Here we are, at a topic that has been covered many times before. Not including the most obvious difference of one being in a bag and the other being loose, what is the difference? Well here are four big differences between loose leaf tea and tea bags.
Difference #1- Quality of Leaves
In most mass-produced tea bags a grade of tea called “fanning” or “Dust” is used, which is the lowest quality of tea that there is. Fannings and dust are very finely broken tea leaves. There are some artisan tea bags that use a higher quality of tea, but in general, the quality is low.
Loose leaf tea is naturally higher in quality because there has been less damage done to the leaves. Also, tea companies that are producing tea bags know that you can’t really see the leaves, so it doesn’t matter what grade of tea they use, while companies producing loose leaf know that their leaves are on showcase.
Difference #2- Quality of the Brew
This is directly affected by the quality of leaves, but for our purposes we’re going to focus on the mechanics of brewing.
Let’s say that the tea bag in question is made of the same exact leaves as the loose leaf tea. Tea leaves need room to expand and to absorb water. Loose leaf tea brewed in a tea pot has more room to brew and infuse than the leaves restricted in a tiny bag.
Restricting the room for your leaves to expand affects the flavor, the color, and the aroma. It also makes it harder for the water to extract all those vitamins and essential oils out of the leaves.
Speaking of flavor,
Difference #3- The Flavor
Teabags have tannins and chemicals in the bag material that can leach into your cup and leave a bitter taste.
Another factor is the packaging of tea. In most cases, loose leaf tea is packaged in foil bags or metal tins, while tea bags are stored in thin-cardboard boxes.
Tea leaves are sensitive to light, air, odors, and moisture. The foil bags and metal tins protect the leaves from all of these elements! Unfortunately, the cardboard box of the tea bags only protects from the light. With tea bags, they are shipped in crates with other types and flavors of tea bags. They can sit in warehouses for months, and when they finally get to the grocery store they sit on a shelf with all the other tea bags in that section. By the time you get your tea bag it had been exposed to almost all the elements which means you are not getting the highest quality which affects the flavor because it can end up stale or spoiled.
Difference #4- Health Benefits
Tea leaves are like vegetables, they are the most full of nutrients and vitamins the moment they are picked. Once you pick the leaves, or vegetables, they decrease in health value each day you wait to consume them.
In general, loose leaf tea is fresher and has the packaging to retain as much of that freshness as possible. Tea bags are exposed to all the elements and have a longer journey to your cup, often resulting in stale tea with very little of those original health benefits left.
Overall- What do I prefer?
Let’s recap the pros-
Loose leaf is fresher, healthier, a higher quality, and more flavorful.
Tea bags are more convenient, they’re cute, and there are really good flavors out there! Plus, not all tea bags are created equal.
In the end, while I drink both, I prefer loose leaf. It will always be my sweetheart.
I have found that most people drink tea for two reasons, either for the taste or for their health. Does this sound like you?
If you are drinking tea because it just tastes so darn good, then drink away my friend! I’m right there with you! You can find great options on both sides of the divide.
If you are drinking for those health benefits I suggest you stick to and/or get into loose leaf tea, because you will have much better results.
If you are drinking tea because it tastes good and it is good for you than high five! You are on a happy road that cannot fail you.
I hope you guys have enjoyed this video, if you have any more questions about loose leaf or tea bags, let me know down in the comment section and I will answer them in a future video.
I hope you guys are having an amazing day full of tea and happiness and I will see you next time,
I made a video about this two years ago. It was almost too painful to watch haha. I had a lot of facts wrong, I was all over the place, and I was just awkward. So I am going to rewrite this for you!
In my last article about how I changed my opinion on tea bags, I quoted the Tea Association of the United States saying that 69% of hot tea purchased in the United States in 2015 was tea bags. That is a huge amount! Most people don’t know how tea bags are made or that there are even other options.
There are a lot of different stories when it comes to how the tea bag was invented. Since I wasn’t there, I’m going to go with the famous story of Thomas Sullivan, a tea and coffee merchant in New York City. Sullivan was trying to cut down sampling costs by sending tea to his customer in little silk pouches. The pouches were intended to be opened and tea poured in the tea-pot. But customers just put the pouch in their cup and ta-da! Tea bags were born.
The concept of tea bags exploded and they appeared commercially for the first time in 1904.
Since then, tea bags have changed and evolved quite a bit. Tea leaves require space to expand, the more space they have the fuller the taste and aroma, this resulted in putting smaller tea leaves in the bags. Because size no longer mattered, merchants purchased lower grades of tea. Today, tea bags are most commonly made with a tea grade known as Fanning, or dust. This is the lowest tea grade.
The bags themselves changed from silk pouches, to paper, to what we have now which are various blends of paper, chemicals, and plastic.
Thankfully, as tea bags were decreasing in quality they are now increasing! Not all teabags are created equally. There are now options for large tea bags, tea temples, tea bags with higher grades of tea such as whole-leaf tea. Many companies now sell tea bags and tea sachets in metal tins and ceramic jars as to protect the leaves longer and preserving their quality.
If you drink tea bags, be conscious of the companies and the quality you are drinking from as there are serious health issues that can some from the chemicals in the bag itself.
Awww heck yes my dear readers. Something crazy has happened. I’ve changed my opinion on tea bags.
This might not actually seem like a big deal, but for me it is.
Almost everybody in my life knows about Teacups and Blossoms, and my passion for tea. People comment on my videos, friends and family come up to me in church or other social gatherings with comments all relating to,
“I saw your channel! I love tea, but I only drink tea bags…”
When I was at someone’s home, they would apologize for only having tea bags. They felt like they had to apologize! I had one friend buy a tin of loose leaf tea, without me knowing beforehand just for when I come over. That is crazy, sweet and so unnecessary.
I began to be pained every time someone would make comments like this. I felt bad that they felt bad! And it certainly wasn’t what I was trying to accomplish with Teacups and Blossoms, I want to promote tea lovers of every walk of life, not just loose-leaf tea drinkers.
My New View
I never want to make somebody feel bad about drinking tea bags, but I do want to tell teabag users about what they’re drinking. I still want to inform them about all the other options, and why they should start drinking loose leaf. I started out drinking teabags, and you know what? most people drink tea bags!
“In 2015, more than 69% of hot tea purchased in the U.S. was bagged tea. Herbal teas were at about 30% and loose teas made up just under 1% of purchases.”
Only 1% of tea purchased was loose leaf tea! That is so crazy! This shows me two things, 1) We have some teaching and converting to do, and 2) the majority of tea lovers are drinking tea bags.
I believe that tea is an experience, it is a bonding between two people, it is a story. Make it how you like it, don’t feel bad about it! Not enough bloggers are talking about teabags in a positive light.
Here’s this thing though, if you are serious about tea then your taste and preference will naturally grow.
I will always prefer Loose-Leaf tea over tea bags because I have studied the difference between the quality, taste, production, etc. (Another post about that soon) But this article is me saying that I am no longer cringing when I see tea bags.
Loose leaf tea and education about tea are still the core values of this blog, I’m just going to be adding more reviews and informational videos on teabags.
Your Turn: Do you frown upon people using teabags, or are you a tea bag drinker yourself?
Today on TAB YouTube I reviewed InfiniTea by Miss Tea. To be honest, I bought this tea back in December of 2015 at the Union Square Holiday Market in NYC.Yeah…I’m just now getting around to reviewing it.
InfiniTea is an herbal loose leaf tea, handcrafted in Brooklyn,NY. The appearance is whole chamomile flowers with large rose hips. The aroma of this tea us chamomile, warm fruit, hay, and faintly minty.
The hot flavor of this tea is rose hips,ginseng,orange, and chamomile. The iced tea has more tangy and sweet notes,you really taste the orange,rose hip, and the ginseng more in the iced tea then in the hot tea.
Overall I love this tea. No matter what time it is, what the weather is like, what I’m doing, whenever I drink this tea I become so happy. It boosts my mood and my makes me feel like anything is possible. The taste, aroma, and aftertaste is pretty neutral, but the effects in you mood is what makes this tea stand out.
When I first started drinking tea I was on a tea bag and boiling water bases. I didn’t know anything about tea, I just poured the water and I feel like that’s how most people drink their tea. Us beginners don’t know any different! Here are five mistakes I’ve made while brewing tea.
1. Using Harsh Water
The water that you use to brew your tea has a big impact on the taste. Tap water can leave a chemical taste and microwaving your water can leave a mettalic taste. It’s best to use cool, filtered water and heat it by using a tea kettle.
2. Water Temperature
There are six types of tea and each type of tea requires a different temperature! Using water that is too hot can burn your leaves leaving a bitter taste. If you don’t have a thermometer you can learn to tell the temperature by sight! For white and green teas, once you begin to see steam come out of the kettle and the kettle begins to vibrate, it’s time to pour. For black teas, once it really starts to vibrate and bubble it’s ready.
Here are your basic temperatures:
Green and White tea: 175°F
Oolong Tea: 195°F
Black tea: 212°F
Infusions: 100°C
3. Steeping The Tea Too Long
Steeping longer does not equal strong tea. If you want stronger tea add another tea bag or more leaves. Steeping a tea too long will only make it bitter. The average time you want to steep your tea is 3-5 minutes, though I usually stick to three.
4.Squeezing the Tea Bag
My Grandma actually taught me this! When you squeeze your tea bag, you release tannins into your cup making the tea bitter and rather nasty. When I stopped I noticed a huge difference, expecially in my black tea.
5. Adding Milk Before It Is Done Brewing
Working at a tea booth and serving people tea everyday, this is one makes me cringe everytime. Let your tea brew at least three minutes before you add your milk! During the brewing process your tea is dependant on the chemical reaction that happens with the oxygen in the water. By adding milk right away you suffocate the leaves, stopping it from brewing.
Pro Tip: If brewing in a tea pot, pour the milk in the cup first. Pouring milk on top cools down the tea, while pouring tea over the milk brings the milk to the tea’s temperature. It also helps the tea and milk blend togeter better!
I hope my mistakes will help you make that perfect cup of tea!
Your Turn:
Do you have any questions about brewing tea? Let me know in the comments and I’ll answer them in a future article or video!
I hope you day is filled with tea and happiness, and I will see you next time.
~Rebekah T.
Shout out and Thank you to my baby sister for being my model!
Teacups and Blossoms 