, but a regular iced tea pitcher works well, too. I have a love-hate relationship with tea brands like Yorkshire Tea. As a tea nerd, I’ve sampled some of the finest loose leaf teas available… and this is definitely not even close. If this was a review that was purely about the quality of the tea leaf, how it is grown and processed, Yorkshire wouldn’t do very well at all. The main elements that loose tea should be protected from are sunlight, oxygen, and moisture. As a result, loose leaf is best stored in an opaque, airtight canister. When stored properly, loose leaf can retain decent flavor up to two years, although peak freshness is more likely to be from six months to a year. Keep in mind that tea shouldn't be perishable unless it contains ingredients that otherwise are. But is Yorkshire Tea really the nation’s finest mass-produced regional chai? I decided to find out, with the help of Jimmy Green, an ex-military man who became addicted to tea when serving in Hong Kong alongside teetotal Gurkhas. He runs Tea from the Manor, which blends loose-leaf teas for hotels across the north-west.The flavour is good… but it’s not as amazing as the aroma. I found the body of the tea to be middling – not strong, but certainly not weak – and although it is refreshing, it is also quite bitter. I would dread to drink this tea without milk!

Fill a teapot or infuser with the right amount of tea. Start with 2 or 3 grams of tea per cup (unless the brand recommends otherwise) and adjust from there based on taste. Green is not keen to taste these heathen teas: “It’s like asking someone used to drinking fine wines to have a bottle of cheap cider.” Nonetheless, he forces down a few mouthfuls, grimacing as if I have made him drink meths. He complains of a “furry taste” (Ringtons), being left with a coating on his tongue (Cornish) and points out some white scum that gathers in the Yorkshire bag. We decide to make each cuppa as I would at home or in the office: straight into the cup. We are not to stir – or worse, use a teaspoon to squeeze out the flavour: “Stirring it is wrong. We should let it steep itself.”I can’t tell the difference between most of them – apart from the fairy-light and appleish Kinnettles, which isn’t an English Breakfast blend and really belongs in a totally different category. I decide I like Ringtons best: it is neither baggy nor crepy and has slightly smoky overtones. Yorkshire and Welsh are pretty much interchangeable: a discovery confirmed by blind tastings in the Guardian’s Manchester office, where even proud Bradfordian Josh Halliday, a lifelong Yorkshire Tea drinker, was fooled by its Welsh brethren. Cannot survive without this tea! Strong but smooth flavour, everyone I make a cup for always comments on how delicious it is! Really expensive to buy in Australia but British Corner Shop is reasonably priced and exceptional customer service all round. We spoke with Mou Dasgupta, the founder and CEO or Brook37 The Atelier, who echoed this recommendation. “A lot of people measure in spoons," she said. "But a spoonful doesn’t really mean anything. At Brook37, we have some teas that are so light and the leaves are so big; one spoonful isn't helpful. You really need to weigh 2.5 grams of tea.” Loose leaf is sold in a wide range of prices, wider even than bagged tea, but the finest loose leaf teas get extremely pricey. However, there are plenty of affordable options out there, too. If you want a top tea experience or are hosting an event, it might be worth splurging on an expensive tea. If you're looking for a solid tea you can drink multiple times a day, a more cost-effective option might be better. The aroma coming from the dried leaf is pretty amazing! It’s bright and refreshing with distinct tannin notes (that classic bitter flavour that tea has) and a hint of malt. I love how fresh it is.

The general rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon of loose tea for every 6 to 8 ounces of water. However, that doesn't account for the vast differences in size for loose leaf teas. A teaspoon of chai tea, for example, weighs more than a teaspoon of sencha, as the former consists of small pieces and the latter large ones. Instead, the most accurate way to measure tea is by weight, not volume. Usually 2 or 3 grams of tea is the right amount for an 8-ounce cup.Once brewed according to Yorkshire Tea directions, it creates a very dark and rich brown colour. Add milk – it’s essential with a tea like this – to get a traditional brown tea colour. Standard, but comforting.