6 ways supermarket tea is different to artisan tea | The Tea Curator:

The leaves used for artisan tea are almost always handpicked … usually the newly-emerged bud and one or two leaves or the bud only. For supermarket tea, the leaves are typically lower quality … a mixture of new and mature leaves and stalks … The leaf selection for your tea matters because the younger buds and leaves are richer in nutrients, higher in aromatic oils and produce more complex flavours …