I drink only fresh loose leaf tea. Why?
Quite simply, because it tastes far superior to tea bag tea. And
like a fine wine, tea leaves retain their distinctive flavour and
characteristics.
Tea has been drunk for over two thousand years without a tea
bag! Tea bags, are in fact, a relatively recent creation. In the early 1900’s
Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea merchant sent out tea samples in small gauze
bags. His customers placed these bags in their cups with hot water, and voila
the tea bag was born!
Never tried loose leaf tea? Why not? Is it the cost, the
convenience, or is it too difficult and messy to make? The answer is no.
Loose leaf tea is not expensive! Of course there are some really
pricy teas on the market but there are also some excellent teas reasonably
priced, and don't forget you can infuse the tea leaves several times, so it
probably works out less expensive, a better deal, and certainly a better
tasting, healthier cup of tea.
Loose leaf tea is no more difficult to manage than a tea bag.
Yes you have to measure it yourself and it may take a few attempts to achieve
the best leaf to water ratio for your taste. But in general it’s
one teaspoon of loose leaf tea to a 6oz cup. Experiment. It wont take you long
to discover the right amount of tea to use to brew your perfect cup if tea.
And in fact, it is no more difficult to scoop the fresh tea
leaves in to the infuser, teapot or cup as it is to drop in a tea bag! And you
can use the leaves more than once and when you are finally finished with them
they make an excellent fertiliser for the garden!
Do you think it takes too long to make loose leaf tea? It is just the same as with a tea bag. You
boil the water, place the tea in the
pot, steep the tea, remove the tea and enjoy a delicious fresh tasting cup of
tea.
And you don't need any special equipment. Just a tea pot, and if
you don't have a teapot you can use your favourite cup, mug or glass.
And there is of course a huge taste difference. You just need to
make sure that the loose leaves have room to expand and absorb the water as
they infuse. The water flowing through the leaves can then extract the wide
range of vitamins and minerals, flavours and aromas.
The lower grade tea generally used in teabags together with the
fannings and dust are smaller pieces of tea and have a larger surface area than
whole leaves which means that the essential oils and vitamins evaporate to
leave the tea tasting dull, stale and sometimes bitter. Tea bags also tend to
be blended mixed tea so you always get a cup of tea tasting the same and
lacking the subtlety and full flavour of loose tea.
Loose leaf teas may be from a single region or even a single
part of a whole estate. It’s flavour, aroma and appearance my
vary from year to year. There is a far larger range of flavour and aroma
available for loose leaf tea as there is from standardised tea bag blends.
So, how to trash the bags and switch to loose leaf tea? It may
seem overwhelming at first, but just think about which flavour profiles you
like and seek them out. Read the tea product information on-line and match to
your taste. For example, do you prefer black tea or green tea or something with
a definite flavour, like jasmine? If you
prefer black tea, try some different black
loose leaf tea, like lapsang souchong. And don’t forget, tea
sample packs are a great way to try out a new tea.
Of course if you want, you can invest in some nice new tea ware
to go with your chosen loose leaf tea but you can just use what you already
have! Experiment! Try some different teas. You may prefer a certain tea in the
morning and a different one at lunch time and in the evening to relax and
unwind. Follow your taste. Enjoy a quality, fresh, flavoursome cup of loose
leaf tea. You’ll never look at teabags in the same way again!!!!
