subject: Tea Bags or Loose Leaf Tea? [print this page] Tea Bags or Loose Leaf Tea? Tea Bags or Loose Leaf Tea?
Crazy over tea? If tea is your new favorite now you may be curious which tastes better, tea bags or loose leaf tea? As we have all known, not all teas are created equal. The place of origin of the plant, the maturity of the leaf, the size vary greatly and even more when these leaves undergo different brewing techniques--- some with fermentation other with less while some do not even undergo this process. Even the brands of tea offer different preparations from which they may derive their perfect tea flavor.
The region of Assam has the most winning harvests and this makes Assam the biggest place of great exporters of tea. Another region called Darjeeling however boasts it's rare and most searched and in demand tea in the world. These two regions have been very popular all over the world that some tea manufacturers create fraud by imitating the taste of the tea and labeling it as Assamese tea and Darjeeling tea when it's truly not. These pseudo teas proliferated in the world market because of some people who wanted to make huge money out of it, as not all people are knowledgeable and informed to differentiate whether such tea is real tea from Assam and Darjeeling. This fact called the attention of the Tea Board in India that found a way to regulate the export of teas. Through certification, they were able to uplift the value of real tea from Assam and Darjeeling.
After being able to discriminate which tea leaf is real or not, it is not important to recognize which tea leaves are the best tasting leaves when steeps for some good brew on a cast iron teapot. To make a good cup of tea, one must know the basics of processing tea.
So first, carefully choose and pick the tea leaf from the healthy bush, air dry the leaves and then put in inside the oven for further oxidation processes. Homemade tea usually follows this basic finishing process. However, private companies have their own finishing processes from which they may hold as a secret in getting their unique taste. This is so because the last process or stage from which the tea leaves have undergone will define the final taste of the tea. Lastly, the leaves are separated depending on their sizes. The larger the leaf the longer the brewing process will it take while the smaller leaves will have shorter brewing time as well. However, for steeping or infusion the larger leaves must be infused in cast iron teapot in a shorter time while smaller leaves should be infused in a cast iron teapot longer.
Tea bags with tea dust are more easy to prepare that's why they have been popular than loose leaf tea since it is easy to prepare. Tea bags' expiration date must be noted as this may not taste good anymore nor beneficial to the health. Tea bags and loose tea leaf are both tasteful when properly made; nonetheless, perhaps the only fall back in using tea bags is that you sacrifice the quality of real tea leaves taste.
