Teabags are often regarded as a one-time use option when preparing tea - and even though that's completely fine, this typically applies to most teas you purchase off the shelf in a grocery store.
When it comes to whole leaf tea, the tea leaves are actually able to provide you with more than a single cup of tea. In simpler terms, whole leaf tea is primarily made up of whole, unbroken leaves as opposed to lower grade teas which typically consist of much smaller pieces, as well as ground up tea dust. The advantage of whole leaf tea here is that it contains essential oils and catechin (what usually makes the tea bold, flavourful, and aromatic, as well as providing the added natural antioxidants that help prevent cell damage and provide other benefits). Typical tea bags do not end up providing the same flavours or benefits as those finer ingredients tend to evaporate, if they do exist. This is also why freshness is an issue with most teabag.
Not only is whole leaf tea more delicious, but it ends up being a more sustainable way of enjoying tea - and that's especially important if you want to enjoy great tea while feeling good about it!
Now to take it a step further and perhaps simplify all of this, having whole leaf tea in a tea bag can actually make it much simpler for anyone to enjoy more tea out of a single tea bag. The important thing to note here is that once you decide to use our whole leaf tea bags more than once, you will need to steep the tea for at least 30 seconds longer for each consecutive steep - up to 4 times!
If you were unaware of the fact that you could use a whole leaf tea bag more than once, well - it gets better! We've gone ahead and done the quick math work to break down the total cost of each cup of tea, when purchasing our tea.
Let's assume that 1 tea bag = 1 tea cup, so if you picked up our Four Seasons Oolong | 四季春 tea, which includes 12 whole leaf tea bags we can simply equate this to:
14.99 / 12 = $1.25 per cup
Now let's say we got two uses out of each tea bag:
14.99 / 24 = $0.62 per cup
Not bad, right? How about three?
14.99 / 36 = $0.41 per cup
We won't go much further, because you get the idea. Again, not only are you enjoying tea in a sustainable manner, but you're also getting good value for each tea bag you use!
Furthermore, if you want to take things a step further and make even more use out of a whole leaf tea bag after the flavours are gone, here are some suggestions on how you can sustainably use the tea leaves for more:
- Put them into a pitcher and add water to create a cold brew batch. Throw the pitcher in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours - and enjoy!
- Use them as compost for your plants or even your garden!
- Dry them out and put them in an open container beside the area where there's a bad scent (for example, freezers, shoes). The tea leaves can actually neutralize bad odours!
So the next time you find yourself making tea, give one of those suggestions a try. Feel free to also compare the differences between one of our whole leaf tea bags and a typical tea bag - and you'll see what we mean!
As always, thank you for reading. We hope to see you again soon over a nice warm cup of tea.
Much love,
All Day Tea Club