Loose Leaf Tea vs. Tea Bags: Does It Matter For Health?

You might automatically grab a box of prepackaged teabags for its mere convenience. Maybe you haven’t realized that there is a difference between loose leaf and bagged teas apart from the packaging. Let's examine the difference between loose leaf tea and tea bags to see what properties are affected during packaging. 

Benefits of Loose Leaf Tea

Tea has become popular because of the delicious taste and supposed health benefits of adding it to your diet. However, have you considered if it makes a difference to your health how you brew your tea? Aside from the obvious, there are actually several differences between bagged and loose leaf tea that could make a difference in your health. 

Cost of Tea

If you purchase a box of tea, most likely it will contain about twenty tea bags. Each of the bags has approximately two grams of crushed tea leaves inside and is good for one cup of tea. However, when using loose leaf tea, you are able to make more tea from one brewing session. Another benefit of loose leaf tea is that you can actually resteep it and use it up to four times! In the end, a loose leaf tea is going to stretch your dollar much farther than tea bags. 

Taste of Tea

Most bagged tea is mass-produced with just the fine particles of larger tea leaves. These particles are referred to as dust and fannings. These small tea particles quickly lose their freshness and are usually stale by the time they reach your home. When tea leaves are fully intact like in a loose leaf tea, they expand providing a higher quality taste experience. 

Another taste benefit of loose leaf tea is that you are able to control the strength of your tea. You can make it as strong or as weak as you’d like. With the fixed amount in a bagged tea, you are always stuck with that exact strength in your brew. Drinking tea should be an exquisite experience that benefits both you and your health. Many loose leaf teas provide these benefits. 

Quality of Tea

If you are wanting to drink tea to make a difference in your health, you will want to explore the quality of the tea you are using. Some tea companies produce their bagged tea in silky pyramid teabags. While these bags allow for fuller tea leaves, they may contain plastic which can be released into the water when it is steeped in hot water. When you drink loose leaf tea, you avoid these microplastics while making your cup of tea. 

When choosing tea, you will want to choose some that come from a company that cares about how it is grown, manufactured, and stored. Ultimately loose leaf tea will usually maintain higher standards in these areas. 

The Health Benefits of Loose Leaf Tea

When tea remains whole, the health benefits are much greater than those of broken tea in plastic tea bags. The antioxidants found in tea are often greatly reduced or destroyed in tea bags thus eliminating much of the health benefits of drinking it in the first place. Did you know that loose leaf tea also contains natural essential oils that will also benefit your body? Teas like elderberry are excellent for boosting the immune system. Many people have also found great relief in using a digestion blend tea after eating a meal.  Another popular blend is one that helps relax and puts them to sleep at night. 

For whatever reason you may be looking at tea for health benefits, a loose leaf tea is going to be your best bet. It’s cheaper, more delicious, and even more beautiful to look at. Tea drinkers know to reach for high-quality loose leaf teas. They will provide you with the highest concentration of the quality ingredients your body needs.