LOOSE LEAF TEA

Tea is good for you or at least is not bad for you... and cheaper too

Why would someone buy tea?  Specifically why would someone want to buy loose leaf tea?  I read an article that proposes the health benefits of tea which I suppose is one of the best reasons to drink it.  Of several people interviewed who made it to the age of 100 (the centennial club), one thing was in common with all of them.  They all drank water or tea regularly.  I don’t know if I buy all of the “health benefits" tea snobs spout but there is plenty of research to show the bad things that go along with other drinks.  The two obviously bad for you and two surprisingly bad drink are commercial beer, soda, sports drinks and fruit juice.  All of these if drank daily have been known to cause an increase in weight which can lead to health problems.  In addition to that, they’re pretty expensive. 

Water on the other hand is good for you but lacks that good flavor I crave.  Tea is my compromise.  It’s potentially really good for you but at the least, it doesn’t have the negative aspects most other drinks do.  There is a huge variety of types to choose from and is often less expensive than the alternative.  If you just want the basic tea, you can get something like 10 cents a gallon.  The varieties just go on from there.  If you really want fresh tea and the most variety, the natural progression is towards loose leaf tea. I was suckered in the Teavana store by some great tea and cool accessories and thus got my start as a tea snob in training.  

I started with the a tea storage tin to keep the tea fresh.  I thought it looked pretty cool and because the seal was plastic, it's not supposed to rust or warp when storing citrus teas like the metal does.  I'm a fan of citrus teas so this was an easy sell for the guy.  The tea strainer he offered also was an easy sell.  I'm a sucker for cool gadgets and accessories and this is no exception.  Basically it stores the tea until you set it down on your cup at which point the water drains from the bottom directly into your cup.  Because of the strainer at the bottom, no loose leaf tea gets into your cup so it's highly effective.  Cleaning is pretty easy.  I just rinse it out each use and it's good to go.  After a few uses, I'll run it through the dishwasher to give it a good scrubbing but in any case, it's simple to use and clean.  You don't have to just use loose leaf tea in there.  If you wanted to combine some spices or citrus with a packet of green tea, you can do that with no problem.  Both my tin and tea strainer I feel were good purchases because they look pretty nice out and are easy to use. 

You never know when you’ll find that perfect tea or if the next flavor will be even better.

The tea you put in there is a whole other story.  I spoke about Teavana but Tealux is another store you can look into.  They seem to be a little cheaper and have a good selection.  Even still, it's not the price I would like.  Both claim to have the freshest tea available but at that price, they better.  I bought a groupon the other day to a local store called Tin Roof Teas that had some really great prices.  They had a bigger selection there and were about a quarter the price.  Below you can see a small selection of the varieties they have.  I’ve tried all of the main types and a few other random ones.  I still don’t know that I have a favorite yet which is good.  I want to keep trying new and different options.  You never know when you’ll find that perfect tea or if the next flavor will be even better.