The Journey to Quality Tea

The Journey to Quality Tea: Moving Beyond the Ordinary Tea Bag

In the United States, most tea is still brewed from tea bags, and many standard bags contain small, broken pieces of tea. That convenience can come at the cost of flavor. Here's how we got here, and why loose leaf tea is worth discovering.

Thousands of Years of Loose Tea

According to legend, the first tea leaves drifted into Emperor Shen Nung's cup in ancient China—no string attached. For thousands of years, tea was enjoyed in loose form, with many methods for separating leaves from water. The most famous early guide, The Classic of Tea (Cha Jing), was written by Lu Yu in the 8th century. Unsurprisingly, it says nothing about pulling a string.

The Accidental Invention of the Tea Bag

Tea bags are a fairly recent invention. In the early 1900s, New York tea merchant Thomas Sullivan is often credited with sending samples of loose tea in small silk pouches. Some customers dropped the whole pouch into hot water, and requests for these convenient "tea bags" soon followed. Easy cleanup made them a hit.

The Cost of Convenience

Tea leaves need room to expand and release their full flavor, and small bags restrict that. To fit, many bags came to use small grades of tea known as "fannings" and "dust." These tiny pieces brew quickly and give color, but often lack the depth of whole leaves. Paper filters can further limit water flow.

A New Era for Tea Lovers

Just as many people moved from instant coffee to freshly brewed, more tea drinkers are discovering whole-leaf, loose tea. Brewing loose leaf is easy: use about 1 teaspoon per 8 oz of water in an infuser or glass teapot and give the leaves room to unfurl.

Ready to taste the difference? Start with classics like Earl Grey Bravo or Irish Breakfast, or explore several styles with the Tea Tasting Assortment. Browse our full loose leaf tea collection at Tea The World.