Since the inception of mass produced tea bags, there has been an ongoing debate between which is better.

For the passionate tea lover, the choice is undoubtedly loose leaf.

But there is an increasing number of them moving to tea bags partly due to the improvement of it’s production process.

When comparing between them, 6 factors always seem to surface.

1) Convenience

Loose leaf will always lose out on convenience.

From storing them in vacuum containers to preparing the strainer, the whole process can be time consuming for the typical person who has little time before her favorite show starts on TV.

Tea bags on the other hand, only requires a cup and hot water.

In fact, the creation of tea bags was based around the idea of convenience.

If a new world order demands that tea should no longer be packed in tea bags, there will undoubtedly be a drastic drop in end-user demand for tea.

This can also affect the supply of loose leaf as producers can no longer generate the revenue required to sustain their operations.

Tea bags wins hands down on convenience.

2) Environment friendly

Loose leaf have minimal processing which retains most of it’s natural state.

This makes it biodegradable.

When left in the open, they break down and get absorbed by the soil quickly.

In fact, many home makers use used tea leaves as nutrients for the plants in their gardens in the front yard.

On the flip side, no matter what types of tea they hold, tea bags contain plastic that can take years or decades before they degrade naturally.

One can argue that the leaves in tea bags can be removed and left to degrade and the plastic-containing bags can be sent for recycling.

I would like to see someone take the trouble of doing that.

3) Flavor

While some people will swear by the quality of tea in tea bags, everyone knows that such a claim is a long shot.

Loose leaves are made up of whole leaves which still contain it’s aromatic oils due to minimal processing.

Tea bags however, loses a lot of those oils during processing.

If there is ever any doubt on this one, consumers who have never had a pot of tea brewed with loose leaf, just trying it once should be enough to convince them of the full flavor compared to tea bags.

4) Infusion

The main points of infusion concern:

• Speed
• Flavor

Tea bags infuse quickly partly due to the fine tea leaves contained in the bags. However, the restriction of movement the bags cause affects the flavor.

Loose leaf infuses more slowly than tea bags

So much so that even with second servings, and sometimes even a third serving, the drinker will still be able to enjoy the aroma of the given tea.

Tea bags have faster infusion but lesser flavor while loose leaf infuses slower but come with more wholesome flavor.

5) Quality

It is generally accepted that loose leaf is of a higher grade and quality compared to commercial tea bags.

However, that assumes that loose leaf is always fresh.

A lack of knowledge on how to store loose leaf properly can cause the tea leaves to go stale very quickly.

On the contrary tea bags are processed with cutting-edge technology and packed with the sole purpose of longevity.

A tea bag today will taste the same as one a month later from the same production batch. This is even if they are packed with low grade tea leaves.

The same cannot be said of loose leaf.

A mistake in storing can give loose leaf a flavor that you don’t ever want to taste again.

6) Price

The common assumption is that loose tea is much more expensive than tea bags.

While they truly are higher priced, the magnitude of the difference is exaggerated.

Consider that loose tea makes much more cups of tea compared to a box of tea bags from the store.

In fact, if we measure the economic value for the price per cup, it won’t be surprising at all to find loose tea leaves cheaper than tea bags.

The choice of loose leaf or tea bags almost always come down to convenience and/or flavor.

If a tea lover puts more weight on flavor than convenience, then she will go with loose leaf. And vice-versa.

Of course, there is the added option of using loose leaf in tea bags.

That way both the demands on flavor and convenience can be met.