For the love of tea!

So, a few exchanges on the blog in the last couple days got me thinking about teas. There is something I really don't understand about this. Every time I mention that I don't touch tea bags, I hear snide comments about being a pretentious bourgeoise, a snob, or any number of variations on that theme. That is so not right. Not that I am not a snob or anything, but I hardly think it's due to my choice of teas: my penchant for red-soled shoes, perhaps, but certainly nothing to do with loose leaf teas.

It is such an effective myth created by tea bag manufacturers of the world, that myth that convinced you that tea bags were good, convenient, and even cheap. All of that, all of it, let me tell you now, is false. The entire world bought that lie, took the bait, hook, line, and sinker, the entire thing.

And why should you believe me? Well, I'm going to prove it to you. I'm going to channel Harold McGee and do a little tea taste, in honor -late though it may be- of Taste Tea, the cute little meme that instigated this new round of tit-for-tat for me. Because of this, my geekdom -which has taken a bit of a vacation since I left my nerdy job- has returned in full force in the last day or two. I spent yesterday gathering up evidence and did a couple of experiments. And this blog post here is the result. I am going to show you why you should stop buying tea bags and switch to using loose leafs. Well, or even if I couldn't convince you to switch, I'd at least make you understand that it's a choice, an aesthetic choice that has little to do with money, convenience, or reason for that matter.

The first part of the myth: tea bags are cheaper. I went around to a few markets and picked up a number of different teas, and did a little calculation to see if, on a cup by cup comparison, tea bags were really all that much cheaper? Shall we see? But first we should talk methods. I bought a few different brands of tea bags, from the "cheapest" and most readily available Lipton bags to the more upscale brands such as Numi and Hampstead (both bought at the fancy Sur la Table in Los Gatos.) For the loose leaf teas, I didn't need to buy any since I got quite a bit already. But there was a little problem, I didn't know exactly how much they were when I bought them. So, I decided to use as examples two grades of loose leaf teas from Adagio Tea (no affiliation, but I chose them because of their unsolicited offer of free teas to IMBB-Taste Tea participants.) From Adagio I chose two teas: one a regular grade, at $7 per 100g, the other a fancy first flush Single Estate Darjeeling which, at $16 per 100g, was one of the most expensive teas carried by that company.

First -my scientist hat firmly back on my head- I had to operationalize a few things before we could run our little experiment. What is a cup of tea? How do you effectively compare the price of bags and the price of loose leaf teas? Not by weight alone, certainly. A tea bag contains anywhere between 1.5-2.5 grams of tea. So instead of taking into account this variance, I thought we'd just say that a bag made one cup of tea, yes? Most tea bag manufacturers suggest brewing a tea bag in an 8 oz cup of water, so that's what I would use as the metric: a cup is 8 oz. For all intents and purposes that seems to be fine.

Things did get a little hairier when it came to loose leaf teas. The amount of tea to make a perfect brew varies, depending almost equally on the types of tea and the preference of the drinker herself. Common wisdom amongst connoisseurs of tea tells us to use between 1.5 to 3 g of loose leafs per 8 0z cup. So, again, since 2 was a good middle number - well, it's 2.25 precisely, but even I was not that retentive - so two it was. Just to test this little assumption, I pulled out my German-made precise scale and measured out 2 grams each of three types of tea, brewed each in a different cup, and tasted them - ok, perhaps I was that retentive. Yes, they tasted like fine teas to me, so 2 g. of leaf per 8 oz cup, that made the operationalized cup of tea in this little experiment.

Here's the breakdown. You might be surprised.

The tea list is sorted from the cheapest to the most expensive per cup price. The ones in Green and marked with (L) are loose leaf teas. Surprising, yes? Tea bags are not exactly cheaper. The Tea Forte stuff, especially, was just extortion. Shameless extortion. Granted, the cute triangular bag was a good idea, and I agreed it would brew a better cup of tea than the conventional bag, but at $2.50 for each bag, that's highway robbery!

And do you know what you are paying all that money for? Well, let me tell you, the contents of tea bags are known in the tea industry as Fannings, or Dust, the two lowest grades of tea leafs, certainly not good by any measure. Fannings are tiny bits of leafs left over after the better grades and larger leafs have been sifted away. Even worse is the grade Dust, which -true to the name for a change- is literally the dust particles of tea leafs that are left at the bottom of the barrel during the manufacturing process. Remind anyone of Marmite? But I digress. Let's get back to tea. Unlike Dust which is always a by product, the Fannings grade is sometimes produced intentionally, by cutting the Broken grade leafs to even smaller size so that they can be brewed quickly in the tight little tea bags. Let's take a look inside them baggies, should we? Go ahead, click on the photo on the left to see what they look like pre-brewing. For this I cut open a bunch of bags and laid out the content, in a side by side comparison with two loose leaf Darjeelings and a cheaper Twinning loose leaf tea - ok, ok, I certainly am that retentive, let's agree on that and move on, shall we? You can also click the one to your right to see what a few of them looked like after brewing, compared to the loose leaf one in the middle. And might I call your attention to the content of the exorbitant Tea For-tay "Floral" bag? The last I checked Floral didn't mean twigs, but then again I could be wrong.

But what do they taste like, that's the important bit, yes? Well, for that I might have to suggest you take Adagio up on their kind offer to send tea samples to you. Do your own side by side comparison of the taste, and hopefully you will see what I mean. Tea bags, in my opinion, brew into brownish liquid that taste more like tobacco than they do tea. Plus, they don't really brew as much as color the hot water immediately on contact, the resulting liquid lacks entirely the complex aroma of leaf teas that develops during the brewing time. Among the ones I tasted in this little experiment, only the fancier Numi and Hampstead, were fine. And though the bag contents of those two teas are decidedly more Broken and Fannings than Dust, at 26 and 29 cents, respectively, they are hardly a good deal, especially compared to the better graded Ceylon from Adagio, at only 14 cents per cup.

So now that both the cheap and good myths are both done away with, how about the other one, tea bags are more convenient, no? Let us consider this carefully, shall we? How much more complicated is loose leaf tea, really? Perhaps the thought of brewing bag-less tea conjures up that quaint image of a little old English lady with her porcelain pot and a caddy and the fussy tea strainer and a pitcher of milk and bowl of sugar and all that. Well, quit it. That's just so not it anymore. Brewing tea is just like any other task in the kitchen, get a proper tool and you are half way there. All you need is a brewing basket or mesh ball, one that fits into your mug, the same beaker you'd use if you were still stuck with the tea bags, that's it.

This what I do when I want a quick cup of tea in the morning. I have a mug that has its own large filter insert that fits perfectly, with a cute lid even. But you certainly don't need it. A mug and a tea ball would do. Not the tiny ones, nor cute fancy shaped ones with mini holes dotted here and there. Those things are far too small and have too few holes to allow the water the circulate, thereby restricting the leafs from openning up and brewing properly. You need a good mesh one, at least 2-inch in diameter, which would be big enough for an 8 oz cup though not for a pot. With a proper infuser to contain the leafs, now all you need to do is to fill it with a scant 2 teaspoon (the measuring teaspoon not your silver spoon) of leafs, add hot water, wait 3 minutes, and there you have it. How complicated is that? You don't even need to wash the filter or mesh ball, soap leaves nasty residue anyway so a quick rinse is enough. The only part that takes noticeably longer is perhaps the two extra minutes you'd need to brew the leafs properly, since they don't darken the water on contact like the dusty stuff in the bags do. So the tea leafs brew just a little longer, so it takes three minutes instead of one or two. So you are right, but so what? If two minutes mean that much to you, I'm sorry, perhaps loose leaf teas are really not for you.

It probably doesn't help that the tea industry is littered with tools that look cute but do not work properly. Don't get me started on huge tea pots with mini infusers! I cannot stress enough the importance of good hot water circulation to allow the tea leafs to open up and brew properly. That's how you get the best taste out of the tea, and the best bang for your buck. I did another little experiment to show you the difference in properly and improperly brewed leafs. I made four pots of tea with the same tea leafs, in the same temperature water, for exactly the same amount of time. The only difference was in the infusers: a large pot insert and three mesh balls, 2, 2.5, and 3-inch. When only brewing with 8 oz of water, just for one cup of tea, there was barely a noticeable difference in the four cups of tea, since even the smallest mesh ball, the 2-inch one, was big enough to allow the leafs to brew properly. But when I tried the second time, with 16 oz water and 4 g of tea leafs, the difference was absolutely noticeable, as you could see in the photo on the left. (Clockwise from bottom right: pot infuser, 3" mesh, 2.5" mesh, and 2" mesh.) The photo to your right is a side by side of the leafs from the largest infuser and the smallest mesh ball. See what I mean?

Brewing up a perfect pot of loose leaf teas is really simple. There are a few general rules that you must familiar yourself with, and a few tools that you'd need to acquire, once you have those down you are all set. You will need a tea pot, and some sort of infuser to contain the leafs. Most of my pots have their own infusers, but that is certainly not necessary, a large mesh ball will work for any pot you have. It is important that the size of the infuser, whichever kind you choose, corresponds to the size of the pot. The goal here, again, is to have a large enough space to allow free circulation of water and for the leafs to unfurl properly. This means your infuser must be big enough for your pot, and must have enough perforation so that water could flow easily through. That means big ceramic or glass infusers with a few decorative holes will not work. You will also need to be able to remove the infuser from the pot after the desired brewing period, leaving the tea leafs in the pot will turn the tea bitter and astringent. Some types of tea leafs can be rebrewed, but they should not be left for an extended period in the pot.

And, as though you need any more reason to quit the bags, let me show you this photo. Do you realize how much waste is generated with tea bags? Here in this photo you could see the huge pile packaging materials needed for barely a half cup of tea. And imagine the energy that wasted on the manufacturing of those paper envelopes, bags, and box, not to mention the extra volume to be transported. I don't mean to be all sanctimonious about this, but considering how much waste we will generate in our collective lifetime, and how unneccesary this particular waste is, perhaps it's time to give it up? Time for a little change?

Frankly, the wonderfully complex world of tea is a great chance for people to get completely geeked out over minute details: water temperature, proper pot, brewing time, brewing style, or even type of water to use! And I'm quite sure I can tea geek just as good as anyone, but all of that is quite superfluous. All you need to know is a few basic rules that will get you started.

Water temperature: boiling hot for black tea, a little less hot for oolong, and even less for delicate green and white tea. And no, you won't need a thermometer for this, all you need to do is boil a pot of water. Use the boiling water immediately on black teas. Leave the boiling water to settle down for a minute or so before you pour it on to oolongs, or even couple more minutes longer for green and white teas.

Measure your tea leafs: How much tea leafs you need will vary, depending on your taste and the types of tea, but you could begin by using between 2-3g of tea leafs per one 8oz cup, and adjust the amount to your taste when you make it later. Different types of leafs vary in volume, but generally 2 g of leafs is about two teaspoons, the measuring teaspoon, not the fancy one in your silver set.

Prep your tea pot and infuser: I'm sorry boys, but size matters on this one: make sure the size of your infuser corresponds to the size of the pot. A good general rule of thumb here is the dry tea leafs needed for the size of the pot should fill less than half of the infuser, but bigger is always better on this one. Pour a bit of hot water over the pot before brewing to warm it up.

Brew the tea: Some people rinse the tea leafs first, by pouring a bit of water directly over the infuser and discard the water. This is to temper the leafs to the temperature of the hot water, as well as rinse out any dust or impurities. But you can easily skip this step. Pour hot water into the pot and set your timer. I suggest you begin by brewing the tea for 3 minutes, then adjust to your taste later. It is also useful to try it a few different times after brewing the tea for 2 minutes -which is generally the shortest suggested time. This way you could judge by yourself how long you'd like your tea to brew.

Remove the leafs: It is important to remove the brewed leafs immediately after the desired brewing period. You could set aside the brewed leafs to make another pot later, but it's not a good idea to leave the leafs in the pot indefinitely.

There you have it. Not that big a deal, is it?
Enjoy your loose tea, and DOWN WITH THE BAG!!!!

P.S. If you would like to get all truly geeky on this subject, I collected a bunch of useful bookmarks on del.icio.us. Check them out.

Comments

[Kate]

Pim - I could not agree with you more. Tea is one of those items that have been subjected to industry "improvements", that actually detract from the tea experience.

Personally I don't use an infuser, choosing instead to strain the leaves out as I pour into my cup, but this is strictly my own preference. As I'm more of a tea person than coffee person, I've had enough experience to eyeball the leaf measurement. For black tea, I find the old British adage of "A teaspoon for each cup and one for the pot" to be a great guideline.

Infusers do work, as you said, in relation to the size of the pot in which the tea is brewed. The trick is to ignore the aesthetics of the infuser and focus strictly on practicality.

Great post!

[Christian]

Pim- Very well put, with just the right quantity of geekness. :-)

As you state explicitly or implicitly in most of your posts, in sensual pursuits like food/wine/tea, it's about the entire experience. There will always be people who are just fine with tea bags and $10 Chardonnays from the grocery store. There will also be other people (myself included) who take great pleasure in the morning tea ritual and hand-selecting specific teas to set the tone for the day (Research and creative day today? A delicate Lung Ching will put you in the proper contemplative frame of mind). I probably spend more time considering my tea choice for the day than my wine choice with dinner from my cellar.

This is not to belittle those who do not consider tea (or wine) worthy of much consideration. They are focused on things they consider more important. I am personally glad for the diversity, as I shudder at the idea of a society where I am contending with an ever-increasing population for less and less good teas. Call me selfish.

Love the post.

Cheers, C

[Rachael]

Tea sounds so lovely when you write about it with such care...

And just to be a little cheeky, (Im just that sort of girl) you start THIS post by saying you are not a snob, but in the post on TASTE TEA you start out saying you ARE! Which is it lady? LOL.

[Fatemeh]

Fun post, Pim.

Sadly, I take my tea-drinking a step further at home.

The persian process is two-step -- brewing the tea (my own blend of Darjeeling, a bit of Earl Grey, and a handful of cardamom pods) quite dark in a smaller teapot. A small amount of the infusion is poured into the cup, and topped off with boiling water.

This allows one to maintain a reserve of tea throughout the day which is important in a Persian household.

[Becks & Posh]

That standard loose leaf tea is cheaper doesn't surprise me in the least. It used to be just as much a working class drink. Those who look down on people who prefer loose leaf tea are totally inverted snobs themselves. When bags first came out, they were a middle class item that the working class could not even afford. I saw this change happen gradually in my own lifetime. I drink from bags for convenience of having tea made for me first thing in the morning, or at work where I don't have proper facilities, but much much prefer it when I have time to make it properly, with loose leaf tea.

In the UK - old ladies would have a pot going all day with a tea cosy to keep the pot warm. I can't think of anything less snobbish than a tea cosy. seriously.

[Becks & Posh]

Hey I just reread again and noticed you slighted my beloved Marmite. Ok - take back everything supportive I said. 8P
;) Now I want you to go and do a scientific Vegiemite v Marmite v Promite v Bovril v Bisto v Oxo Cube tasting. Run along now...

Its a bi-product of a glass of BEER - what can possibly be wrong about that!

[Becks & Posh]

Hey - I am going to contact Marmite personally and see if they will make a deluxe version out of the yeast by-product from the disgorgement of vintage Krug, (instead of beer), just for you. How does that sound?

[Alisa]

This is great. I love your inner geek!

[Pim]

Kate: Thanks.

Fatemeh: That's the way the russians do it with their Samovar too. I'm not convinced that it's the best way to make tea but it is certainly to each her own on that count.

Christian and Alisa: My inner geek says thanks to you both.

Rachael: Oh absolutely there is a shade of snobbery in my tea obsession, waiting with barely contained excitement every year for the release of Summer Flush Darjeeling from the Castleton estate, that certainly qualifies. But the fact that I only drink loose leaf teas alone is hardly a cause to call me a snob. That was the misunderstanding I wanted to correct. ;-)

cheerio,
Pim

[Pim]

Sam dahling,

You cannot possibly be a lifelong lover of Marmite and be this thin-skinned about it. Aren't you used to it by now? Of course people make fun of Marmite, even the Marmite company made fun of it in their ads. Marmite has got to be the only product in the world whose ads proclaim, you're either going to love it or hate it and there is no half way about it. In fact I rather admire this. I wouldn't want to inspire apathy either.

Hey, I do fall on the hate it side, even if it were made of disgorgement from Krug as you said, it would still be disgusting to me. Hey, I love fish sauce and head cheese, so it's not really about where it came from. It's the fact that it still tastes pretty much like disgorgement, now that is the problem.

cheers,
Pim

[Pim]

ahem...and Sam dear, Krug isn't really my favorite champagne anyway. It's Salon...in fact, I think there is an 88 Le Mesnil hiding somewhere in the frige right about now...must go look, ta...

:-P

[Becks & Posh]

hang on a tick - I'll be over straight away to help you out, and I promise to leave my marmite at home...

[Becks & Posh]

ps of course i am not thin-skinned. how could i be? But it's an easy thing to take a jab at. Fred wont come near me, let alone kiss me after I've eaten it.
it's just me and my marmite seem to have become a bit of an internet in-joke recently in some circles
so i have to defend it with zealour at every opportunity for the sake of my character.

now what about marmite sandwiches for the picnic???

[Dulce]

Okay, I confess. There is only ONE reason that I drink tea from teabags. You're right, the tea made with loose leaves tastes much better ... but I HATE (loathe, revile, despise... did I mention YUCK) the gummy wet blob of limpid leaves that you have to scoop out of whatever you put them into, be it a ball infuser, cylinder infuser, or just loose in the pot. It is just not possible to get them out without digging your fingers into the muck and, that, for me, is so UN-conducive to a nice cuppa, that I succumb to tea bags. Well, I guess that puts me firmly in the gourmand category instead of gourmet ... either that, or I need to get a butler.
Agreeing to disagree, but I love your blog, Pym!

[Elena]

Thank you so much Pim, this is exactly what I was looking for.

[Charlotte]

I can't really drink much coffee -- makes me shake and my tummy hurt -- but I'm a dedicated tea person. I searched far and wide for a good teapot, which I eventually found at Target of all places. Here's how the tea ritual works in my house in the morning. First I take the teapot outside and dump yesterdays leaves in the garden where they make terrific mulch. Then I pick a big handful of mint and smush it around. Into the pot it goes with two big pinches of China Black loose tea from my local food co-op, and one teaspoonful of demarrara sugar for the pot. It's fabulous hot in the early morning, and lasts most of the day as iced tea ... My other variant is made with lovely ordinary Taiwan green Oolong from Ten Ren ...

[Maureen Hay]

Dulce -

They do make empty tea bags for loose tea. They are long enough to reach from bottom to top of cup or pot. I use the pot sized ones to make a cup. I use the infuser if I have clean up time, bag if not, or if I'm making multiple cups of different teas for guests.

Pim - just blog surfing - really enjoyed yours.

[Rose]

What a wonderful analysis of the teabag debate.

I've always known loose teas to be of much higher quality and better priced, but it's great to see someone take the initiative to prove it.

My choice has always been loose leaves, but it's true that sometimes it's just not convienent or even available. I found this to be the case at school, where there is no room for a pot.

In some aspects, tea brewing and drinking is a ritual for me. The whole process is quite cathartic really. If I've been through a rough day, I feel I'm purging away those emotions when I brew and drink.

Lovely work Pim.

[jimmy-in-Seattle]

Pim.....So which tea has the most caffeine??...I think that's of interest these days. Wouldn't you agree?....Thanks........Jimmy-in-Seattle

[sheeser-girl]

brava, pim! long live tea and those who drink it (properly)...

as for jimmy's query on caffeine, i think japan's high-quality "gyokuro" green tea must be somewhere near the top of the list with about 160 mg of caffeine per 100 ml. i think black teas have an average of about 50 mg and medium-ground coffee about 40 mg per 100 ml. oolong tea has about 20 mg.

i've never really worried about caffeine content though, and i think drinking a few cups of gyokuro a day is the secret to long life.

[Fatemeh]

Sam,

You and I can revel in Marmite sandwiches at the picnic together. Lightly toasted, spread thickly with butter and thinly with Marmite.

[Barbara]

Amen, Sister Pim--testify!

I despise tea bags and always have.

The brew resulting from them tastes like paper. Or string. I can taste the damned paper. Drives me bats.

Hey, if drinking loose tea makes us snobs (just like eating local organic food makes us snobs), let us be snobs and be proud of it.

[Alder]

Ha. Harold would be proud!

[Ségolene]

Bravo and thanks for this post.
It's exactly I h've written on my blog.
Leaves tea is really better than a tea bag because leaves are different forms and smells according to origins and gardens. In a bag this is a dust who gives a more tannic drink.It's also too expensive.
And what a plaesure to prepare a tea, even at early morning.

[Bumblebee]

What a fantastic scientific investigation! My previous arguments had been for the convenience of teabags (I use them at work, but not at home) - I'm ready to charge out and buy a teapot for work!

[Fannie]

A fantastic and informative post! I made the switch to loose leaf teas a few years ago and was amazed at the wonderful selection (I noticed a Mariage Freres tin hiding in the background of one of your pictures, do you have a favorite?) and the texture of "real" tea leaves.

My personal favorite pot is the Japanese Bee House, which has a removable mesh infuser and is dishwasher safe.

cheers

[owen]

Very nice post, Pim!

I can add one more thing to your tea geekiness. It also helps explain a little why Sam and I both do drink tea-bag tea when more convenient to do so. British tea bags (even the same brand in a box that looks the same) are different than American tea bags. You are shocked, I know, that commerical enterprises would be so cynical about what they could fob off on Americans.

The differences are: 1) British tea bags typically (on average not in every particular) hold more tea per bag.
2) British tea bags contain a higher grade of tea - where American are dust or fannings, British are fannings or broken.

Also, no self-respecting British tea bag user would let it sit for only a minute - tea is tea - it still takes three minutes!

Having said all that, you are right of course...

Oh - British tea bags are different in one more way - price. I get Sainsbury's Ceylon bags mailed to me by my Mum - They are 2.49 for 80 bags (thats pounds stirling) which works out to about 6 cents a cup using your formula. But I'm pretty sure that loose leaf is also cheaper there. Just like bread and beer and some other things.

[David]

I've been a convert to loose tea for a while (and having La Maison des Trois Thés within walking distance doesn't hurt either...) but I also don't like removing the icky cold, wet, spent tea leaves with my hand to clean the pot. Next time you're in town, let's make it a date (no, not that kind of date!...wrong David...) to get me a tea strainer.

[anthony]

I like my tea loose and my women hot, or something. Excellence in the pursuit of knowledge Pim, you are a true friend of the Enlightenment.

Can't say I've seen much tea-based discrimination in Australia. Drinkers of tea in pots are usually regarded as specialists; in the same field as people who work on their car in the weekend. It's an amiable coexixtence. Unlike the freshly brewed, instant coffee divide. Instant coffee is dried on the breath of satan I'm sure. People I know flinch when they tell me they've only got instant. Pure decency stops me form striking them.

[derek]

Pim,

Thanks for the tea notes. I admit to having a box of Red Rose in my pantry for the purposes of making iced tea, but otherwise am wholly converted to loose leaf.

For tea education, esp Darjeeling, it's worth seeking out the multi-part Darjeeling article by Kevin Gascoyne in Art of Eating published over a few issues a year or two back. Really fascinating.

Might I also point out one of the other big factor affecting tea flavor: the freshness of the tea leaves. As your measurements show, when you buy loose-leaf bulk tea, you get many more servings than when you buy bags, which means that the tea ends up sitting around your cupboard longer. Premium teas can degrade noticably in six months, which means drinking a lot of the same tea or buying it in smaller quantities (at a higher per-serving cost). Even though I know better, I cannot bring myself to throw out some two or three year old oolong sitting in my kitchen.

Also, I used to do as you say and just let my hot water sit in the kettle for a few minutes, assuming that it cooled down sufficiently. When I finally broke out the thermometer, I discovered that it was still over 200 degrees! After some experimenting, I found that a couple of my favorite greens brew best at around 160, much lower than usually recommended. All the rich 'umami' flavors disappeared when it was brewed warmer.

Lastly, two more sources for good tea: Kyela Tea and Camellia Sinensis.

[Yaroon]

Excellent. Great photodocumentation. A 3 inch mesh!!! Who would've thought. I'm brewing right now.

In the past 3 years, I've become an increasingly ardent fan of the uneconomical Le Palais Des Thes. In the last year, they began shipping state-side after opening a store in Beverly Hills. Try them out.

[Stella]

In defense of tea bags (although I agree, I only use when when I have to or when I have something I need to leave the tea in longer for.. like jasmine infused annin-tofu syrup) if you happen to go to Japan and buy the loose tea there, it is cheaper, but they use the same thing in their tea bags, it's just more expensive for the tea bag. It is, again, a better shape that most and it IS Japan so we appreciate our tea.

But at least you know you're getting the same quality from the tea bags as they sell in the loose leaf the offer...
but then again, muji quality tea isn't the best you can get!

[Stephanie]

Sam is soooo right about leaf tea not having been a snobbish thing in the UK -- it does depend on your generation. My Gran couldn't get her head round teabags -- she tried them once and then snipped one open in the belief it was designed to hold the right amount of leaves for a perfect brew :) She hated the result when she tried the brewing with the whole bag.
I'm with you on this, Pym!

[Bettina]

I am wondering if anyone has used the teastick, which is like a tea ball but more convenient. For those in the know, would it allow enough room for a good brew? I am a lazy tea person, so this could make me change my habits!

http://www.gamilacompany.com/tea/teastick.html

[Stephanie L]

Like Maureen, I too use empty sachets. You get all the convenience of teabags but are able to use loose tea. I wonder how much of a difference it makes to use those vs. a teapot + infuser?

[clare eats]

LOOVVVEEDDD this post, I have been prosetylising tea abit myself too lately :)
I have a 2 teacup plunger which is perfect for one, I can drink from a tea cup, easy to make and clean and I get fabulous first flush darjeeling :)

[Pim]

Thanks you all for the comments.

Maureen and Stephanie: I use those empty tea bags myself. The japanese kind that is like a little envelope that flips over to close. It works ok for my travels. The same problem with the regular bags remains though, since the bag tends to collapse around the tea as it gets wet, it doesn't give the tea leaves enough room to brew properly. It still works better than the commercial bags, since I could control the quality of the teas, but it's not ideal.

Bettina: I've never seen that. It looks swanky enough though. Perhaps I need to give it a try.

cheers,
Pim

[Jim]

Any opinion on Revolution Tea (http://www.revolutiontea.com/) which uses "premium, full-leaf tea" in their bags? I don't know about premium, but I do see decent-size leaves or pieces of leaves in there.

[Jason Truesdell]

The green teas that I sell use the same leaves in the teabags as in the loose leaf, but most companies are using broken leaves, which are usually cheaper and, in the case of black tea, infuse faster at the expense of complexity of flavor. Most companies put second- or third-harvest teas in their teabags.

Since you don't generally have to pay staffing costs or commercial rent to make your own tea, the most expensive loose-leaf teas in the world still end up cheaper per-cup than what you would pay for a low-grade tea served to you in a typical coffee or tea shop. Let's say you buy an extravagant tea at $200/lb; it works out to about 88 cents per cup, or about $1.32 if you use 3 grams per serving.

Teabags will absolutely always be more expensive than loose tea if comparing the same grade. The materials and packing process costs the manufacturer more. Packages filled with teabags take up more space, and therefore cost more to ship.

Most teabags contribute an unwanted flavor from the paper, too. But I do like nylon, silk, and corn-based teabags, as long as the tea inside is any good. I don't buy them to save money, though; usually it's when I'm traveling (I rarely carry teapots with me when on business or personal trips), or sometimes when I'm at my office, where I don't necessarily have a teapot handy.

Pyramid-style teabags, which a lot of companies are using, are very helpful especially for green and oolong teas, which require a lot of room for expansion. But a pretty package doesn't necessarily guarantee a good tea, and most companies using these tea bags are spending as much on the packaging as on the tea inside. So it takes some experimenting to find the good stuff... It's probably cheaper to experiment by buying loose leaf teas :)

Although they don't always store teas ideally, your local tea shop will almost always be willing to sell you 2 oz. of loose tea at a time, and that should give you a chance to try lots of teas at costs lower than teabags.

[happi]

I'm a bit late here, but.... I'm hoping you still check this thread from time to time and can help me figure something out, since I know you are a shameless francophile ;-) and a "hors pair" scientist. You undoubtedly know that in France, tea-drinkers speak of "théine" and swear that it is different than "caffeine." But I cannot find any confirmation of this. Can your well-honed scientific mind shed some light on this ? Many thanks.

[Heidi]

I know this is an older post, but I've just discovered your blog and I'm cruising through the archives. What an excellent post! I've been accused of tea snobbery as well, especially at cafes that want to charge you $2.00 for a cup of tea and then pull down a box of tea bags! Shameless!

Thank you so much for taking the time to experiment and document it for the rest of us!

[Md. Mahbubur Rahman]

With due respect we would like to introduce ourself as a leading Bangladesh based importer.

We want to import empty tea bag. Please let us know could you supply us empty tea bag.

awaiting yours very kinds reply.

Best regards.

Md. Mahbubur Rahman
Managing Partner
Arcadia International
Dhaka, Bangladesh,

[Jessica]

Thank you for doing so much research, with pictures and everything! I used to drink loose-leaf tea but have recently started using bags because people give me tea (bags) as gifts and I became lazy. But you're right, there's a huge difference in taste.

[Kimberly]

I am looking for the Loose Leaf Tea Bags and a price on them. I have several people with RA that can't use the Tea Ball because of the intense pain. So if you could, please when you have time, let me know how to order and how much they are... GOD Bless
Kimberly

[Jeb Archer]

What people dont realise is that green homes and buildings are not only worth more (resale value) but are creating more reveneu as well. Higher occupancy rates paired with higher rental premiums equals more money in VC's pockets.
www.initred.com

[Liz]

Let me Loose!

Britain’s daily newspapers bid “Happy 100th Birthday” to the tea bag on 13th July 2008, with William Gorman, Executive Chair of the Tea Council quoted as saying that there is no way we’d have the time or inclination to make tea “the old way” with today’s busy lifestyles. Tetley’s Director of Corporate Communications added to the praise of the tea bag by telling us that getting up in time to measure the leaves, brew our tea, strain it and clear away the tea leaves just doesn’t have the same appeal.

It’s all about rushing, grabbing a quick cuppa, an easy life – or so we’re told. What they failed to mention, however, is that frankly some of the ‘tea’ in the ‘great British tea bag’ is so poor it’s no wonder our supermarkets can sell packs of 80 for 31p. We’re also told that Tetley alone uses enough tissue to make its tea bags every week to cover 128 football pitches. Isn’t that just a colossal waste of resources?

Many Britons today are, in fact, considerably more discerning, don’t want to spend their lives at high speed, clutching hastily made mugs of tea made by dunking a tea bag unceremoniously into hot water, and care about the quality of the tea they consume. We’ve heard of the slow food movement, well all hail slow tea! It tastes good, it’s relaxing to sit down over a pot of ‘proper’ tea and, in today’s world, there are many solutions to the perceived problem of the leaves. Internal strainers, Bodum-style teapots, ‘magic’ teapots that strain your brewed tea magically into the cup, to name but a few. Come to mention it, the clever old tea strainer is quite effective and the leaves are great for composting.

So, as the tea bag celebrates its centenary, maybe it better watch out as its old enemy the loose leaf is re-gaining its popularity. Margaret Thornby, long time researcher of quality tea rooms and Editor of tea talk magazine tells us,

“Loose leaf tea consumption may still be, by far, enjoyed by a minority but I’m certain it’s steadily growing in popularity. Tea rooms, delis and cafés are casting aside the tea bag in favour of good, fashioned loose leaf tea served in a teapot. Some do use ‘modern’ teapots with internal strainers; some bring a timer to your table so you know when the brew is ready. After all, is three minutes so very long to wait for our favourite brew? I think not.”

[Claudia]

Hi Pim,
I agree with all my heart, there just can be no doubt about which is better, bags or loose leaf. I do use bags at home and I have to agree with on e of the earlier comments that English teabags in general are of better quality than what you get elsewhere in Europe. I'm German and just stopped drinkin tea outside of my home because most Cafés use only teabags. Since coffee doesn't agree with me, though, and I don't like it much I sometimes succumb to the craving for a hot and milky and comforting cup of black tea and I order one. Well, I try to just erase those episodes from my mind. In Germany there are usually some Cafés that serve average quality loose tea, but they rarely offer more than one type. More often you will see them taking out a "Teekanne" or "Messmer" teabag and that ist when my tastebuds shut down and hide. The quality sold in those bags is so bad it should be illegal to call it black tea. It just bleeds some colour into the water and turns it bitter. I always order English teabags via mail and get my father to send me loose leaf tea from a shop in Berlin where he lives. I just can't even begin to describe the peace and calm it brings to my heart to go to a decent tea room with my dad, order a pot from a selection of teas and then breathe in the complex perfume rising from the freshly brewed tea. It's like time stops for me then and I can take a break and busy myself just concentrating on preparing my tea to perfection and savouring every sip. When I prepare it at home I use those huge paper bags mentioned before but i own a plastic device that holds the bag open, so it doesn't collapse when the water is poured and the leaves have room to open properly http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://www.teehausshop.de/produkte/s/5005.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.teehausshop.de/detail1.asp%3FErweitert%3D(Leer)%26Hauptkategorie%3DZubehoer%26Unterkategorie%3DTee-Filter%2BPapier%252FBaumwolle&h=120&w=112&sz=3&hl=de&start=7&um=1&tbnid=jN4v1zQxtvggwM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteefilterhalter%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DN. That is, to me, no snobbery at all but just a decision for slowing down your life sometimes and not doing things in a hurry. That's why I don't like all these coffee-to-go-joints they try to convince you that eating and drinking should be done in a rush and not take up much of your time.
That's my two cents, sorry for rambling it's just a pain in the neck for me to never be able to get a good cup of tea where I live. My mom has a great teapot by the way: http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kaffeeshop24.de/images/medium/mono44_500.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kaffeeshop24.de/accessoires_teekanne_mono.htm&h=180&w=180&sz=6&hl=de&start=11&um=1&tbnid=1n_ClUj3PtljxM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteekanne%2Bglas%2Bfilio%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DG
where the filter is almost as big as the pot.
Cheers to you Pim for making the investigation

[Claudia]

Hi Pim,
I agree with all my heart, there just can be no doubt about which is better, bags or loose leaf. I do use bags at home and I have to agree with on e of the earlier comments that English teabags in general are of better quality than what you get elsewhere in Europe. I'm German and just stopped drinkin tea outside of my home because most Cafés use only teabags. Since coffee doesn't agree with me, though, and I don't like it much I sometimes succumb to the craving for a hot and milky and comforting cup of black tea and I order one. Well, I try to just erase those episodes from my mind. In Germany there are usually some Cafés that serve average quality loose tea, but they rarely offer more than one type. More often you will see them taking out a "Teekanne" or "Messmer" teabag and that ist when my tastebuds shut down and hide. The quality sold in those bags is so bad it should be illegal to call it black tea. It just bleeds some colour into the water and turns it bitter. I always order English teabags via mail and get my father to send me loose leaf tea from a shop in Berlin where he lives. I just can't even begin to describe the peace and calm it brings to my heart to go to a decent tea room with my dad, order a pot from a selection of teas and then breathe in the complex perfume rising from the freshly brewed tea. It's like time stops for me then and I can take a break and busy myself just concentrating on preparing my tea to perfection and savouring every sip. When I prepare it at home I use those huge paper bags mentioned before but i own a plastic device that holds the bag open, so it doesn't collapse when the water is poured and the leaves have room to open properly http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://www.teehausshop.de/produkte/s/5005.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.teehausshop.de/detail1.asp%3FErweitert%3D(Leer)%26Hauptkategorie%3DZubehoer%26Unterkategorie%3DTee-Filter%2BPapier%252FBaumwolle&h=120&w=112&sz=3&hl=de&start=7&um=1&tbnid=jN4v1zQxtvggwM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteefilterhalter%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DN. That is, to me, no snobbery at all but just a decision for slowing down your life sometimes and not doing things in a hurry. That's why I don't like all these coffee-to-go-joints they try to convince you that eating and drinking should be done in a rush and not take up much of your time.
That's my two cents, sorry for rambling it's just a pain in the neck for me to never be able to get a good cup of tea where I live. My mom has a great teapot by the way: http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kaffeeshop24.de/images/medium/mono44_500.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kaffeeshop24.de/accessoires_teekanne_mono.htm&h=180&w=180&sz=6&hl=de&start=11&um=1&tbnid=1n_ClUj3PtljxM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteekanne%2Bglas%2Bfilio%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DG
where the filter is almost as big as the pot.
Cheers to you Pim for making the investigation

[Sie Whange]

It is amazing story of blog.I agree with your suggestion.Tea is one of those items that have been subjected to industry "improvements", that actually detract from the tea experience.

[Fernabelle]

Fabulous blog, Pim!

I am totally hooked on a whole leaf coconut pouchong tea produced by Golden Moon Teas in Redmond, WA. It is an expensive addiction but well worth it for anyone who loves coconut and/or flavored green teas.

A quick tea question, Pim: I could have sworn I saw a post on Thai Iced Tea, but now I can't find it using the site search function. Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks!!!