Loose Leaf Tea or Tea Bags
Around the world, millions of people have a cup of tea as part of their daily routine. To many, tea is an indispensable ritual, and even a lifestyle, that would be difficult to go without. Unfortunately, even though so many people consume tea on a daily basis, they continue to drink low-quality tea bags that lack in taste and leave the drinker with little choice but to dump sugar into their cup. Luckily, there is more to tea than the stale tea bags sitting in the backs of cupboards. Welcome to loose leaf tea.
Loose leaf tea typically consists of larger, whole leaf material that better preserves its natural oils and fragrances than the dust found in most tea bags. The vast majority of tea bags found on the market today contain leftovers from the processing of higher grade teas, or tea that has been grown on massive plantations and ground up specifically for use in tea bags. Have you ever split open a tea bag or had one that accidentally split open? If you have, you know that it can be hard to imagine those little brown crumbs began their lives as leaves on a plant. The issue with breaking up a tea leaf is that it exposes more of the leaf’s surface area to air, which causes the tea’s natural oils to evaporate and oxidize. The result is a flatter, less complex taste profile that is heavy in bitterness and astringency. Loose leaf tea on the other hand is left largely intact and its oils better preserved, allowing it to brew a better tasting cup, steep longer before getting bitter, and in many cases, able to sustain a longer shelf life (depending on the variety).
The manufacturers of the majority of tea bags are forced by their profits-above-all-else mindsets to produce only bags containing varieties and flavours that in are in high-demand for a majority of their consumers. Having massive factories able to pump out tons of tea dust only becomes practical if there are enough people willing to buy up the dust. The result is that many tea bags only contain the most basic and mundane of varieties like “black tea”, “green tea”, and an assortment of herbal blends. Loose leaf tea is more forgiving in this area and allows for thousands of different variants and blends, suiting every taste. Here at Herbal Republic, we offer our customers an enormous selection of teas that showcase taste profiles from the fruity (like our Nana’s Fruit Garden blend), the floral (like our Egyptian Camomile), the robust and full-bodied (like our China Golden Yunnan Black Tea, and the light, nutty and refreshing (like our Lusty Lemon Rooibos).
Loose leaf tea is valued worldwide for its ability to calm, re-energize, and reinvigorate the human body. Tea contains a delicate balance of chemicals that have the potential to make a huge positive impact on human health. Chemicals such as L-theanine help to relax the body, while caffeine in tea helps to energize. Breaking the tea leaves and subjecting them to careless processing disrupts the delicate balance between properties and leaves behind a product whose health benefits are pale in comparison to those of loose teas. When well-processed, well-stored, and well-prepared, many loose leaf teas deliver a powerful health punch and can easily become a complement to a healthy lifestyle. We offer several tea blends to assist those looking for creative health solutions.
Unfortunately, loose leaf tea often carries with it the misconception that it is difficult and time-consuming to prepare. In reality, this could not be further from the truth. With a minimal amount of practice, a mug, some tea, and some hot water, a tasty cup of loose leaf tea can be made in minutes! For those unwilling to put in the extra effort of scooping tea into a filter or infuser however, we offer tea bags filled with high-quality, whole leaf tea. With Herbal Republic tea bags, a cup of tea can be made with the same ease-of-use as a conventional tea bag, without having to compromise on flavour and quality.
When tea is such a large part of a daily routine, it’s important that it is high quality, flavourful, and most of all enjoyable. An investment made in good loose leaf tea is an investment made in yourself and your taste buds.