All tea lovers love tea in their own way. Someone likes with sugar, someone with additives. Someone likes whole milk, and someone likes soy. When it comes to tea, there is no right or wrong, it all comes down to personal preference. However, the way tea is served is only the beginning. There are dozens of different brands of tea.
Various varieties and types of teas represent another range of options. Old spore – loose leaf tea versus tea bags. Some people claim that loose leaf tea is better than tea bags, but is it true?
Loose leaf tea is different from tea bags. Loose leaf tea consists of whole unblown tea leaves. Tea bags, on the other hand, are small bags with broken “dust-like” leaves, but does this difference in leaf size mean a compromise on quality?
Tea bags
Ordinary tea bags are made up of dust and sawdust from tea leaves. Due to the tiny pieces of individual leaves, tea leaves in tea bags have a large surface area.
This is basically the difference in quality between loose leaf tea and tea bags. The large surface area of tea bags means that every single particle of the tea leaf is exposed to air. When this happens, the essential oils and flavors that give the tea its flavor evaporate. This can cause the tea to become dull and stale.
However, if the tea bags are stored properly, with freshness in mind when packaged, they will taste better.This is because when tea leaves lose their oils and flavors when brewing tea, it can result in a bitter taste.
When tea is brewed in tea bags, its infusion is limited to the size of the tea bag. Small paper bags prevent the tea leaves from opening properly.
This led to the creation of handicraft “pyramidal tea bags”. Larger leaves are used in these higher quality tea bags. Large leaves are able to properly unfold in the shape of a pyramid. This means that when the tea is brewed, water can pass through the leaves and extract more flavor.
These tea bags are as good as loose leaf tea. They are more convenient, allow more water to pass through the bags, which means more flavor, and are packaged with premium full-leaf tea.
Loose leaf tea
Loose leaf tea is often perceived as the highest quality and richest in flavors, but it can also be more expensive. Compared to dust-like dry tea bags that are mass-produced and packaged in cardboard, it’s clear why.
Although loose leaf tea is more expensive initially, its leaves can be brewed more than once. This ultimately means that you are not sacrificing money for quality.
The recommended amount of loose tea is one teaspoon per cup of water, making many types of loose tea cheaper than tea bags.
Using more tea leaves will produce a stronger tea, but make sure you have enough room in the infusion to allow water to circulate around the leaves. It is this circulation of water that leads to a richer taste.
Also remember that wet leaves are more than twice the size of dry ones, so don’t overdo it!
Loose leaf tea is served without a tea bag and does not contain the bitter-tasting stems or seeds found in tea bags.
A big advantage of choosing loose leaf tea over tea bags is the ability to see and smell the product before buying.
As a rule, it is better to buy tea with large, more whole leaves; a large number of small leaf pieces may indicate rough handling, over-processing, or stale tea.
Smelling tea, you will learn about its freshness and richness. The richer the aroma, the fresher the tea.
