What’s best? Tea bags or loose leaf tea? It’s a question we often get asked, and it’s not always easy to provide a straightforward answer. In this blog, we will go over the differences between the two to help you make the right choice for yourself. We will cover some important aspects of tea-making and explore the pros and cons of both loose leaf tea and tea bags.
Speed
Tea bags are designed for convenience and speed. You don’t have to measure the tea leaves; just let the bag steep in your cup.
Loose leaf tea takes more time. You need to put the tea in your filter and wait for the leaves to infuse adequately. The infusion time depends on the method you prefer, with gong fu cha being quicker than the Western way, and the herbalistic method taking the longest, up to 15 minutes.
Tea quality
Generally, the quality of tea in tea bags is lower because the leaves are cut finer to fit in the bag and to infuse faster. This is not preferred for higher-quality tea. The leaves in bags also have less room to expand, which limits the flavor and aroma they can release.
In terms of health benefits and taste, tea bags don’t compare with loose leaf tea. Loose leaf tea has the space to unfurl and release more flavor and aroma. The quality of loose leaf tea is usually higher than that in tea bags, impacting the health benefits.
Experience
The experience of making tea with bags is limited. Just add the bag, wait, and it’s done.
With loose leaf tea, the experience is richer. It involves several steps to turn the leaves into a delicious cup of tea. Measuring the correct amount of tea, heating water to the right temperature, choosing an appropriate tea filter, setting a timer… The aroma released enhances the experience, making the process part of the enjoyment. More involvement with the tea can lead to a deeper connection with your cup.
Choice
The choice with tea bags is limited, typically including one or two types of black tea, a green tea, and some herbal and fruit infusions.
With loose leaf tea, the choice is nearly endless. Within each category (green, yellow, white, oolong, black, post-fermented tea, blends, fruit infusions, herbal infusions, and pure herbal infusions), there are often hundreds of types to choose from. You can select special black teas made only from buds, oolong from Thailand, green tea from Korea, a 10-year-old pu-erh cake, or an infusion filled with tropical fruit pieces. The choice is yours!
Required knowledge
For a beginner, the world of loose leaf tea can be overwhelming. A good cup requires understanding the parameters (temperature, infusion time, weight). There’s also a choice of brewing methods, like Gong Fu Cha, Western, or herbalistic. Detailed knowledge of tea is useful not only for brewing the perfect cup but for personal development and making informed purchases.
A solution is to start with tea bags and gradually shift to loose leaf tea. Starting with tea bags requires minimal knowledge. You can then take small steps towards loose leaf tea. For example, if you like chamomile tea bags, try loose chamomile tea. Or use paper tea bags that you can fill with loose leaf tea. Tea bags allow you to explore flavors and types gradually without investing in accessories or extensive tea knowledge. The more you drink tea, the more knowledge you’ll acquire.
Necessities
Tea bags require very few accessories: just a cup and your tea bag.
For loose leaf tea, you need additional items like a good tea filter. Other handy accessories include a tea scoop, a temperature-variable kettle, a scale, and storage tins to keep your loose leaf tea fresh.
Tea Bags or Loose Leaf Tea? Personal Preference!
To answer the question of which is better, tea bags or loose leaf tea, the short answer is loose leaf tea, of course! The longer answer is more nuanced and dependent on personal preference. It also depends on what you’re looking for in tea. Are you looking for quick and easy or do you prefer to take your time to brew a delicious cup? Loose leaf tea is usually of higher quality and requires more equipment. However, many types of tea filters available today make brewing loose leaf tea very simple.
At Thee.be, we aim to cater to tea bag fans with delicious tea. We’re disappointed with the generally low quality of tea bags, so we decided to develop our own line of tea bags. We’ve named our collection House of Tea. With House of Tea, we choose to put better, high-quality tea in our bags. We’ve also chosen a local, Belgian producer and are involved in every step of the production process. Our selection includes a mix of classic teas and more unique varieties that are not typically found in bags, like Bai Mu Dan white tea, Japanese green tea, a blend of green tea with apple and ginger, and a fruit tea based on oranges.
Our goal at Thee.be is to make loose leaf tea as accessible as possible. We sell all the necessities for brewing loose leaf tea on our site and provide the recommended infusion time, temperature, and weight on all our loose leaf tea packages. These guidelines help you quickly and easily brew loose leaf tea. We also have a blog with information about tea, types of tea, brewing, drinking, recipes with tea, and we regularly organize workshops on tea. If you have questions, we also have a WhatsApp service where you can easily and quickly ask us any tea-related question.
