Are you a fan of green tea? Green tea is one of the most popular and healthiest teas to start drinking. Maybe you are thinking of switching from tea bags to loose leaf green tea? Loose leaf tea, while popular around the world, is just starting to pick up here in North America.
Here are 6 good reasons to buy loose leaf green tea:
1. Antioxidants
For green tea, the loose leaf version generally has a higher source of antioxidants such as EGCG, which is part of a group of antioxidants called catechins. Since the green tea leaves are less oxidized, more of the health benefits get preserved. While each brand and batch vary in their levels of antioxidants, you have a better chance of getting higher antioxidant levels in the loose leaf versions. A report from ConsumerLab.com, which is an independent site testing health products, supported this finding of loose leaves generally containing a higher levels of antioxidants.
2. Flavor
With loose leaf green tea, you receive the complete leaf and its essential oils, resulting in usually a much higher quality taste as opposed to tea bags. Keep in mind that loose green tea does not tend to last as long as some other teas due to its high moisture content. As a result, you should use fairly fresh loose leaf green tea leaves to taste its superiority over bagged teas. The leaves can still usually last at least a year stored in the right air tight container.
3. Variety
With loose leaves, you can make all sorts of blends with green tea that are not offered in your standard tea bag. Some of the best selling green teas online are blends with sweet flavors such as fruits. For example, theteaspot.com offers a best selling green tea called Fruity & Fun which combines two types of green tea plus other fruit flavors. You can even craft your own perfect mixture of green tea that is not available anywhere else.
4. You can re-brew the leaves
Depending on the quality of leaves, it is not unheard of to be able to re-brew green tea up to 5 times. This can help lower your cost per serving. Generally, loose green teas can be re-steeped at least two times. Green teas are more delicate than some other teas, so you want to avoid over-steeping or brewing it at too high of a temperature. Proper brewing of the leaves should increase your chances of getting a higher number of re-brews, also known as infusions. I have had some great re-steeped green tea on my second and third cups.
5. Cost
It is a common misconception that loose leaf tea is much more expensive than its bagged version. As mentioned previously, you can re-brew loose leaf green tea many times to cut down on your cost per cup. There are some overpriced loose teas in some tea shops, so you need to find a reasonably priced seller.
6. It’s just fun
Loose leaf tea drinkers enjoy the whole brewing process. Brewing loose leaf tea is simple with the right tools. There’s also lots of room for experimentation with flavors to find the best tasting green tea for you. You can also try different devices and buy cool tea accessories along with them.
If you’re thinking of buying loose leaf green tea, I highly recommend it. Feel free to leave any comments below.
