Hemp tea is dried hemp leaves, brewed like any herbal tea. CBD tea, the way we make it, is proper tea with 10 mg of CBD added. One is the plant in your mug. The other is a brew you'd buy anyway, with a known amount of CBD in it.
They get muddled up all the time, online and on the shelves, so here's the difference in plain English.
Key facts
- Hemp tea: dried hemp leaves, brewed.
- CBD tea: tea or herbs with a CBD extract added. The amount should be on the box. (Some hemp teas get sold as CBD tea, but they're not the same thing.)
- Four Twentea: no hemp. Proper tea with 10 mg of broad-spectrum, water-soluble CBD in every bag.
- Hemp leaf tea isn't a novel food, but CBD extracts are, so CBD teas need to be on the FSA's public list to stay on sale. All four of ours are Validated, under application RP-438.
So what's hemp tea?
Hemp is a type of cannabis plant grown for fibre and seed. Hemp tea is the leaves, dried and brewed. It tastes grassy, a bit like hay. Some people love it. We're not among them.
The tricky bit is that a leaf doesn't come with a label. How much CBD ends up in your mug depends on the plant, the harvest, the drying and how long you leave it steeping. Unless the seller can show you a lab report for that batch, it's guesswork.
And CBD tea?
CBD tea starts with tea. Ours is the sort you'd happily pick up off the shelf anyway: malty Assam, fresh peppermint, gingery Naughtea, or a gentle herbal blend for the evening. We add flavourless, water-soluble CBD, so it mixes into your cup instead of floating on top like oil. Four Twentea's Normalitea tastes like a proper builder's brew. Mintea just tastes of mint.
We decided early on to keep hemp out of our blends. It changes the taste, and we'd rather your brew tasted of the tea you chose.
Is hemp tea legal in the UK?
Lots of websites answer this with a breezy yes, but it's not that simple. The Home Office treats the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant, hemp included, as controlled parts, whatever their THC level. UK hemp licences cover growing the plant for fibre and seed (Home Office, 2024).
We're a tea company, not a law firm, so we won't rule on any particular hemp tea. If you're buying one, ask how it's sourced and whether there's a lab report.
And that's the big difference between the two. Hemp tea is basically dried leaves steeped in hot water, and the FSA classes a water infusion of hemp leaves (leaves only, without the flowering tops) as an ordinary food, because people have been drinking it for a long time (FSA CBD guidance). That's why you'll find it everywhere.
CBD is a step up. It's an extract, and the FSA classes CBD extracts, and anything they're added to, as novel foods. So a CBD tea has to be linked to an application on the FSA's public list to stay on sale, which means paperwork, safety evidence and lab testing.
All four of our teas are Validated on that list, under application RP-438. It took years of work, plenty of brands didn't make it, and we're proud of it. You can look up our entry yourself.
What's in a Four Twentea bag
| Blend | What's in it | Broad-spectrum CBD | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normalitea | Assam 75%, Ceylon 25% | 10 mg | Yes |
| Naughtea | Ginger 35%, turmeric 25%, galangal 20%, white tea 10%, green tea 10%, black pepper under 1% | 10 mg | Yes |
| Mintea | Peppermint 80%, spearmint 20% | 10 mg | No |
| Tranquilitea | Honeybush 40%, lemon balm 20%, verbena 10%, valerian 10%, passion flower 10%, camomile 10% | 10 mg | No |
Normalitea, Naughtea, Mintea and Tranquilitea are Four Twentea's four CBD tea blends, each with 10 mg of CBD per bag.
Every bag is made to contain 10 mg of CBD, and independent lab tests on Four Twentea's Normalitea back that up: see the results on our lab reports page. Each one comes sealed in its own envelope to lock the flavour in. They're plump little fatties too, so you can get a couple of brews out of one. It's still one bag, so still no more than 10 mg.
Which should you go for?
If you want to drink the plant itself, that's hemp tea, with the legal question to check first. If you want a proper cuppa with a clear amount of CBD in it, start with Four Twentea's Normalitea: a hearty builder's brew of Assam and Ceylon that tastes exactly like tea should. £14 for a box of 14. Fancy trying the lot? The Everything Bundle gets you all four blends for £44 (normally £56).
The FSA advises healthy adults to limit CBD from all food sources to 10 mg a day. That's one bag of our tea. CBD is not recommended for under-18s, anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, or anyone taking medication.
FAQs
Is hemp tea the same as CBD tea? No. Hemp tea is the dried leaf of the hemp plant, brewed. CBD tea is tea or herbs with a measured CBD extract added, so the amount is printed on the box.
Does hemp tea contain CBD? It can, but the amount varies from plant to plant and batch to batch. The only way to know is a lab report for that batch, so ask the seller.
Is hemp tea legal in the UK? The Home Office treats hemp leaves and flowers as controlled parts of the cannabis plant, whatever their THC level. We can't advise on any particular product, so check with the seller before you buy.
Is hemp tea a novel food? Not if it's just hemp leaves steeped in water. The FSA says water infusions of hemp leaves, without the flowering tops, have a history of consumption, so they aren't novel. CBD extracts are, which is why CBD teas need to be on the FSA's public list.
Is there hemp in Four Twentea? No. Our bags are proper tea or herbs plus a water-soluble CBD extract. No hemp leaf, no flower.
Is Four Twentea organic? No, our teas aren't certified organic. Every ingredient and its percentage is on the box and on each product page.