Loose leaf tea - the beginnings for a beginner

 Loose leaf tea - the beginnings for a beginner

 First of all, this progression of posts that we're about to start is not at all about telling you what kind of tea you should or should not be drinking.  Many people drink bagged tea, loose leaf tea, or a combination of the two.  Personally, I used to drink all bagged tea but have transitioned to drinking mostly loose leaf but I keep some bagged tea around for when I'm tired or in a hurry and need convenience.  I still peruse the tea aisle in Walmart or the grocery store to see if there's anything that I just "have to try"!

Tea bags truly are more convenient but they tend to be filled with smaller bits of tea leaf and often have a lot of tea "dust" in them.  

Loose leaf tea is larger pieces of tea leaf and is often whole tea leaves that are dried and processed by artisans in order to give the consumer a better tea experience when they steep and drink their tea.  

The larger piece of tea leaf that you're steeping, the more flavor that you'll have.   While tea bags are very convenient, most of the flavor is lost.  You don't always realize how much flavor you're missing until you start onto the loose leaf journey.  Yes, loose leaf tea takes a little more time in order to prepare it but it's worth it after you get the hang of it.  

Loose leaf tea can also be re-steeped at least once, if not more.  Some loose leaf teas can be re-steeped up to 10 times!  When you have a high quality loose leaf tea, such as oolong or green, each steep can taste different as you bring out the nuances of the leaf.  Unfortunately, bagged tea typically doesn't re-steep well.  I will add that flavored loose leaf teas also don't always re-steep well (if you want to taste that initial flavor again and again...). 

A general rule of thumb when looking at tea is the larger the leaf, the higher the quality and the better the flavor. You’ll also want to smell the tea to make sure it hasn’t gone stale. Generally speaking, if it smells good it will taste good! For herbal teas, you want to focus on color and scent; if the herbs are faded or don’t have a fragrance, they are probably too old.

In my next blog entry, I'll talk about steeping methods, but it's late and almost my bedtime!