When it comes to having a tea-drinking culture, Australia isn’t to be underestimated with half of the population enjoying a nice hot cuppa at least once per week. I myself have adopted a tea-drinking ritual over the years, and have felt how big of a difference it can make in my rest, relaxation, and health in general.

Still, if you want to make the experience count, and be part of those people who actually reap all the benefits this tasty hot beverage can offer, it matters what kind of tea you choose to boost your days with. As busy modern people, time is of the essence, and I get why many prefer tea bags over loose-leaf tea – they’re practical, easy to carry around and use, and take very little time to prepare.

Just boil some water, pour it into your favourite cup, add the bag and wait for a couple of minutes before drinking. However, if you compare these instant benefits with the long-term benefits of the counterpart, it’s easy to see why one should make the switch. Loose-leaf tea, especially that composed of certified organic tea leaves free of nasty chemicals, fertilisers, and pesticides, is the best investment you can make for your health.

The bonus part is your palate would thank you for it too! If you’d like to know some more info on this kind of tea, here’s my take on it.

Loose Leaf Tea Is Simply Better

There’s no other way of explaining it! Tea bags are the main reason why certain people have a bad experience with this amazing beverage. Since they are mass-produced, what ends up in the bags is just the tiny particles of loose-leaf tea, also known as fannings, or even dust.

These pieces shredded to the tiniest bits make it impossible to fully taste the rich flavours teas have to offer, so what you’re left with is an astringent brew due to the higher release of tannins. This doesn’t occur to that amount with the full-leaf organic tea alternative that doesn’t lose its essential oils and rich aroma which you get to taste.

I know of several people who used to hate black tea (my husband included!), only to discover they loved it after trying the real deal. So, if you aren’t that crazy about the beverage, and you’re among the few Australians who don’t make it in the “one cup per week” count, chances are you haven’t given the full leaf option a try.

If you still aren’t convinced about it, though, rest assured there are various choices of natural tea to choose from, be it herbal, fruit, white, green, oolong, or pu-erh tea you prefer. Better also means better for the environment, considering you can compost this version of the tea.

This isn’t the case with nasty tea bags full of chemicals. So, in a way, making the switch can be a step forward in the sustainable lifestyle too, as it means less waste and environmental impact. And, while we’re at chemicals, healthy organic teas are better for the farmers as well since there are no nasty ingredients involved in the process, and buying more of this drink helps support local and small businesses that truly care about the environment.

Loose Leaf Tea Is Healthier Too

In general, most of us have the notion that tea is healthy but to be able to truly make use of the mighty benefits it can provide us with we ought to pay attention to what makes it to our cup. The mass production of bagged tea undergoes means it’s not that fresh because it may end up on some shelves in a warehouse long before it makes it to the supermarket shelves and your cupboard.

Moreover, it’s picked, processed and packaged by machines, which is quite different from the hand-selected and crafted organic tea leaves that typically go through small-batch techniques. This makes the healthy alternative much fresher too. On top of this, bags are treated with chemicals that end up in your cup once they get in touch with boiled water.

I hate to break it to you, but this is true for both paper and plastic bags, given that usually paper ones are treated with epichlorohydrin, and sometimes may be bleached with chlorine as well. Plastic ones are made from a variety of plastics that can leach into your tea, including PVC, thermoplastic, polypropylene, nylon and PET.

Not only do you avoid all these, but opting for the full-leaf counterpart is a way to also make tea time more fun. Wonder how? You can purchase unbleached 100% organic cotton bags and make your own tea bags that you can wash and reuse as many times as you want. So, if you simply must have your bagged tea, at least make it count for your health. I’m seriously considering getting my own supply of bags to try this out!

Before I forget, healthier also means the loose leaf option is more potent because it’s full leaf that’s allowed to expand with hot water thus releasing all of the incredible vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, as well as flavours and aromas. Ditch the supermarket bagged products if you want to experience the relaxing, anti-inflammatory, weight-loss, and immune-boosting benefits of tea and get your own stack of organic full-leaf tea!