Loose Tea or Tea Bags?
Almost all tea lovers begin their journey with tea bags. Not only can they be found everywhere, but they're also very convenient. If you become a tea drinker by trying tea bags, at some point you'll also want to try loose-leaf tea. And that's where, for most tea lovers, all the magic begins. What's the difference between loose tea and tea bags?
Tea bags are known for being quick, easy, and convenient; but loose-leaf tea is 100% natural, unprocessed, and packed with health benefits and antioxidants . So, let's break down the real differences between loose-leaf tea and tea bags.
To do so, we'll discuss the history of tea bags and the main production methods used to maintain consumer demand. Finally, we'll discuss the properties of loose tea leaves and the quality of tea you can expect to find inside commercial tea bags.
History of tea bags
Tea bags began to appear in 1904, but were not widely marketed until 1908. This success was achieved by a tea merchant named Thomas Sullivan, who shipped tea samples around the world in hand-sewn silk bags. Sullivan did this because it was more economical than shipping and packaging loose-leaf bulk tea in metal tins. 
Loose leaf tea was supposed to be removed from the silk bag for brewing, but customers found it easier to brew the tea in the bag. So, when customers returned to Mr. Sullivan for tea, they asked him to send it packaged in tea bags.
As the popularity and demand for tea bags grew, tea merchants and producers looked for ways to reduce costs and increase production. Since customers were shown to care more about the convenience of the tea bag than the quality of the tea, commercial tea producers switched to the CTC* method of machine tea production to keep up with demand for tea bags.
Tea producers began using lower quality tea and began crushing the leaves to fit into small tea bags that could be machine-made , sealed with plastic or glue, and packaged with tags and string for a more marketable package design in the grocery store than loose leaf tea.
If you'd like to learn more about the differences between the traditional artisanal method and the industrial CTC production method, you can visit our " How is tea produced? " page.
Differences between loose tea and tea bags
Loose tea is better for the environment
Recently, in the BBC series War on Plastic, scientists conducted an experiment in which they placed tea bags in a chemical solution for five days to dissolve any material except plastic. It revealed that some of the UK's leading tea brands, such as Twinings, Tetley, and Yorkshire Tea, contained a layer of plastic called polypropylene in their tea bags. This plastic takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years to properly decompose.
Loose tea, on the other hand, does not contain this plastic , so you can drink it with peace of mind knowing that no unnecessary plastic waste was produced in the making of your cup.
Loose tea is of better quality
Unlike tea bags, loose tea isn't mass-produced or industrially processed. This means it tends to taste fresher and of higher quality.
Typically, tea bags are mass-produced in large quantities, often spending months or even years on the shelf before distribution and consumption . Unlike loose-leaf bulk tea, tea bags are actually "dust and bits"—small pieces of tea leaves left over from the production of whole-leaf tea. These broken bits often lose their essential oils more quickly, meaning the tea loses its freshness and flavor.
By steeping loose tea, you can see and discover things about your tea that you can't when steeping powdered tea from tea bags. You can see exactly which part of the tea plant you're drinking: buds, larger or smaller leaves, whole branches, or just leaves . You can also judge the tea leaf by its color and shape . This isn't possible with tea bags.
Loose tea tastes better
Tea bags use a blend of leaves from multiple regions and flavors for standardization. This means that the price of the tea is more important than the quality and complexity of its flavor profile. Not only that, but bagged teas may contain unwanted stems and seeds from the tea plant as part of the production process, which can give the tea a bitter taste.
Loose tea is cheaper
Regular tea bags typically contain between 1 and 2 grams of tea. A box containing 20 tea bags may only contain 20 to 40 grams of tea. A tea bag is good for a single infusion because the tea particles in the bags release their full flavor during the first infusion.
On the other hand, many types of loose tea can be re-infused and even prepared in different ways to enjoy different flavor profiles. This means that the price per cup of loose tea, despite being higher quality, is often lower than that of tea bags.
RELATED INFORMATION
Where to buy loose tea?
You can buy loose tea at a specialty tea shop. At Replantea, we package all of our loose teas , and they're all certified organic . If you'd like to learn more about the importance of drinking organic tea, you can visit our " Why Organic Tea" page.
These are the main varieties of tea you can find at Replantea:
Organic White Tea | Organic Green Tea | Organic Matcha Tea | Organic Blue Tea | Organic Black Tea | Organic Red Tea or Pu-Er | Organic Rooibos | Organic Herbal Teas
Sources
- A Brief History of the Tea Bag . Time, History, Food & Drink.
- Microplastics: Premium teabags leak billions of particles . BBCNews.
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