FAQs

All About Tea & Gather

Hey, I’m Manda, a tea lover like you. I have a passion for creating wow-worthy teas, to rival many traditional teas which can only be described as ‘loosely flavoured hot water’. Click here to find out more about Tea & Gather and my story.

In the seaside city of Wollongong, on the NSW south coast (1.5 hours south of Sydney). This is my home town and I couldn’t think of a more amazing place to make my teas.

I make all of the teas in the range, sourcing the individual ingredients from Australian suppliers. To create the most wonderful blends, these ingredients are grown all across the world.

Yes, I only source ingredients which have ACO organic certifications to ensure the highest quality teas for you

Yes, I believe that we need to thank Mother Nature for supplying us with such delicious ingredients by only using eco-friendly packaging. The sample tubes are glass and have a cork lid. The packs are made from a cotton muslin drawstring bag with a plant plastic liner. All infusers are packaged in plant plastic bags. And all of your orders are packaged in paper hex wrap, wood wool, cardboard boxes and compostable satchels. And wherever possible, we send your orders using carbon neutral shipping.

Please reuse the packaging where possible – the tubes make great mini storage containers and the muslin bags are perfect for cold brewing your teas! And compost or recycle anything you can’t reuse, including your tea leaves.

The Range

I’m in the middle of creating the most perfect gift collections, stay tuned for this. In the meantime, take a look at our best sellers or contact Manda for any specific questions or suggestions.

I’ve decided to focus solely on my favourite type of tea for the Tea & Gather range – herbal. This decision was made partially to stand out from the crowd, and partially to create infinite opportunities to celebrate all of the amazing ingredients and flavours available to us. It also means that everything in the range is 100% caffeine-free, perfect for drinking all day and night.

The Tea & Gather range has been carefully crafted to bring you wow-worthy teas, full of punchy and unique flavours. I am a tea lover and don’t have a medicinal background (something I’d love to pursue in the future), so I cannot suggest blends to specific health benefits. However, this is what other customers and I have found:

  • Invigorating teas – Pretty Fly, Nanna Myrtle, Marvel Us, Chaiii-Ya
  • Tummy-settling teas – Pretty Fly, Nanna Myrtle, Marvel Us
  • Relaxing and stress-relieving teas – Rosie, A Little Ray Of Sunshine, Dream Time
  • Coughs, colds and some allergies – Nanna Myrtle

For specific health conditions or to find out what’s best for your body, please talk to your doctor or naturopath.

I always recommend you talking with your doctor or naturopath to see what ingredients are safe for you and your baby.

Brewing And Storage

Each pack comes with brewing instructions. However, the steps are simple:

  • Hot brew: 1-2 teaspoons per cup, 100°C water, 5-7 minutes
  • Cold brew: 7-8 teaspoons per litre, tap water, 10-12 hours

You know your preferences best, so adjust your brewing to create the best tasting teas for you.

For a ‘western’ style brew using the above steps, a second brew is possible. I suggest adding an extra teaspoon of the blend to increase the flavour.
Through working with one of the Tea & Gather stockists, I’ve also discovered that many blends in the range taste delicious with ‘eastern’ style brewing too! Use a small teapot or brew in your cup and shorten the steep to 1-2 minutes for a hot brew, and you can re-brew several times. Notice how the flavours change between each steep.

Tea purists will say “no, never”. However, many of us are guilty of doing this, especially if we’re consciously saving water to help the planet or in a rush. How you choose to brew is completely up to you, so if you’d like to experience the freshest tea possible, aim to only boil as much as you need for your cup or pot and give any cooled excess water to your plants.

All teas are legally required to have a best before date listed on the packaging. Tea technically lasts forever, though I suggest you use the date as a guideline for peak freshness – it will still be fine to drink after this date, but the flavour will eventually subside and you may need to add a more to get back to that wow-worthy level.

The best place for your tea is in a cool dark cupboard, with any open packs transferred into airtight containers. If you leave your tea on the bench, it’s best to put it in an opaque container so it will still look and taste as good as the day you bought it.

Payment And Delivery

The payment system accepts all major credit and debit cards.

Yes! I will hand-deliver all orders for tea lovers across the Wollongong area (Thirroul to Kiama) – please select this option at check out. Retail deliveries are $5 and are done on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Tea lovers all across Australia can receive their special order.

Depending on where you live, your order will be sent with Sendle or Australia Post, and you will receive tracking information as soon as it’s sent.
Postage is a flat-rate of $10 for all retail orders, with free shipping over $80.
We post on Tuesdays and Thursdays

I aim to have your precious teas ready for dispatch within 1-3 business days. You will receive tracking information as soon as it’s on its way so that you can get excited and watch it on its journey to you.
Please note that there may be delays with dispatch or postage during peak sales or holiday periods. I will do my best to minimise issues during these periods, and will contact you if necessary

Shipping Policy

Please note that Tea & Gather is not responsible for any deliveries that may be affected by customs, natural occurrences, transfers from Australia Post to the local carrier in your country, air and ground transportation strikes or delays, nor any extra fees, customs or back-end charges once the package has left Australia.

Please note that all shipping timeframes are from the time of dispatch. Dispatch can take 1 to 3 business days from the time of your order being placed. Please note that this does not include public holidays, weekends or sale and promotional periods.

Order Issues

Sure, please contact me here.

I am only able to refund or replace damaged, faulty or incorrect items. If you have an issue with your order, please contact me within 30 days of receiving your order. Please include your request, a photo of the item and your invoice, and I will do my best to help you.
If a tea isn’t tasting perfect, please contact me and I can offer suggestions.

Refund Policy

Which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a refund, return or exchange.

Please inspect your order upon reception and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged or if you receive the wrong item, so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right.

Any items to be returned must be in their original packaging with no damage to the seal and not opened. Several types of goods are exempt from being returned, in particular perishable goods such as tea (unless incorrectly sent), but we will assist you where we can.

To start a return, please contact us at cheers@teaandgather.com.au with the following:

  • Details of the issue
  • Photos (if relevant)
  • Your invoice

If approved, we will send you return instructions on how and where to send your package.

You can always contact us for any return questions at cheers@teaandgather.com.au.

There are certain situations where only partial refunds may be granted:

  • Any item that arrives with severely damaged packaging, or the seal is opened, or the product is damaged.
  • Any item not in its original condition, is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to our error.
  • Any item that is returned more than 30 days after delivery on a case by case basis.

The fastest way to ensure you get what you want is to return the item you have, and once the return is accepted, make a separate purchase for the new item.

We will notify you once we’ve received and inspected your return, and let you know if the refund was approved or not. If approved, you’ll be automatically refunded on your original payment method. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund too.

To return your product, you should mail your product to the returns address provided. You will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item/s. Shipping costs for original orders are also non-refundable. If you receive a refund, the cost of return shipping will be deducted from your refund.
Please note, depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary. And to assist you further, we suggest you consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We cannot guarantee that we will receive your returned item.

More Tea

Take time out and experience the full Tea & Gather treatment by visiting one of my markets or events, or finding a local stockist.

If you have an upcoming special occasion, why not add tea? I have a whole range of options to include your favourite drink in your special day – take a look here.

Of course! Please jump over to my wholesale page for more information.