What is Tea?

All tea (white, green, oolong, black and pu-ehr) comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. It is hard to pinpoint a single origin of the first Camillia sinensis, but based on DNA, it is thought to have originated in the southwestern Chinese Province of Yunnan, 2.5 million years ago. Many ancient wild tea trees still grow deep in the mountains in altitudes greater than 6,500 feet and has been a primary crop for many indigenous peoples for centuries. Most teas that are found in the world have originated from the Chinese sinensis variety. It grows as bushes and trees and is indigenous to China and Japan. British took seeds from China in the 1800’s and planted them in India, not immediately realizing there were wild tea plants already growing in Assam. India’s wild tea plant is called the Camillia assamica. It has larger leaves and can grow from a bush into a tall tree. Currently, tea plants grow worldwide and are either originated from a Camellia sinensis, Camillia assamica or hybrids originating from one or both.

Loose Leaf VS Tea Bags

Tea bags became popular in the early 1900’s in the United States.  Tea was expensive to ship by weight in wooden boxes, so a tea exporter started putting his tea in silk purses. The purses were mistaken for steeping devices and dunked in hot water.  Voila!  The tea bag was born! It is still the most popular way to brew tea in the United States.  So why use loose leafed tea?

• Loose teas use the whole leaf while teabags use the fannings or dust from the leaves.  Think the leftovers at the bottom of a cereal box.  While whole leaf is the premium version of tea, the fannings are either taken from a lower grade tea or the bits that fall through a screen when the whole tea leaves are shaken.

• Consider breaking open a tea bag and comparing it to a loose-leaf tea. The appearance and smell will be quite different.  The health benefit and flavor of tea is also quite different.  Infusing loose leaf tea in a wide mouth infuser allow the teas to dance in the water, releasing all its delicious flavor and antioxidants.

• Although tea bags have improved over the years, some bags were bleached, leaving a toxic residue on the bags. Not all bags are biodegradable. Just out in Fall 2019 from Canada: Tea bags were tested for plastics. All tea that was sealed with adhesive or in a silk like bags released micro particles of plastics when brewed. You decide….. Published by Laura Hernandez, et al. from the Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. You decide……

• The only benefit of a tea bag? Convenience, of course. Personally, the only time I’ll use teabags is when traveling.  I will use the non-bleached biodegradable, non sealed, tea sac that I can put in my own loose leaf tea.  That way I know it’s fresh, organic and delicious. Almost like getting the perks of flying 1st class without the price tag!

All tea is best brewed loose leafed in the purest water available. Temperatures and time vary with tea depending on how much they are oxidized. The goal is to brew a delicious cup of tea while releasing all the goodness of health and flavor in that cup. Click the link below to find a general guide to get you started.