Did you know that the world over, tea connoisseurs prefer to buy whole leaf loose tea then use tea bags? There are many reasons why they prefer whole leaf tea, let us explain the basic differences that put loose leaf teas above tea bags.
The basic difference
Loose leaf teas are known as Whole Leaf teas are mainly whole unbroken leaves. While the tea that is put into tea bags is mainly dust and fannings which are lower grade teas.
Sorting of grades
During the manufacturing process, tea is sorted into various grades. This is done to optimize the produce, after all, you will want the top monies for the best and as the grade comes down so do the prices.
Tea Bags and its materials
More often than once you would have used a tea bag which looks like this:
This type of tea bag is called a single/double chamber tea bag, as you can see there is very little space and the tea leaves are constrained from expanding, which will result in lesser flavor and aroma. The material used also at times prevents the natural unfurling of tea leaves. There is no such issue when you brew loose leaf in a pot or an infuser.
If you are buying tea, you would obviously want the tea to be fresh. Tea bags are produced in mass large scale and goes through the regular supply chain of warehouse, stockists and finally your neighborhood store.
Loose leaf teas give you the opportunity to steep/ brew the tea multiple times for several cups of tea, depending upon the experience of the brewer. While tea bags are one-time use only.
Whole leaf teas allow the tea leaves to expand fully in hot water, it allows the leaf to unfurl. The hot water extracts the aroma and flavor from the leaves and gives you enhanced taste. Consider this that, tea bags is a one-time use, it has a flavor profile meant for a strong brew.
Teacupsfull is a leading tea boutique which buys select lots of teas from prize-winning estates in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Assam and Dooars. The teas are brought to their packaging center in Gurgaon, where the teas are further sorted and packaged into reusable pouches which are put in artfully packaged air-tight canisters that protect the untarnished whole leaf.