Basic Types of Loose Leaf Tea

Tea is one beverage that has been around for a long, long time. People have been drinking tea for centuries now. It can be considered a type of stimulant since it contains caffeine although it is a mild one. The tannin compounds that are found in loose leaf tea and other types of tea are what produces the actual flavor of the tea and the number of tea flavors to choose from is quite many and varied.

Types of Tea

The basic categories of loose leaf tea are white tea, black tea, green tea, and oolong tea although there are more varieties that you can choose from. Some teas are flavored or scented with oils or flower petals during the processing stages, and this gives these types of teas a very strong, distinctive aroma and flavor.

Loose Leaf Tea

The more commonly purchased teas are those that you get in the teabags, and then there is loose leaf tea. Loose leaf tea is exactly what it sounds like: tea that is loose and not in a bag or some other form of container. There are both similarities and differences with the loose leaf tea compared to its bagged counterpart, as well as advantages and disadvantages.

The main difference between the two lies in the size of the tea leaves. This is important because tea leaves contain certain chemicals and essential oils which are the source of flavor of the tea. When these leaves are broken up, the oils can end up evaporating and this causes the tea to have less flavor.

Choices

Each different tea has its own distinctive aromatic and flavor qualities, and the best idea is to try a few out until you find one that you really love. Either way, whether you choose a loose leaf or bagged tea, you are still going to be reaping the health benefits that are offered by the beverage, especially if you choose green or black tea.

You have many choices when it comes to the loose leaf tea. However, due to all the health benefits that they offer green teas are by far the most popular. Green teas also come in variety: Sencha, Organic Green Tea, Jasmine Pearls, Vanilla Mint, Vanilla Jasmine, Moroccan Mint, and Snow Sprout.

You can typically find a variety of teas at your local health foods store or you can simply head down to the local supermarket where you should be able to choose from a decent selection of loose leaf tea and bagged tea as well.