Loose leaf tea or bags? Two reasons for a great cup.

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water and has a millennial history, ancient as Chinese culture. Over the centuries, it has been thought to be the secret of longevity and has served as an inspiration for many, leading to its preparation being considered a true form of art. But whereas tea once required infusing leaves directly in hot water, today we can enjoy this beverage using tea powder in bags. Which of the two should we choose, you may ask? We answer that they are two “schools of thought.”

The history of the tea bag is quite recent: it was born in 1904 and was originally made of silk. It was invented by Thomas Sullivan, a New York importer with the intent of spreading the beverage even among small distributors. He sent the bags to his clients as samples to let them decide on orders, but everyone naturally immersed them directly in the water to taste the infusion. Thus, the “tea bag” was born. However, it was in 1950 that the modern tea bag was created: a German company developed the design for the double-chamber bag that ensured a quick infusion of acceptable quality, ideal for those who wanted a brew but did not have time to follow traditional rules. From the 1970s onwards, an industry from Bologna made significant improvements to the tea bag and is now the number 1 producer in the world.

Choosing whether to drink tea in leaves or in a bag means deciding whether to give more importance to speed and convenience, rather than to the purity of the gesture and taste. It is essential to know how to choose the product and what’s inside: the filter usually contains the powders and the finer parts of the leaves, and tannin is released in excessive quantities and very quickly. To enjoy tea in its near-naturalness, it would be correct to use bags only if they contain pieces of leaves rather than powder.

The quality of an infusion made with leaves is certainly better than that of a bag, partly for the pleasure of seeing how the leaves change from before to after infusion, partly to admire their color, to smell and enjoy the aroma they emit, as you can measure the right personal quantity, but above all because once dissolved in water they tend to release in the infusion higher levels of antioxidants and other beneficial compounds.

By using small metal filters, it is possible to enjoy the taste and properties of tea 100%, but there are purists who, like the ancient Chinese, let the leaves sink, rise, and float freely in hot water. Even George Orwell believed that this was the best practice: in 1946 he wrote an essay titled “a good cup of tea,” in which he explained that tea “should be in direct contact with the teapot, no bags or other devices to imprison it.” He himself stressed, however, “how complicated the matter is,” because the ritual of tea requires patience and care. A cup of this infusion can be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable refuges from the stresses of life, but it can also become annoyingly bitter, tasteless, or lose its properties if prepared the wrong way.

Another difference between a tea infusion in a bag and an infusion of tea leaves is that in the bag, the powdered leaf gives a astringent flavor, which is why it is natural to add sugar. For the best teas, no sweetener is needed; on the contrary, adding it would damage the flavor. 

Be careful about the water used in both infusions: for tea preparation the water must be light and have a low fixed residue. The difference between two identical teas infused in different waters is immense: the heavier and more mineral-rich the water is, the more the tea will be murky and flat.

We at Spaghetti & Mandolino care about the quality of tea and we have for you some new products distributed by a very interesting reality: Altromercato, the main fair trade organization in Italy that carries out solid economic practices aimed at sustainable development. The teas from Altromercato come from plantations in India and Sri Lanka, some of which are organic. We invite you to appreciate their quality by drinking a tasty cup of black tea, green, or white. Of course, while paying attention to the ritual of preparation, because we remind you: “it’s a complicated matter.”
 

S&M