Reasons You Should Be Drinking Loose Leaf Tea

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Drinking tea can be very healthy. There are plenty of types of tea that can provide you with the antioxidants you need to fight off free radicals and more. If you are thinking about drinking more tea, you may be interested to learn about the benefits of loose leaf tea over bagged tea. While many people reach for bagged tea purely because of convenience, drinking loose leaf tea offers many benefits that make it the optimal way to prepare tea.

What Is Loose Leaf Tea?

Loose leaf tea is typically sold in tin canisters. Instead of having a bunch of broken leaves shoved into a small bag, the tea comes in whole-leaf form. Meaning, it’s primarily made up of leaves that aren’t broken or crushed. Whereas, with traditionally bagged tea, you are getting leaves that have been broken and crushed.

There are plenty of different types of loose leaf tea you will find in the marketplace. Below, we will discuss a few of them.

Different Types Of Loose Leaf Tea

#1 Green Tea

This is one of the most popular types of loose leaf tea. Green tea is highly touted for being one of the healthiest teas. One of the standout health benefits of green tea comes from it having a high amount of EGCG which is a potent polyphenol found in the green tea leaf. It’s shown to have powerful antioxidant properties and there is some research it can even fight chronic conditions or problems that result in cellular damage including cancer [1].

#2 White Tea

White tea features a much milder taste compared to green tea. It’s a younger sister of green tea as it’s made from the same plant but harvested earlier. Like green tea, it’s high in antioxidants and offers numerous other health benefits including protecting your teeth and gums due to its fluoride content [2].

#3 Black Tea

Black tea is another popular type of loose leaf tea and it is one of the teas you should be looking at if you want caffeine. A lot of drinkers use black tea as a healthier substitute for coffee because of this.

#4 Oolong Tea

This is another option that may not be as healthy as green tea, but it still offers a lot of health benefits. Oolong tea is known for having a high concentration of magnesium and calcium which makes it a good tea choice for elderly people.

Benefits Of Loose-Leaf Tea Versus Bagged Tea

#1 Better Quality

The main benefit that you get from purchasing loose leaf tea is the ability to get something that is much higher quality. Bagged tea is typically made up of a variety of leaves. Within a single bag, you could have a mix of leaves from all over. The point for brands to sell bagged tea is to standardize the process so it’s more cost-effective. Thus, a lot of bagged tea will feature broken-up tea leaves that served as the leftovers of the whole-leaf form. This means you aren’t getting the best quality with bagged tea. With loose leaf tea, you will likely be getting tea leaves that come from the same region or specific area. Therefore, you are getting much higher quality leaves and you are getting more accurate flavor profiles because of it. The lack of blending makes a big difference in the quality and type of experience you get with whole leaf tea.

#2 It’s Fresher

One of the benefits that should push you towards loose leaf tea would be the freshness. You are getting much fresher tea when you opt for loose leaf tea because it requires a lot less processing. With bagged tea, you have the tea sitting around waiting for sorting, bagging, and more. With loose leaf tea, it requires a lot less to get it to market. Likewise, it’s marketed as being fresher. Therefore, you are getting much fresher tea when you choose to purchase loose leaf tea. While you’ll be paying a premium for the freshness, it’s certainly worth it given the negative impact oxygen exposure can have on the taste of the tea.

#3 It’s Healthier

Getting loose leaf tea is going to be healthier. As mentioned previously, you can count on getting much fresher tea leaves. Because of this, the beneficial properties naturally found in the tea leaves will remain. Thus, when you prepare and drink the tea, you can experience more of the health benefits that tea offers. While you will certainly get health benefits from drinking bagged tea, the processing and the longer time to your cup will decrease the total amount of nutrients you get from your tea.

As you can see, there are many benefits associated with preparing and drinking loose leaf tea. If you want to get the best taste and health benefits from the tea you drink, you should be opting for loose leaf tea as it is superior to bagged tea.