Last Updated on June 20, 2024 by Michelle

Is loose leaf really better than bagged, boxed tea? I didn’t used to think so, but wow have I changed my mind. Let me explain…

Why? It all started with kombucha. I’d been making DIY kombucha with Lipton tea bags for years. Then I found out a few things that made me want to ditch the bags (keep reading).

 

I’m an organic, loose leaf tea fanatic today. And before I dive in, in case you’re like me and like to know the end of the story before you start, I want to share my all-time favorite teas with you. While I’m listing my personal favorite 8 here, there are hundreds of delicious cups of tea (and coffee, and botanicals) waiting for you to discover them right here. Use code SOULYRESTED to save.

8 of my all-time favorite loose leaf teas:

Use code SOULYRESTED to save.

How do Tea Bags Compare to Loose Leaf Tea?

After I did some research, tea bags only have one thing going for them. Convenience.

And if that winds up being your only drawback after you glance at these 7 reasons to ditch the tea bags, then check out these wonderful disposable, biodegradable tea bags!

1. Many tea bags have added chemicals.

Those cute, convenient little stapled, white bags? Know how they make them so white? Bleach.

According to the CDC, “chlorinated dioxins have been found in tea bags in concentrations as high as 4.79 parts per thousand.” (source)

So I was spending time once a week making this amazingly healthy, fermented (delicious!) drink, but I was starting the whole batch, every week, with a little added chlorine. Ummm, no thank you.

I should say that some manufacturers realized that the general public doesn’t like the idea of bleach steeping in their cup of tea, so they started doing something called “totally chlorine free” bleaching, using other chemicals other than bleach, which produce no chlorine byproducts.

And some manufacturers use unbleached, brown tea bags.

But the whole thing really got me thinking… here I am trying to simplify things and enjoy more real food, going to the effort to raise as much of our own food as possible… but I’m not making all-natural choices with something I may drink 5-10 times in one day. Why use a bag at all and soak something that I don’t know much about in my hot water?

According to the CDC, chlorinated dioxins have been found in tea bags made from bleached paper at concentrations up to 4.79 parts per thousand

2. Some tea bags are made with plastics.

Then I read that “The majority of today’s tea bags are made with plastics.  Some are nylon, some are viscose rayon, and others are thermoplastic, PVC or polypropylene.”(source)

Yeah, not something I want soaking in my cup of tea or jars of kombucha, thank you.

3. Tea bags offer no breathing room.

If, instead of being packed tightly into a little bag, loose leaf tea leaves are given room to float around, and the hot water is able to seep around the tea, it’s kind of miraculous… the hot water can extract a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and flavors out of the tea leaves. This doesn’t happen so well in a tiny, folded, stapled bag.

Yes, you just read that right. It blew my mind when I first realized it, so I’ll rephrase that…

Loose leaf tea offers much greater health benefits than bagged tea. Now that’s sweet.

4. Bagged tea doesn’t have as much “character.”

When you’re buying boxed, bagged tea, you’re buying from a company who prides itself on standardization, which is fine.

But loose leaf tea companies pride themselves more on quality and character of the flavor profile of their unique teas.

You see, loose-leaf tea is often a specialty tea. The leaves come from one single region of the world, and as a result you’ll find the flavor profile, smell, and even appearance of the leaves may vary slightly from season to season. I like the slight variances and always find the flavor more full of “character” than tea bags used to offer me.

5. Bagged tea is usually all the rejects.

I hate to break it to you, but if you’re making tea with bagged tea, you’re just using the rejects of the tea leaves, the crumbs so to speak. It’s kinda like instant coffee compared to coffee beans.

6. Tea bags don’t last as long.

Bagged tea often loses its vibrancy after just one cup, whereas many loose leaf teas, like oolong and pu’erh can be re-steeped many times and still tastes great.

In fact, I find the second or third brew of some teas brings out different flavors in the tea that you don’t notice on the first cup.

7. Tea bags don’t compost well.

I feel really silly that for years I was doing my garden a huge injustice by composting my tea bags. Seriously.

Tea is great for a garden, so I always recommend adding your spent tea leaves to your compost pile. But how are most tea bags held together? A little tiny piece of metal. While that staple is no big deal to your or your garden plants, it happens to be deadly to the wonderfully important worms that work through your compost pile.

I was killing worms and didn’t even think of it. (Go here if you’d like to know more about composting with coffee and here about composting with egg shells.)

Then many of the bags that do offer staple-less options are not easily biodegradable, because of number 1 and 2, above.

8. Loose leaf allows me to make my own blends, whenever I want.

I love mixing and matching loose leaf teas and creating new delicious blends. I love that I can easily add other flavors while it steeps too, like some of my dehydrated fruits, dehydrated herbs, cinnamon chips, or stevia leaves for extra sweetness.

Two of my favorite tea blends that I’ve created?

This black tea blend that tastes better than Lipton tea.

This decaf, herbal tea blend that tastes like coffee.

Does Loose Leaf Tea Need to be Organic?

If I’ve convinced you to make the switch to loose leaf tea, keep in mind you still need to look for a very important word when you’re buying loose leaf teas… “organic.” If your tea isn’t organic you are most likely soaking tea leaves in your cup of hot water that were grown with the use of chemicals of some sort… from fertilizer, to pesticides, to fungicides, to herbicides.

Soaking.

In your hot water… that you will be drinking….

Maybe I should have started with this point.

Because it’s pretty disturbing when you think about it, no? This, honestly, was the biggest reason I knew I needed to be more picky about my tea choices years ago.

It was just never something I thought about. Crazy, I know.

 

5 Steps to Becoming a Loose Leaf Tea Fanatic

If you’re new to loose leaf, here are six steps to get you started:

1. Choose your teas well. Think about what teas you currently like and search out loose leaf teas with similar profiles. For instance, if you often drink green teas, start with green loose leaf. And purchase them from companies that care about quality. See two of my favorites (and special offers, just for you guys!) below.
2. Try a variety of teas. While it’s good to start with a base you enjoy (for example, look for Assam in a loose leaf if you like a dark, full-bodied, black tea), try many different varieties with similar base taste. You’ll find many tea companies like to help you with this and put together complimentary teas in sets like this black tea sampler.
3. Follow the brewing instructions. The temperature of the water and the length of brew time really do matter. Over steeping tea often leads to a bitter taste, and using the wrong temperature water can lead to less sweet or savory flavors.
4. Expand your choices. While I always suggest starting with something you pretty much know you’ll like, then I recommend you start to be more daring with your choices. You may find you wind up loving options you never thought you would like, after your palate has developed a bit more.
5. If you’re hooked, consider some great brewing equipment. While you really don’t need anything fancy, using the perfect tea equipment makes your cup of tea more of an “experience.” Part of the joy, for me, is taking a minute out of my busy morning to relax while I choose a gorgeous steeper out of my cabinet, grab a favorite spoon and pop open a lid of a pretty tin or antique mason jar that I’ve fitted with a flip top lid.

 

This post contains affiliate links & I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Go here to read the full (ultra fun) legal disclosure about that.

 

Some Great Loose Leaf Tea & Brewing Equipment

Talk to me!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below. And please tag me on ig to show me your favorite cup of tea today (I love tea-spiration!) @souly.rested.

 

Other articles you’ll enjoy:

How to use all-natural maple syrup in place of refined sugar.

DIY Kombucha–what does it really cost?

How to make your own super-sized candy cookie (& why you should stop eating the ones from the grocery store bakery)

Make Maple Mango Granola (& why you should make it instead of eating the processed granola)

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