Tea Bags vs. Loose Leaf Tea

For some tea lovers, loose leaf teas are the only way to go. Others choose tea bags for convenience or price. Why is it even an important question? Aren't tea bags the same as loose tea but in bags?

Bag teas are the majority of the teas sold in the US, they are the cheapest teas available from the bottom of the tea barrel. Most people only have tasted bagged tea and deem tea gross or bad tasting. I don't blame them! They brew quicker than loose leaf making them great for convenience but not taste.
The way bagged tea came about was a tea merchant in NYC decided to ditch expensive tins for tea transport and sale, instead he put the tea in silk bags. Confused customers put the bags in hot water and brewed their tea very easily and bag tea became the new normal in tea. Gradually, because you can't see through a tea bag, the quality of the tea was reduced because "no one would know". Now you know the story of the bag tea we have today.

Once you try loose leaf tea you will not want to go back.

From a paleo perspective, bagged teas can have chemicals in the paper bag and some of the benefits of tea are lessened because the dust used doesn't retain its nutrients during storage well.


Loose leaf tea not only tastes better but you can brew it more than once!
So why not try it out? There are also full leaf teas in large bags for the ease of cheap bagged tea and the flavor of loose leaf tea.