For me, personally, I HATE teabags with a passion and, unfortunately, that is all that is available to me in my local stores. I have to travel nearly 200 miles to find loose tea. I feel the teabag is the poorest quality of tea created. How do you all feel about teabags?
I have been ordering loose tea from Specialteas.com for years. Their tea is very good and reasonable too! No need to use teabags!! Love the Earl Grey and Vanilla.
Luckily, there is a "tea room" about a half an hour from my home. The owner only uses bone china tea cups and sells an impressive array of loose tea that you can buy in bulk, or in "taster" size bags. Just going for tea service is an event, and she NEVER uses tea bags. My favorite tea, however, I bought at Harrod's many years ago and have never been able to get it again. At least I saved the tin!
I can use either. I carry bags for convenience when traveling. I prefer the loose tea at home and I use a tea sock to brew it. There are a plethora of websites to order loose tea from. No reason to travel unless you don't want to pay shipping charges. I'd do a web search for "loose tea" and purchase. You should get enough results to satisfy the need for tea. I order from Twinnings who have a site with loose tea options. I can't remember where I get my Barry's from. Good luck. Hope you find a good internet tea store.
I hate teabags so much that if there is a tea in a bag I want to use, I tear it open and dump it into the pot. I also do not have a good local sorce for loose tea. I get them all on line. I rarely drink a flavor tea. I'm into the medicinal ones like fo-ti, wu-yi, oatstraw, danelion, cornsilk, yellow dock, kava kava. But, I do slice fresh ginger into everything I brew. My favorite sites are pennherb.com and mountainrose.com. I have ordered a new whistling kettle. It is glass. I've been think that it may be better health-wise than metal.
HELLO, JUST WANTED TO JUMP IN TO YOUR DISCUSSION. MY USER ID IS WINGSLEAFS AND I WELCOME YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT MY LISTINGS. THIS IS NOT REALLY A SALES PITCH, JUST A GENERAL INFORMATION QUIRY. IF YOU ARE USED TO LOOSE TEA AND TRY MOST STORE-BOUGHT TEA BRANDS IN TEABAGS YOU WILL PROBABLY END UP DISAPPOINTED. I HAVE BEGUN SELLING TEABAGS ON EBAY ONLY RECENTLY BUT HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTING THEM THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA FOR NEARLY TWENTY YEARS. MY TEA IS ALL FRESHLY PREPARED AND HAS A VERY ROBUST SMELL AND TASTE. I OFFER 7 VARIETIES IN GOURMET TINS ALTHOUGH I WILL SEPERATE AND SUPPLY THE TEABAGS ALONE IN BULK IF YOU SO WISH. THIS TEA IS A GOURMET BLEND AND SURPRISES MOST PEOPLE AS THE FLAVOR IS COMPARABLE TO MOST LOOSE LEAF TEAS. IN FACT MY DISTRIBUTION SET UP IS ABOUT HALF AND HALF TEABAGS AND LOOSE. ALL OF MY TEBAGS ARE PROCESSED ON SITE FROM THE LOOSE BLEND, NOT TEA FLAKES AND PIECES PARTS THAT SOME OF THE STORE BOUGHT BRANDS PROVIDE. MOST PEOPLE TELL ME THAT THE TEA IS STRONG ENOUGH TO USE THE TEABAGS MORE THAN ONCE. NOW THAT IS QUITE A STAEMENT FOR THE FLAVOR AND QUALITY. I AM DEBATING WHETHER OR NOT TO LIST BULK TEA AS WELL AND I AM AWAITING FEEDBACK TO LET ME KNOW IF THERE IS ENOUGH DEMAND FOR IT.
While teabags are convenient for some people, it is far better to buy a good quality loose tea and brew it yourself. Try using a tea basket, or spice bag to place your loose tea leaves for proper brewing. Remember to leave room in the basket or bag for expansion. Start with fresh cold aerated water, proper water temperature is crucial for the type of tea being used. Then watch your clock, as different teas need longer or shorter brewing times for the best flavor. Always buy quality tea and store it in a dark and airtight container for best quality. Dampness, light and excessive exposure can ruin your best brew. Also please note that most teabags bought in stores are of inferrior quality and are the "Left Overs." While the flavor, health benefits, oils and quality are found in the larger leaves that are used in whole loose leaf teas. Everything is available on the internet, so it does not matter where you reside. Start right here on Ebay and look for brewing baskets or brew bags. Enjoy that cup of tea!
I LOVE the loose leaf from adagio.com I have used them for a few years now. I tried specialteas,com, but wasn't as pleased with the selection. Adagio has roobios, green, oolong, white, herbal and black...and umpteen varieties of flavors of each! Just don't get their bottled tea (ick) I am an Ooolong girl, except on my Green days....
Hate them! Loose leaf tea is so much better! You get a much fuller flavor and more health benefits. (I'd be happy to share more about this if you'd like) I sell over 100 blends of loose leaf tea through LET'S DO TEA. We also sell Tea Sacks and several different types infusers. Delivered right to your door! Check out my catalog when you get a chance! http://www.letsdotea.com/2009LDTcatalog.pdf Thanks and have a TEA-rific day! Deb
I use both although I do love loose leaf better. I feel that the quality of the tea is much better. If anything I usually order loose tea from Teavana and brew it myself if I have time, if not I put some in a teabag and keep it moving.
To me tea bags are a necessary evil. I don't use American teabags, the quality of the tea is so poor compared to the the UK's. Yorkshire Red Label, PG Tips, Typhoo are the three that I use on a regular basis. I use the bags when traveling and at work. At home I use loose. For the loose I like uptontea.com. Fast, friendly service and what I like best you can get samples good for 2 or 3 cups with most samples being only a dollar.
Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.
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