Loose Leaf Tea Explained

Loose leaf taste

The taste of loose leaf tea is far superior to that of the common tea bag. I remember the shelves in the home kitchen full of packets of loose leaf tea of all different varieties. We used china mugs for our tea then but on special occasions the full tea set was used and we could each pick a blend of loose leaf tea to sample. The tea caddy held the tea which was currently in use and this caddy was an airtight crockery container and woe betides the person that forgot to close the lid. My Pop was a stickler for this because tea absorbs surrounding odors and he once said his tea tasted of onions. It did!

Kinds of loose leaf tea

More than 50 countries throughout the world produce tea but all are hybrids of the three main types of tea. Darjeeling tea and Hojicha tea would be examples of hybrids. The main teas are described below.

Three main types of loose leaf tea

The best known of the teas are all considered below. The three basic types are China, Assam and Cambod described as follows:

China tea

Sinensis (Camellia sinensis) is known as plant or tea plant or China tea plant. All Chinese teas are comprised of this plant as well as some Japanese teas. The tea plant is shrub like with many shoots and the leaves are thick, strong and stand upright. Chinese tea plants have smaller leaves than the other two listed below.

Cambod tea

Assamica lasiocalyx is more commonly known as Cambod tea and is the in-between tea of the China and Indian varieties. The leaves of this tree are yellowish pink and it flowers are similar to the Assam variety. These leaves are middle sized between the China and Assam varieties.

Indian tea

Sinensis Assamica is of the Assam plant and is an Indian tea plant. Assam is a region in the North East of India (near the Himalayas) where the tea plant is grown extensively. Assam tea is a black loose leaf tea. The Assam plant has dark brown, almost coppery leaves with copper tips and produces a strong black tea from it’s tips and leaves. The Assam plant has the largest leaf size.

Other varieties of loose teas

Other teas and tisanes outside of the above three would be more accurately classified as herbal teas or even slimming teas. Some teas are prepared by adding ingredients of other plants to the actual loose leaf tea. For instance the popular ‘up market’ Earl Grey tea is a black tea with bergamot oil added and is often served in a china teapot. Weight loss tea is another of the many different types of tea that are available.

What loose leaf tea contains

Loose leaf tea contains three main ingredients namely caffeine, essential oils (usually in excess of 15%) and polyphenols. The caffeine gives the stimulus, the essential oil the flavor and the polyphenols (which is an anti oxidant) give the unique taste to the tea in your teapot.

Tea plant growth

Tea plants require plenty of rain and they grow better at high altitudes. The tea plant is actually a tree and if left alone will grow into a full 10 or 12 feet high tree but because they are picked for tea making they never get larger than picking height which is about waist level. The tips of the plant are harvested every week as these are the best parts of the plant for making loose leaf tea. Sometimes the leaves (and occasionally twigs and roots too) are used as a vegetable in countries such as Thailand and Burma, for instance. The tea plant can be used medicinally and sipping a nice cup of tea can be very therapeutic and calming.

Ten unusual uses for loose leaf tea or teabags

1 As a hair dye. Tea can darken your hair though it may take several treatments over time.

2 Relieve tired eyes by placing warm teabags over your closed eyelids for about 15 minutes.

3 Tea can be used for the treatment of a boil.

4 Loose leaf tea which is gone cold on the tea tray can be poured directly onto your rose garden to improve the blooms. If you use old teabags you should tear them open to quicken their effect on the soil.

5 Tea can be used for tanning your skin and sometimes will help tone down white scar tissue.

6 Reduce foot odor by steeping your feet in cool brewed tea liquid

7 The flavored teas, orange, lemon, peppermint and ginger teas can be used to make a pleasant mouthwash.

8 Dye your clothes with a tea wash. Tea has strong dye properties.

9 Used tea, liquid, loose leaf or teabags is very good for the compost bin as it helps with the decomposition of other materials. Make sure that you tear the teabags before adding to compost as it help them to break down more quickly.

10 Tea is good to gargle and can ease a sore throat.

Loose tea remedy

Additional remedies are derived from other tea formats such as Ginger tea for treating headaches and Dandelion tea for treating liver and kidney problems. Tea is primarily meant to be taken as a refreshing drink but as can be seen from the above it can be put to many alternative uses. Tea bags are very practical for making single cups of tea but for a truly wonderful drink I believe that properly brewed loose leaf tea has no equal.