Tea Bags vs. Loose tea leaves

SusanCarter

I grew up with loose tea and was always told that it was better because you could decide how much you want to use (i.e. you can't use half a tea bag). I find now I have to use teabags as most fairtrade/deacffeinated tea is in bags. I like to make it in the pot if I use a tea bag because I just feel it is so wasteful otherwise as I can get three mugs out of one teabag. People say it tastes nicer if it's made "properly" but the only thing which makes me dislike teabag tea is when it is made in the mug because it ends up much too strong for me. I haven't done a price comparison but I'd say that as long as you squeeze as much tea as you can from every tea bag it shouldn't be too different.

filigree_2

BACKFRMTHEEDGE wrote:

Does anyone know which is cheaper OS loose tea or tea bags. I know it depends which brand etc you buy, but in general? Do you think loose tea makes a better cuppa.

TTFN

After my last post I did an experiment and compared Sainsbury's Red Label teabags against the loose leaf. I cut open a teabag and measured the contents, it was just about a teaspoon which is the amount of loose tea I would use for one person. The loose leaf was cheaper by weight which meant it was cheaper per cup. The teapot was a birthday present so it didn't cost me anything.

This proved it was cheaper for me to use loose tea, but everybody has different tastes and they might find teabags are cheaper or tastier.

willow_girl

OK, you've got me thinking I might try loose tea for a while and see how I get on. I'm coming to the end of my bags so this would be good time, although as the only tea drinker in the house, don't know whether my DH will make me a cuppa anymore :rolleyes: . Better keep some bags just in case and use the loose tea when I have the time to enjoy it.

tawnyowls

Caterina wrote:

I am very lucky that we all like our tea very very light, so we reuse the same teabag two or three times. We drink a lot of roiboosch (red tea) which is supposed to be reused apparently, but we do the same with regular tea. It does not work very well with herbal teas because the teabags are calibrated to to only 1 cup and after the first teapot they lose the flavour.

Me too - 1 teabag makes 2 mugs of tea for me.

As you like the redbush tea, have you see the ones in Aldi? They do plain, and also flavoured with vanilla (don't like these much), orange (yummy) and caramel (haven't tried it yet). They also do a very nice green tea with lemon.

pennineman

Well, which do you use?

And when / why?

belfastgirl23

Tea leaves when making a pot for more than one.

Tea bag when it's just for me (though I still use a pot!) - too much trouble to wash tea leaves out of the teapot for just one person

The leaves are def nicer.

Tam_Lin

Depends what kind of tea - some of the green teas like Genmaicha I use leaves in a tea-ball. Your bog-standard PG Tips is a bag in the pot (never just a cup) for me.

spendaholic

I use Tetley organic teabags because I like the taste of Tetley. If they did loose tea I'd get that too as I have this lovely mug from Hungary that has it's own tea strainer and a matchng pot lid. I use this mug when I'm in the garden anyway as the pot lid keeps it warm and the flies out, but it should really be used for keeping the tea warm while the tea leaves mash.

Oh, and I think Tetley do actually do loose tea, just not organic loose tea. Unless you know different.

I like tea made in a teapot, and use teabags for that anyway, I just don't use the teapot that often as making it in a mug is so quick and easy and less washing up.

Plum_Pie

I have a small teapot for just me in the morning in the week. I have a large teapot for just me in the morning at the weekend and for guests.

I drink leaf ceylon tea which I buy in massive cheap bags from my local Turkish corner shop. I also drink bagged herbal tea (camomile, olive leaf). I also like herbal infusions made from ingredients such as fresh ginger root, fresh lemon, dried cinnamon stick.

Can you tell I love tea and all tea-a-likes?

reverie

I have a tea bag sometimes, but it does feel like I'm sort of, cheating and having fast food. I like using a tea pot, am convinced the tea tastes better and it adds to the sense of occassion or a normal every day thing. I use a great Twinnings teapot with built in strainer.

Or maybe it just harks back to girls being given tea sets when we are little?!