Today on Teapot Tuesday I thought I would share my thoughts on the age old debate amongst tea lovers on which is better to use—tea bags or loose tea. Oh the controversy that exists out there in the land of tea lovers. It is mind boggling.
I try not to be a tea snob. Do I love it when I visit restaurants that serve little individual teapots with loose tea in them ? A million times yes. Do all restaurants do this? No.
One of my funniest encounters with being served tea in a restaurant was actually in North Carolina. We had gone to dinner one night and I asked for hot tea. The waitress was a little baffled about my order perhaps because it is the land of sweet tea. To make a long story short I watched her as she got a glass of iced tea and held the glass under the warm water running from the faucet to warm the glass up. Yes. Yes, this actually happened. When she delivered it to my table she just commented that she hoped it was warm enough. I drank luke warm sweet tea that night.
If that does not tell you that I am not a tea snob then nothing will.
With that being said I will weigh in on my preferences and a few “facts” that I have found over the years of prolonged tea drinking. This will no doubt be a riveting post so be prepared.
Most types of tea bags that are found in the grocery stores are pretty sub standard in the terms of quality of tea. If you accidentally break open one of those tea bags as I have been known to do upon occasion you will find that the tea that is in the bag is actually more like tea dust. Now there is nothing wrong with tea dust but it is not going to give you the full flavor of a real full tea leaf.
The tea industry actually has a pretty specific grading system when it comes to rating tea with orange pekoe being a genre of basic medium grade black tea containing many whole leaves of a specific size. Now if you are like me you always heard that term orange pekoe and thought it was a brand of tea. No–it is actually a grade of tea. The best or highest grade of tea comes from the first flush or picking. The wholeness of the leaf contributes to the grading and quality of the tea. A full leaf would warrant a higher grade and the taste would be premium.
Fanning is another term that is used when it comes to grading tea. Fannings are the small pieces of tea that are left over and are the pieces that are rejected when making the higher quality teas. Fannings and dust are what are found in most manufactured tea bags. There can be high quality tea in fannings but it is not the full leaf that is commonly sought after for a high quality brew. Because of the small size of the fannings and dust they are perfect for use in teabags as they can be contained. If used in a loose tea blend an infuser would have to be used to sift out the particles from the cup.
I found this handy grading chart on Wikipedia and thought it might help the lay person to understand. It definitely helped me.
The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea are: Ceylon orange pekoe (OP) grades’
OP1—slightly delicate, long, wiry leaf with the light liquor
OPA—bold, long leaf tea which ranges from tightly wound to almost open
OP—main grade, in the middle between OP1 and OPA, can consist of long wiry leaf without tips
OP Superior—primarily from Indonesia, similar to OP
Flowery OP—high-quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered the second grade in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh teas, but the first grade in China
F OP1—as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the FOP classification
Golden Flowery OP1—higher proportion of tip than FOP top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions, uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling
Tippy Golden F OP—the highest proportion of tip, main grade in Darjeeling and Assam
TGF OP1—as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the TGFOP classification
Finest TGF OP—highest quality grade (Note: “Special” is occasionally substituted for “Finest”, with a number 1 at the end to indicate the very finest), often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations, roughly one quarter tips
SFTGFOP(1)—sometimes used to indicate the very finest
There are additional charts for grading Fannings and Dust as follow:
Fannings grades
PF—Pekoe Fannings
OF—Orange Fannings: From Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America.
FOF—Flowery Orange Fannings: Common in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh. Some leaf sizes come close to the smaller broken grades.
GFOF—Golden Flowery Orange Fannings: Finest grade in Darjeeling for tea bag production.
TGFOF—Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings.
BOPF—Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings: Main grade in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Southern India, Kenya, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and China. Black-leaf tea with few added ingredients, uniform particle size, and no tips.Dust grades
D1—Dust 1: From Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America, and Southern India.
PD—Pekoe Dust
PD1—Pekoe Dust 1: Mainly produced in India.
I am in no way an expert but these are great guides to help understand a bit of the tea lingo.
So what do I prefer? By far I prefer loose tea brewed in a teapot with either a tea ball or an in-pot strainer of sorts but I am definitely not opposed to tea bags or even brewing tea from pods in a Keurig. I think they all have their merits and there is no snobbery here. I am happy to have tea in many shapes and forms and it always makes me appreciate the cup that I have currently in my hand.
How about you? If you enjoy tea on a regular basis what do you prefer? Do you stay true to only drinking loose leaf tea offerings or are you happy with a tea bag? There are so many options out there now and some of the tea bags are really able to produce a fine cup to enjoy. Let me know in the comments what you love most.
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Leave a commentIrish Breakfast every morning without fail, just like the one you have pictured.
Ah—a solid choice indeed!
I too prefer loose tea but will happily drink a cup of tea made with a tea bag. The silk mesh bags are very nice with whole leaf tea or fruit pieces inside. The only thing that really annoys me is when I am handed a cup of hot water with a tea bag on the side. The water is often not very hot and we all know it should be boiling and poured over the tea bag. Your story of the tepid iced tea is very funny. Here in Spain tea is considered black tea and if you want an herbal or fruit tea it is called an infusion. I once asked for an infusion tea and got a pot with a black tea bag in it along with a fruit tea bag. Lost in translation I guess.
Yes–a million times yes. The water has to be right, doesn’t it? And poured over the bag. Exactly. Lost in translation probably happens a lot in Spain, right?
Oh yes, we have some good laughs. Sometimes I get my limited French mixed up with my limited Spanish. Fortunately the Spanish people are very forgiving when you don’t get it right.
I had no idea that’s how the cheaper tea bags were made! Learned something this morning.
Really? Well I am so glad I was able to enlighten you with my long boring post. 🙂
I just had my first loose-leaf tea at Christmas time when I got it in a gift exchange. I’m not a big tea drinker so didn’t notice a major difference in taste. Tea bags are easier.
Tea bags are easier and there are some really good ones out there. I especially like the ones that are pyramid shaped that really let all the flavor flow out.
Loose tea every morning!
Perfect! 🙂
I love using my tea ball – or tea heart, because mine is a silver heart shape. That story about lukewarm sweet tea is hilarious.
I have several tea balls and I do have a heart one that I love as well. I guess we really are related! 🙂
Huh. Learned a lot this morn. Never knew there was so much to know when it came to tea. I like it and drink it often but still had no idea. Hahahahaha the iced tea debacle, welcome to NC and sweet tea, where they literally drink that sh*% up!
Yes–the iced tea thing was hysterical, wasn’t it? I just had to share that one because it was so ridiculous.
Wow – interesting this morning to say the least Beth Ann. When I’m out, I’ll get the Irish Breakfast Tea; if at home, I like a variety of Bigelow’s herbal teas..I love my raspberry blends and zesty citrus. I too like the pyramid shaped bags as the robust flavors of the fruit seems to be better. Would like to try the loose tea just haven’t found a good variety. I too have experienced the tepid cup of water versus a boiling cup!
Glad you found my tea trivia post interesting. I was not sure if anyone would actually read it. 🙂 I can understand your love of the fruity flavors–they are pretty yummy especially with a dose of honey in them. Tea has to be hot in my humble opinion.
I think that server was a Cold tea snob — you were perfectly acceptable! LOL
As for the tea debate, I think most people would definitely opt for loose tea if they had it and the necessary brewing accessories. Once you have tasted it, there really is not a comparison to the generic grocery store tea bags. But convenience is key for all of us of course. I love the blooming teas personally. Very flavorful if you get a good brand. Plus, SO pretty in a glass tea pot.
I love blooming teas as well! They are so stinking pretty in the clear pot. And speaking of clear pots—I just pinned a cute idea of making a terrarium out of a clear teapot so now I need to find a spare!
My favorite tea is always the first cup in the morning! Loose or bagged, it’s always the best!
But seriously, I often use loose-leaf Twinings Earl Grey, and at work it’ll be the same tea, but in bags. There’s a difference, but I still enjoy it.
Love the iced tea/hot tea story!
I’ll take it either way, but I’d rather not have it the way yours was served! My bagged favorite is Bigelow’s Premium decaf (I have to order it online).
Beth Ann, I’m afraid I might be a little bit of tea snob — I don’t think I could have taken even a sip of that warmed-up sweet tea! 😀 But I’d sure try, just to be polite! I call tea “tea” and all the herbal blends “tisanes.” I grew up drinking black tea and drink it about 8 times a day. Loose whole leaf.
Well, I was really shocked but tried to make the most of it and hey–it’s a great story, right? Your tea drinking sounds perfect–and yes—tisanes are not tea, are they? Thanks os much for stopping by. I loved meeting you!
Maybe that’s why I’m not much of a tea fan, because I’ve only ever purchased the mass-produced bag tea from grocery stories. Kind of like drinking mass-produced beer vs craft, I suppose.
That story of drinking lukewarm sweet tea was pretty comical.
Like it either way but mostly use tea bags. Prefer green or chai in am, herbal later. I am not a traditionalist. I microwave my water 2 min to get hot, not boiling, then stick tea bag in.
Whatever works is good in my book! No judgment! 😊