Loose tea leaves are simply a type of tea that is not packaged in tea bags. Since these tea leaves are not packaged in a teabag, they maintain a higher quality and aroma with many health benefits. If you want to drink loose tea leaves, you will need to place the tea leaves inside a steeping ball, tea strainer, infuser basket, french press, or some other infuser to prepare the tea.
You can eat loose tea leaves because they are edible, and some parts of the world include them as an ingredient in their local cuisines. It is okay to drink or eat loose tea leaves. But if you want to enjoy the health benefits that they come with, eating them is not a good way you enjoy them. And if you eat a large number of loose tea leaves, it could upset your stomach.
If you want to enjoy the health benefits of loose tea leaves, you will need to brew the tea and drink the infusion.
Loose tea leaves are edible, both raw and steeped. If you want to eat loose tea leaves, ensure you eat them after soaking because it will make the leaves soft and easily digestible.
Plenty of tea components can only be released in hot water; therefore, eating the loose tea leaves will not help you enjoy all of those components in the tea. You might also not like eating raw tea leaves because of the unpleasant taste.
Loose tea leaves contain plenty of fiber, some protein, and a certain percentage of water content. The fat content in them is pretty low. The remaining content is their antioxidants and caffeine. But a large part of the leaves is the fiber. And fiber is tough to digest, especially if the leaves are enormous. This means that older tea leaves that are matured would be more challenging to digest, such as those used in black tea. Certain fibers won’t break down, and it will lead to constipation. Because green tea is astringent, drinking it might affect your stomach sometimes, especially if you drink it on an empty stomach very early in the morning.
What is the difference between loose leaf tea and tea bags?
There are four categories of tea, and they include dust grades, fanning grades, broken leaf grades, and whole leaf grades. Whole leaf grades are the best, and that is what is also known as loose leaf tea.
A lot of tea bags have dust and fanning grades of tea. This means that the tea must be crushed before they are packaged into tea bags. If your tea is crushed, its aroma, flavor, and other health properties would be reduced. Also, the taste may become very bitter when steeped for a long time because of the high amount of tannins released. But for loose leaf tea, as you soak it for long, its flavor keeps unfolding with a better and fresher taste.
Loose tea is gotten from pressing and rotating the green leaf between two metal plates that curl and twist it into shape, but for producing a teabag size tea, the leaf falls between two large rollers lined with sharp teeth creates smaller granular pieces. See, people believe that tea bags and loose tea come from the same leaves and that the only thing that differentiates them is how they are cut and handled in the factory.
You are assured of more aroma, flavor, antioxidants, and a better experience with loose leaf tea, but it is not the same with tea bags because they are produced on an industrial scale which will most likely remain in a warehouse for a very long time before they are consumed.
Also, with loose leaf tea, you can be in charge of monitoring the strength of your cup by either adding more or fewer leaves. But tea bags have a stipulated amount of tea which is around 1 to 3 grams. Most people brew tea bags with boiling water thus, altering the natural flavor in a way.
One tea bag is only best for one infusion, but for lost tea leaves, you can always re-steep it and brew it in several ways to enjoy different flavors. Loose leaf tea is less expensive than tea bags.
Teas of high quality are never packaged in tea bags. This is to tell you how different and unique it is from tea bags.
How to choose between loose leaf tea or tea bags?
If you are drinking tea for health benefits, loose tea leaves are the best option for you. But if you want a more caffeinated drink in a single steep, tea bags are an excellent choice for you.
If you want to drink your tea quickly, tea bags are a better choice for you because making loose leaf tea takes a long time because of all the numerous utensils you will need. But if you package your loose leaf tea in tea bags, it won’t take a very long time to brew it.
If you want to enjoy the best flavor from brewing tea, go for loose tea leaves.
Also, if you are waste-conscious and continually seek ways to minimize waste, loose leaf tea would be better for you, especially if you buy it in bio-degradable packaging. Brewing it in a teapot will help you keep debris minimal.
If you like drinking your tea with milk and sugar, your best choice is loose leaf tea.
Is loose leaf tea good for you?
Loose leaf tea is good for your health. It contains anti-inflammatory and properties and antioxidants that help you to stay healthy. Catechins that are very good for health are included in loose leaf tea in higher concentrations. Loose leaf tea tastes better and fresher.
Some benefits of loose leaf tea are:
- Lowers the cholesterol level in your body.
- Prevents cardiovascular disease.
- It helps to manage weight and metabolism.
- It helps you to gain mental clarity.
- It’s very significant for your digestive system.
- It helps to tackle flu or cold.
- It’s a stress reliever.
- It’s perfect for your brain and liver.
- It helps to prevent cancer.
Can old loose leaf tea make you sick?
One important thing you should know is that drinking old loose leaf tea will not make you sick, you may not just like the flavor of the tea, and you might consider getting rid of it.
If you don’t store your loose tea leaves properly in a dry place, it will go bad, and when it goes bad, it will lose some of its flavors, and the taste not be pleasant anymore.
So, how should you store your loose tea leaves? Store it in a dry place. And after opening the package (if you choose to use teabags), you should keep them in an airtight container. If you keep your tea leaves in an airtight container, the tea will retain its natural flavor because it is not exposed to air. After keeping your tea leaves in an airtight container, you should store them in a closed cupboard or any place where your tea container leaves won’t be exposed to light.
How to drink loose leaf tea
If you just got your loose tea leaves and you don’t know how to make it without an infuser, here are ways you can do that.
1. Cup it
This is one of the simplest ways of making loose leaf tea. Place your tea leaves into your cup, pour hot water over it, and steep. Then you can go ahead to drink it when it is ready. If you love drinking loose tea leaves with the leaves touching your lips, then cupping it would be good for you. And then, if you also don’t bother about eating the brewed leaves, you will love to adopt the cupping method of drinking loose leaf tea.
3. Pot it
If your teapot didn’t come with a detachable infuser basket, this is how you brew tea in your pot. Place the tea leaves into the pot, pour hot water over the leaves then allow it to be steep. When you’re done preparing it, pour the tea into your teacup using a mesh kitchen strainer or slotted spoon so the leaves won’t enter your teacup.
3. Bag it
If you have empty tea filter bags, you can insert your loose tea leaves in them, allow it steep and drink them. Bagging your loose tea leaves is very good because you can easily carry them with you when traveling or going to the office.
4. Press it
You can also use your French press for brewing your tea. Just use the press like the way you use it when making coffee. But this time around, you would be using your loose tea leaves. Make sure your French press is clean before using it to brew your tea leaves. This is to make sure you don’t end up mixing the coffee flavors with your tea.
Conclusion
It is okay for you to either drink or eat loose tea leaves, but it is always best you drink it because that way, you can enjoy all the health benefits attached to it. But if you are not consuming your loose tea leaves because of the health benefits, you can go ahead to eat them.
Whether you decide to walk or drink loose leaf tea, the choice is yours to make. But since eating tea leaves doesn’t offer you many health benefits, you should brew it in hot to enjoy its benefits.