A Bag by Any Other Name
Kaya, Lanie, melody, 2 or more
Bags, Pyramids, Sachets
One of the big discussions with tea drinkers is that of bag or loose leaf.
If you google it, you'll find a LOT of posts giving you an opinion on what is best.
We found one in TeaTime magazine that was more diplomatic.
And, you know what? Here is our experiment and results.
Differences and Comparisons
We've searched our own tea collection for these examples.
These represent the most common types of tea bags on the market.
The ever popular tagged, tag-less, pyramid, and reusable.
Here we have a tagged bag. It is square and sewn together - no staples! YAY!
(giggles) This is the type you'll see in everyone's cup on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel.
There isn't a lot of space with this style so the contents have to be small.
See how fine this blend is?
This tag-less bag is unbleached and round. You will also find square.
Neither round or square have much extra space for leaves to uncurl, so the blend is similar to the tagged bag.
The pyramid bag is unique. It has lots of space in it. So the contents can be closer to loose leaf in size and style.
Can you see how long the leaves are?
The reusable bag is for use with loose leaf blends.
It's linen or muslin and woven in such a way that the water flows freely without letting leaves into your cup.
This blend would go in the reusable. See how similar in size the leaves are to those in the pyramid bag.
Here's a better view of all four.
A couple comparison shots too.
What do the different leaves look like after steeping? Check this out!
See how the loose leaf plumped up and the chopped is about the same size it was before?
Our Take
The packaging doesn't matter.
You're going to find lovely flavor in bag tea and in loose leaf. You;ll find blends you don't like in both too!
As long as you enjoy it; you'll have a great cuppa!
But you'll find over steeping a tagged or tag-less bag has a greater chance of resulting in a bitter cup.
(giggles) I don't know how the mystery mavens drink theirs! Leaving the bag in forever like they do.
(giggles) Silly, there isn't really anything in the cup!
(laughing)
Happy sipping!
Thanks for your informative explanation of tea bags and loose. I rarely over steep my tea because I prefer it weak. I've tried following your advice on the 4 min. steep but that is usually too long. Thanks for keeping us tea drinkers in the know.
ReplyDeleteMany teas suggest a 3 to 5 minute steep. Any of those work. tea strength is a topic for another time. :-)
DeleteI'm starting to like loose tea a lot more lately. I used to only drink Tetley orange pekoe with milk if I drank tea at all. I am a coffee drinker mainly, but just this past year, I've been experimenting with some of the different loose teas at our local tea shop. I won't ever give up my coffee, but it is nice to have a cup of tea in the evening. :)
ReplyDeleteginnie / http://www.fakingitmostly.com
We really like loose leaf tea when we have time to steep and enjoy it properly; kine of like you do in the evening. There are definitely benefits to loose leaf. Glad to hear you are trying new things.
Delete