Frequently Asked Questions

Shipping

How much does shipping cost

For South Africa:

Shipping in South Africa is a door to door service through our carrier Internet Express.

Shipping costs are calculated by our carrier, Internet Express and is shown at checkout based on your location – usually between R80 and R120.

Delivery usually takes between 3 and 5 working days from the fulfilment date.

For International Shipping:

International shipping is a door to door service through our carrier DHL Express.

Shipping costs are calculated by our carrier, DHL Express and shown at checkout based on your location – usually between $15 and $35.

Delivery usually takes between 3 and 5 working days from the fulfillment date.

Please note, various import duties and taxes may be incurred on delivery to certain regions. We send our products delivered duties unpaid with DHL Express from South Africa and we have zero control over these duties that may be incurred.

i.e. The UK and Europe may have such duties attached to imports from outside the region.

When will I receive my order

For all SA orders – We process orders from 08h00 – 13h00 on weekdays. So, if you order before 13h00, we will send your package off with our couriers on the same day – meaning you should receive your order within 3 working days. Local couriers take 1 – 3 days to deliver but outlying and regional areas such as Kakemas or Hermanus for example, your delivery might take a few days longer. Usually though, not longer than 3 extra working days.

For all International orders – We process orders within 24 hours of order. We usually send the following working day and it takes approximately 3-5 business days worldwide. Sent with DHL Express service.

NOTE: We do like to keep the tea we offer fresh, so there are occasional welcome delays as we wait on tea to arrive directly from each farm

COVID-19 update: Due to COVID-19, you may experience an extra 2-3 day delay in delivery.

What if I am not home/office to receive my order?

The courier company used will always attempt to deliver to your door. If no one is home or no one answers, they will often try to contact via a call. If still no luck, the couriers will attempt delivery again on their next delivery run.

For easier management of the delivery of your tea, an email upon fulfilment of your order will be sent with tracking details included. If you find there may be an issue with the delivery address or contact, please contact the couriers directly with your tracking details and they will assist with the delivery much more swiftly.

How do I track my order?

Once your parcel is ready and has been packed on our end, we will send you your tracking number via email or text depending on courier. These emails are usually sent upon packing.

If you have not yet received your tracking number, check your junk mail. If you can’t find it there, drop us an email (info@theteajourney.com) so that we can check if it has been dispatched (please remember: If you placed your order during a weekend, or after 13h00 on a working day, it will only be dispatched on the next business day). If you have a tracking number, you can track it on the courier tracking site – clickable link sent to you in that email.

If there is any problem at all with your parcel, we will not rest until we have tracked it down and got it to you! Alternatively, and probably a faster way to receive an order with delivery exceptions, we suggest contacting the couriers directly with your tracking details and they will assist in getting your order delivered soonest.

Where do you ship to?

Please note we do not ship to P.O Boxes. Our couriers will need a signature to deliver.

We ship worldwide, meaning we will deliver ANYWHERE on the planet, as long as a valid delivery address and postal code are given.

Local orders will also be delivered to your door or any address that we are given.

What is your Returns Policy?

We would like you to be happy with your purchases, however, being a food product, we cannot accept returns on any teas purchased once it has been opened. We aim to deliver teas of the highest quality. Should there be a quality issue with any tea product, we will be most happy to resolve that.

Exchanges

Incorrect orders should be reported to info@theteajourney.com within 3 days of receipt of order
Should you wish to exchange any product/s, said product/s may be returned to us at your own cost within three (3) days of receipt of goods
Product/s must be unopened and in their original packaging.
Cost of courier or postage will be for your own account
No cash or electronic refunds will be given
Should we be unable to provide the desired product/s, or in case of a price difference, a shopping voucher will be issued T’s and C’s apply

Faulty items & Breakages

Should you have purchased teaware that is faulty, or have experienced breakages during delivery, please follow the process below:

Contact us at info@theteajourney.com within three (3) days of receipt of goods
Please provide your order and contact details
Make sure you have read and understood the recommended usage/ preparation methods and/or warnings per product as stipulated on our website
Provide a clear photograph of the faulty or broken item. Note: only the broken part will be replaced should it be found that we are at fault
We will only despatch the new item/s once we have ascertained that we are responsible for the breakage/damage

The Tea Journey will not be held responsible for parcels that go missing or arrived damaged. This has to be taken up directly with the courier company, however, we will do our best to help resolve the issue.

General

Tea Preaparation

All of our teas come with temperature and steeping time recommendations written on the label. For leaf quantity, the general recommendation is one teaspoon of loose leaf tea per 250ml cup of hot water. Please note that most modern mugs are more voluminous than that, so adjust accordingly.

Read our Perfect Brewing section to learn more

How many cups do our sizes make? You’ll be pleased to know that 100 grams make about 40 cups. The 50-gram package makes about 20 cups, and the sample pouch, about 10 cups (depending on the type). The cost-per-cup appears next to each packaging size we offer. We hope you may be pleasantly surprised that our fresh, artisan teas may cost so little to enjoy.

Help Finding Products

To search our website, look for the ‘magnifying glass’ icon in the upper right, in the white menu bar. Click it, and you’ll see the field open where you can type your search term.

Ingredients

The ingredients of our various teas and blends appear on the individual page that describes the product as well as its packaging.

However, many of our teas contain just one ingredient: tea leaves. In such instances, a list of ingredients is not provided.

Most of the tea brands we work with produce tea that is natural or organic.

Dietary Restrictions

The majority of teas we offer are sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan, and in virtually all cases, contain zero calories (as long as you don’t add milk and sugar).

The only exceptions are teas which contain sugar sprinkles or chocolate chips and some instant teas

Our teas are quite good for you too!

Kosher?

Teas contain no ingredients that would make them unkosher. In most instances, they are simply dried leaves, with nothing else added.

In cases of added flavours, these come from natural sources, with no ingredients that would render them unkosher.