Why I should bother to brew a leaf tea ?
Is loose leaf tea really the best.....? Well, we live in the country where from the morning mug to the evening cup an Irish person typically drinks between four and six cups of teas per day. Unfortunately, by many standards the quality of the everyday cuppa is very poor.
However, you might asking yourself ‘Why should I bother to brew a leaf tea when I’m perfectly happy with my cup of Barry`s?’
So, dear reader here is my answer for this question...
Probably the most concerning reason is what the tea bag contains, other than tea leaves.
Barry’s Tea uses a petroleum-based plastic called polypropylene to seal their teabags. Pyramid teabags release 11.6 billion micro plastics into each cup of tea and 3.1 billion nano plastics into a single cup.
It may be shocking and scary to learn that we are unwittingly exposing our body and environment to plastic particles in this way.
Unlike teabags, which contain dust or ‘fannings’ loose leaf tea is filled with complex and subtle flavours. Much like coffee or wine, loose tea has whole palette, endless nuances and notes to be found in every cup. Because of this, whole leaves also offer you richer and more flavourful brews.
Ok, but loose leaf teas is so expensive...
This is a common misconception. I did quick bit of research to compare the price of loose leaf tea to tea bags from the big supermarket shelf. I picked two different types of tea:
Twinings Camomile and Honey 20 Tea Bags 30g €2.75 (€9.17/100g)
VERSUS
Tea4you Sleep Well Tea €8.50 /100g
Twinings Green Tea Pineapple 20 Tea Bags 40g €2.85 (€7.13/100g)
VERSUS
Tea4you 7 Green Treasure (green tea pineapple and strawberry) €8.50 /100g
You could say aha the second tea is more expansive, by a whole €1.37. But please dear reader remember many of our loose leaf teas – particularly oolong, pu-erh and greens – can be brewed and re-brewed multiple times, and it’s here where you can truly begin to discover the flavour profiles of your tea.
From one brew to the next, the notes in the tea will begin to reveal themselves, and you’ll enjoy several unique variations of the same brew. Some even believe the first brew is not always the best and favour the second steep. To summarise, from 100g of leaf tea you can make 50 cups if you brew it once. If you brew it twice, 100 cups and you can still brew, brew and brew again! Can you do this with your tea bag tea? Please don`t be afraid to rebrew your leaf teas, the worst what can happen is that you risk wasting a bit of water. Also, although tea leaves will eventually lose their flavour after multiple brews, they are still filled with nutrients – and there are plenty of uses for them after you’ve finished your cup.
One of the simplest ways to reuse your tea leaves is to compost them or use as fertiliser for pot plants and flower beds. It is very hard to do this with pyramid tea bags because of the plastic component.
But it is so messy ...
There’s no denying that the teabag is convenient, and if you’re in a hurry, it’s the perfect way to still enjoy a cup. However, there is always a solution. I recommend paper tea filters. Compo-stable, chlorine free and plastic free. Remember ...There's always time for tea.
Final conclusion, tea is fun, it will calm you down, it will cheer you up, heal you, it will revive you, it is a micro world with 1000 possibilities to explore!!!
THEINE or CAFFEINE
One day I was asked a simple question about tea from one of my customers: “I`m trying avoid caffeine should I switch to
herbal tea?”
Customer awareness increases from year to year. They not only looking just for tea but they start looking for tea that give them some nutrition and healthy benefit.
And so, dear reader, if that is where you find yourself you’ve come to the right place.
The simple answer about CAFFEINE in tea.
If you google it, you’ll be informed that indeed tea contain caffeine.
Let`s solve this whole mystery.
Amazingly THEINE and CAFFEINE are the same alaloid. Recognized in 1838 as being identical to the caffeine in coffee. the caffeine in tea is, nonetheless, distinguished from the caffeine in coffee because it forms different bonds with other substances, which changes how it affects the body. When tea leaves are infused, the caffeine combines with tannins, which attenuate and stabilize its effect. Tannins prevent caffeine from being released rapidly, so it is absorbed over a longer period of time. The effect, therefore, lasts longer and is more regular. In tea, caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system by enlarging the diameter of the vessels in the cerebral cortex. When ingested in coffee, caffeine has a direct effect on blood circulation through the coronary system, stimulating an acceleration of the heart rate, In other words, tea is a more of a stimulant than an excitant. It sharpens the mind, increases concentration, eliminates fatigue and enhances intellectual acuity.*
MYSTERY SOLVED… here's some actual facts:
You can drink white, oolong or green tea to reduce consumption of tannins. This types of tea contain much less tannins.
You can rinse you tea leaves for 30 seconds with a little water before you brew your tea. This way you will get rid of most of the tannins.
You can reused your loose leave tea a few times. Every next brew contain less and less tannins.
You can try to get decaffeinated tea. There a little more expensive but not impossible to get hold of.
And yes, you can switch on herbal tea it will not kill you :). There are so many different fantastic tasting herbal teas, you just have to find the right one for you. Who knows, maybe you will discover something new about yourself...
Final conclusion, tea sharpens the mind, increases concentration, eliminates fatigue and enhances intellectual alertness, what more could you want!?
*Tea. History Terroirs Varieties. Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais and Hugo Americi