Which should I be drinking? When it comes to tea the truth is its personal preference, however there are things that you should know about tea that may change your whole prespective.
Tea bags
Usually industraillay manufactured, The leaves in tea bags are processed through a machine called a Cut – Tear – Curl (CTC). The tea leaves are chopped up into tiny pieces like the above photo. It comes in different grades and these are called fannings. No tea is wasted so you may find that in your really cheap tea bags they use the “dust” of these fannings.
Because the particles are so small this means that when hot water is added to the tea it can often lead to bitterness because the leaf particles in tea bags release the flavour, antioxidants and caffiene from the leaves quickly. This may lead to a strong cup of tea but not necessarily a flavourful one. For those of you that like you builders brew, you may note that you are reaching for the caffiene hit and probably not to savour the flavour of the tea. There is also a tendency for tea bags to go stale quicker.
Another reason that we do not use them at Mindful Roots Tea is because the bags themselves are not good for the environment. Not only are you brewing plastic into your tea when you buy cheap tea bags, as it is used in the glue to seal them, but these also tend to be bleached white. You can buy tea bags that are made with corn starch, but once they are converted into this material they still need more energy to be industrially composted as they can not go into your normal compost bin. The bags are also restricting the leaves so it does not allow the water to move round and permeate the leaves as much.
Loose Leaf Tea
Whilst tea bags may seem convinient, any tea enthusiast will know that loose leaf tea is the way to go, why? You get the best flavour a you can get a larger variety also which you wouldn’t get with tea bags. With our premium whole leaf teas you get hand blanded loose leaf tea made in small batches to ensure quality and flavour.
You are brewing the whole leaf so the particles are larger. Allowing the leaves to take their time to open up releases the antioxidants slowy and the caffiene which means that you are able to taste the flavour without getting the bitterness. This also means that you could possibly brew the leaves more than once depending on the tea.
Brewing times and temperature of the water are also important things to note. Your choice of Infuser should be considered for space allowing the water to move around the leaves and infuse.
Environmentally friendly, the leaves can be used in compost once they have been brewed or like coffee they can be used to around plants to keep the bugs away. They will then breakdown naturally.
Why not try making some iced teas with your loose leaf tea. Check our our 3 Sensational Iced Teas post here.
Do you have any questions? contact us via our email or leave a comment below!
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Hello, I’m Elle a Tea Champion through the UK Tea Academy. I started Mindful Roots Tea as I have a passion for all things tea. I curate delicious, fun, all-natural tea blends that have added wellness benefits.
Visit us on Instagram: @mindfulrootstea
