Loose Leaf Tea vs Teabags

There's a reason behind loose leaf tea blends being labelled 'premium' and are slightly more expensive than tea bags.

Without generalising, let's get straight to the facts.

"Loose-leaf" tea is made of pure broken tea leaves, so when we infuse this tea into a hot liquid - the leaves expand. This allows the liquid to flow through the leaves and extract a wide range of vitamins, minerals, flavors, and aromas from the leaves.

On the other hand, teabags are made from low tea grades, such as dust and fannings. Dust and fannings are smaller pieces of tea, so they have a larger surface area than whole leaves. A larger surface area means more opportunities for the essential oils (what makes tea flavorful and aromatic) to evaporate, leaving the tea dull and stale. Freshness can be a major issue with typical teabags for this reason, especially if they are packed in a paper box with paper wrapping.

Leaf tea can seem overwhelming at first, but with the help of a friendly teashop (try Essence Tea's Teapot for One) and a few easy tips, finding and brewing teas you’ll love is easy. First, think about which flavor profiles you like in tea and then seek them out in loose tea. If you prefer black tea, try black loose-leaf teas. If you like flavoured teas, try herbal and caffeine free teas. If you drink what you love and infuse in something that’s beautiful and sensible for you, you’ll never look at teabags the same way again.