LOOSE LEAF OVER TEA BAG

BENEFITS OF LOOSE LEAF

LEAF SIZE

Loose tea will always contain bigger leaves than tea bag tea.

COST

Loose leaf tea can be re-steeped more times than a single tea bag, and can hold flavor longer.

FLAVOR

Loose leaf tea has better flavor because it maintains more of its natural essential oils, which are released into the cup when steeped.

Fannings which are tiny pieces of tea dust lose most of these oils through the processing stage.

FRESHNESS

The age of these bags can sometimes be over 18 months, and are well past the expiration date.

Loose leaf is best enjoyed within six months of the flush. This goes for white and green types. Oolong and black teas can stay fresh a couple of months longer...up to one year.

ECO-FRIENDLY

For the environmentally conscious, it should be noted that loose leaf tea is more sustainable than bagged tea; there are essentially no paper products or other materials wasted in preparing a loose leaf tea.

So, Why Do some Customers Buy Tea Bags Over Loose Leaf?

Consistency and Convenience

The main advantage of tea bags is convenience. They are easy to store, quick to brew and ideal when in the office or "on the move". Tea bags create no mess or soggy, left over loose tea leaves, so it's quick and easy to prepare.

5 REASONS WHY LOOSE LEAF IS BETTER
According to Amazing Green Tea

#1: More Flavors and Health Benefits

Loose green tea leaves are unoxidised. It contains life-giving nutrients such as catechins, theanine, chlorophyll and Vitamin C, as well as a small amount of essential oils.

When making tea bags, whole leaves are chopped, sliced and diced into small particles ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 millimeters called Fanning and Dusts.

With much higher surface to volume ratio, these particles lose freshness quickly. Tea compounds interact with moisture and oxygen, leading to rapid quality loss.

Also, these tea particles are bagged into papers, which can be tasted. They are also more likely to suffer from long shelf life.

#2: Less Caffeine

According to a 1996 American study conducted by Hicks, "extraction of caffeine was higher from the tea bags than the loose leaves". This is because tea bags contain green tea that has been broken into pieces. The greater surface to volume ratio causes caffeine to diffuse out quickly.

This higher caffeine extraction, together with nutrients loss, causes tea bags to taste bitter.

#3: Meticulous Making Process

Most tea bags are made from CTC leaves. CTC stands for "crush, tear and curl". It is used primarily to process low quality leaves.

Its name is fairly descriptive. The machines compress withered tea leaves, forcing out most of their sap. They then tear the leaves and curl them tightly into balls. The leaves are then fired, or dehydrated.

A highly mechanized process, it makes possible the rapid processing of large amount of leaves which would otherwise go to waste. In addition, a chemical known as bleach residue remains in tea bags.

Contrast this with gourmet loose tea, which is picked and made by hands with extreme care by tea artists with many years of experience. No wonder tea connoisseurs are only interested in loose-leaf. They have greater aroma, body and aftertaste.

They offer stunning varieties as gourmet teas can be processed many different ways to optimize its flavors and aesthetic qualities.

#4: Higher Leaf Grade

Many factors influence the quality of green tea. One of the most important is leaf age. The highest grade green tea is tippy, as they grow at the top of the tea bushes.

These are young tea shoots harvested early in the season and consist of just one bud with up to 2 slightly unfurled leaves. They are bud tea, not the leaf tea you normally see.

Another important determinant of quality? Harvesting season. Spring grows the best green tea. Summer the worst.

Scientific studies have shown that young tea shoots contains the highest level of theanine and EGCG. Theanine promotes calmness and aid concentration. EGCG is the most powerful and abundant antioxidant present in green tea.

Needless to say, such high grade is only available in loose-leaf and not tea bags.

#5: Better Value for Money

A quality tea can be infused 3 times, making it very economical to drink. Surprisingly, tea bags can sometimes be expensive due to the bagging and packaging processes.

Benefits of Loos Leaf Over Tea Bag According to EHow:

Because you're getting the full leaf along with the essential oils when you purchase loose leaf tea, in most cases you're going to have superior flavor compared to tea bags.

Loose leaf teas tend to be of higher quality. When you buy loose leaf tea, you're getting whole, loose leaves with all of their essential oils intact. In contrast, the leaves that go into tea bags are leaf fragments and tea dust left over during the processing and picking of the tea leaves.

Loose leaf teas can offer a significant cost savings. Lower quality tea bags usually cost in the ten to twenty five cent range. Higher end, better quality tea bags will generally cost from twenty cents per cup up to seventy cents per more for super premium tea bags.