Introduction

Tea, however it is prepared, is a blessing in a cup! Some tea connoisseurs prefer brews made from loose tea leaves; for others, tea bags are a lifesaver; and still others enjoy both as and when time allows. Tea bags vs. loose leaf tea has been a source of contention since the invention of tea bags. Let's take a look at the main distinctions between them!

Teabags or loose leaf teas?

Isn't the answer pretty straightforward? It is what you prefer!

However, there is a good chance that others will prefer teas that are opposed to yours.

So it's not entirely one-sided after all.

Both loose leaf and tea bags have advantages and disadvantages. Let's take a look and see which tea works best for you.

Loose-leaf teas

Loose-leaf tea  is tea that is brewed without the use of a teabag. When steeping loose-leaf tea, there should be enough space for the tea leaves to absorb water and expand as they infuse. This allows water to flow through the leaves, extracting a variety of vitamins, minerals, flavors, and aromas.

Loose-leaf  teas provide far superior tea quality than tea bags and are the primary reason to prefer loose leaf tea to tea bags. Even low-quality leaves have a better flavor and aroma, as well as more nutrients than any standard tea bag.

If you're used to drinking tea from a bag, you'll be blown away by the difference. Having uninjured whole leaves (or large portions of the leaf) allows the full flavor and aroma profile of the tea to be released. 

The goodness of loose leaf tea, however, comes at a cost, the most expensive of which is the difficulty in brewing. While it is possible to brew some teas directly in the vessel and drink them with the leaves still inside, many people prefer not to.

This leaves you with the option of using a strainer to keep the leaves out of the cup.

You must consider the number of leaves used, the temperature of the water, and the steeping time. It takes a lot of thought, so many people don't bother and just use bags.

Nonetheless, it is not as difficult as it appears, and a simple strainer can be purchased for a few dollars at most.

Teabags

The Tea Bags were discovered by accident by a New York tea merchant named Thomas Sullivan in the early 1900s, and they turned out to be a tea-riffic discovery for tea lovers all over the world.

Teas were now easier and less time-consuming to prepare, with similar option.s. Teabags were also much cheaper and more widely available, eliminating surprises and the need to search specialty stores for the tea you desired. Traditionally, the teabags used a more dusty grade of tea, which allowed a cheaper, and a stronger cup. But that is not necessarily the case any longer.

Over the course of time, teabags have also gone under a lot of transformation. Various tea brands have recently decided to adapt the tea bag to the tea. Instead of using flat-tasting grades of tea (tiny, broken leaves known as "dust" and "fannings"), they prefer higher grades with more sophisticated flavor profiles and aromas.

They're getting better brews out of these leaves than they would with traditional tea bags by putting them in plus-size tea bags, "tea pouches," "tea socks," and "pyramid bags'’(pyramid-shaped tea bags). All of these teabag variations allow the leaves to expand more than standard tea bags, resulting in a better brew.

Our gourmet pyramid tea bags make it simple to enjoy high-quality teas with simple brewing. It is wrapped in individual envelopes for maximum freshness, and the pyramid bags allow for the expansion of the large leaves that distinguish gourmet tea.

Conclusion

While there are pros and cons to loose leaf teas as well as teabags, it all boils down to “Which one do you prefer”!

While teabags offer you the convenience of brewing tea on the go, it is ideal for the urban youth who is looking for a good cup of tea while multi tasking his / her various other roles.

On the other hand, loose leaf teas provide a whole experience of drinking tea. From steeping your tea and watching the leaves unfurl, to taking in the aroma and flavour of the tea while it brews.

At The Tea Shelf, we consciously try NOT to compromise the quality of teas in our teabags, and use fresh whole leaves in teabags as well.