Video: Loose Leaf Tea Vs. Tea Bags

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With tea bags, the tea leaf is cut and torn, which takes away from flavor. Learn about the difference between tea bags and loose leaf tea in this free video about brewing loose leaf tea.

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Video Transcript

In this segment, we're going to talk a little bit about the difference between, what you find in most tea bags and loose leaf tea. Teabags were invented, really in the middle of the, the last century, in order to make tea easier to transport, and honestly, a little bit more convenient. But there are some compromises when you do that. The tea has to be cut, torn, and curled in order to produce the, the amount of surface area needed to produce a cup that will brew out of the amount of tea. Another way that tea bags are produced is by taking the smallest leaves, called fannings, or less politely, dust, and putting those into tea bags. But, let's take a look at what they actually look like, so you can see for yourself the difference. Let's look first at a teabag. These are both white teas. White teas are the least processed of all teas. But, you'll see a big difference. These teas cost about the same amount of money in the store. One is from a local gourmet food store and the other is a loose leaf tea. As you can see here, this tea is very fine. It's, it is almost a dust, it's a ground up tea leaf. But you can't really tell that it used to be a tea leaf. Compare that with a loose leaf tea. This is of the same quality of that tea. But, you can actually tell that this once was some kind of plant. The leaves are fuller, there's more to them. And, just like vegetables, the less you mess with them, the better they are for you. So, if you're interested in what's in a teabag you have, cut it open, take a look, and compare it to the loose leaf teas available.