Loose Leaf Tea vs. Teabags
First, let’s see what the differences between loose leaf tea and teabags are. Before we get to the taste, the first difference between loose leaf tea and teabags is that you usually don’t get all of the information about the tea you’re drinking, like its origin, from tea bags. Another thing about tea from teabags is that the leaves are lower quality, usually machine picked and that means you’re not getting the same level of accuracy in terms of choosing which leaves and buds are going to be a part of your tea. So things like twigs and insects can be picked up into the machine. That’s why if you do buy teabags instead of loose leaf tea, make sure it’s the highest quality and organic. The second thing about teabags that makes it inferior to loose leaf tea is the fact that it’s usually turned into a powder and if it’s turned into a powder, it has a large surface area so it brews really quickly. That is one of the reasons why people like teabags, because of its quick brewing. But the problem with that is it releases all of the bitter notes much faster than if you’re brewing loose leaf. So it’s much more likely that you’ll get a very bitter tea. Also, you can’t do multiple infusions of a teabag because all of the flavor is released in the first infusion. Another obvious thing is that you simply can’t see what’s in a teabag and you can’t really appreciate your tea as much whereas you can look at your loose leaf tea, see what’s in it and how it was picked. You can see more difference after the brewing of the tea. Loose leaf tea is much more clear and translucent whereas the teabag one is usually much more cloudy and different in color. But what matters the most is definitely the taste. Loose leaf tea is usually much more flavorful, tasty, and fresh, whereas teabag tea can have a bitter or a sour taste, very dry. The only downside to loose leaf tea is that it’s more complicated to brew. You need infusers and it takes a bit more time to do it. That’s why teabags are so popular; they are simple to use and quick. So the conclusion is that loose leaf tea is of higher quality, but if you still want to use teabags because it’s simply more convenient to you, make sure to use high quality teabag tea. In this its teabag tea you can actually see the contents of the tea which ensures its quality and the tea inside is not powder which means it’s high-quality tea.
How To Keep Your Loose Leaf Tea Between Infusions?
Loose leaf tea can be infused multiple times so it’s important to maintain as much of the aroma and the flavor in the leaf. So if you’re throwing away your tea leaves after the first use, you’re not maximizing the amount of flavor that you can extract from the leaf. The maximum time you can wait between the infusions, before the leaves start to go bad can vary. But the optimum time is up to 12 hours. There are a couple of ways you can store your loose leaf tea. The best one is to keep it dry between infusions, so just leave it to air dry after use. You can also cover the leaves to keep them wet or store it in the fridge, but the results won’t be as good and you’ll lose a bit of flavor and your tea will be a bit dry.
Using Infusers To Brew Your Tea
Using infusers is the easiest way to brew your loose leaf tea. You simply place your tea in the infuser and drop it into hot water. Brewing time depends on the tea you’re using. For white and green tea, it’s best to brew them from 2-4 minutes in almost boiling water. Black tea takes 3-5 minutes to brew in boiling water. Oolong and herb teas take the longest, 5-7 minutes in boiling water. But that also depends on your taste so you can experiment with those times and find what tastes best for you.
Awesome Unique Infusers For Tea Brewing
What better shape there is for a tea infuser than an actual teapot? This mini teapot is made from stainless steel and it has a convenient chain you can use to easily put it in and out. Simply put your tea into the pot and wait for the tea to brew.
This miniature stainless steel house is a great help for brewing your tea and it’s also an awesome accessory. For best effect, use your tea house tea infuser in a glass teacup; it will look like the tea house is submerged in a strange underwater universe.
