Are you looking for the best tea bag alternative? Do you want to try loose leaf tea? Are you interested in the benefits of loose leaf tea and the environmental impact of tea bags? You are on this page means you want more information on both these to choose the most suitable option. We understand your confusion and will certainly help you to choose a natural and environmental-friendly solution.
Most of the people in the urban area use tea bags on a daily basis since they find it convenient and easy to use. They do not consider the benefits and negative impacts. Tea bags are not always the healthiest choice. They could not only cause health problems with regular use but they can also pose a serious threat to your environment. These bags are not compostable.
Can You Find Environmental-friendly Tea Bags?
The answer is really confusing. Some manufacturers claim that they are producing environmental-friendly tea bags and these bags are compostable. But the reality is far from this claim. Even if there is a very little amount of the decomposable material, it will cause a severe problem to the environment. Just imagine the numbers of tea bags are being used every day worldwide. More than millions of teabags are being used. The number makes it clear how tea bags are posing a threat to our environment.
According to some research reports, even the most environmentally friendly tea bags are not biodegradable completely. They can be biodegradable only seventy to eight percent. Most of the material will eventually breakdown and change into the soil. But the twenty to thirty percent is made of plastic and will not break down totally. This material will impact the environment negatively. In addition, these small wrappers will be polluting the ocean. In fact, according to the Environmental Audit Committee, tea bags are the major source for polluting our water system due to the non-recyclable components. In brief, you can say that there is nothing like environmental-friendly tea bags.
The world is struggling hard to fight with tough environmental issues. We are not even doing a little to contribute to the cause. Even if you do a conscious effort and avoid tea bags, you can at least contribute to this cause and breathe in a little better environment.
What is the Best Alternative?
You might be thinking of what to do if the environmentally-friendly option is not available. Here you can decide on your next alternative, loose tea leaf. You might not know that tea bags were not available before the 1950s. Before the 1950s, people were using only the loose tea leaf. Tea bags were later introduced to the market and became popular fast due to the easy usage and convenience. People started switching to a more convenient option, but at what cost?
If you want to minimize the waste and create a better environment, you can buy loose leaf tea, instead of buying tea bags. Loose leaf tea comes with a number of benefits. You will love the original flavor. The major difference is the preparation and package.
Loose Leaf Tea Vs Tea Bag
The key benefit is that you will choose an environmental-friendly solution by deciding on loose leaf tea. Most tea bags are made of thin and permeable papers and some of them are not biodegradable. They contain harmful chemicals. The package and material can pollute the environment significantly.
Tea bags use different types of raw materials including carton, paper, and plastic. All these are discarded in landfills eventually. So, if you use tea bags on a regular basis, they will not only harm your earth but also they make wealthy countries richer. With an environmental-friendly solution, you will only contribute to your health, environment, and the profits of tea producers.
In addition, you might be ingesting chemicals while using tea bags without your knowledge. Some tea bags contain Epichlorohydrin, a compound used as a pesticide. It becomes more active while coming into the contact of hot water. If you consume this chemical, then it might lead to infertility and can impair your immunity as well. Also, it will increase the risk of some dreaded disease like cancer.
Related Article: How to Properly Measure Loose Leaf Tea For Brewing
Most of the tea bags are white. They choose the white color to show cleanliness. However, this cleanliness is closely associated with chlorine. When tea bags are chlorine bleached, you can imagine the impact. It will cause many skin and hair issues.
Another noteworthy difference is the quality of the tea. Have you ever opened the tea bag and checked inside? The answer might be no. Do it once to know the difference. You will only find broken tea leaves and tea dust inside the bag. All these are found at the tea barrel bottom. You can say that these are the leftovers after harvesting. These dust and broken pieces contain more tannin. This gives a categorical color to your tea. However, it compromises the flavor to a great extent. Tea will taste bitter.
The larger tea leaves that you find in loose leaf contain essential oils. When they will come in contact with hot water, they create a rich flavor. Yes, you can also get a good flavor in tea bags. But the difference is that these are artificial flavors and will not offer any benefit. You will not experience this problem with loose leaf tea. You can make out the difference from the look itself.
Also, the loose leaf does not demand more processing and retains the original flavor. It requires fewer packaging material, unlike tea bags. Chemicals are not used to prepare loose leaf tea. So, you will not harm your body while consuming loose leaf tea. The loose leaf tea also creates healthy compost in your garden. Any loose tea is considered better for your environment than tea bags.
How Does Loose Leaf Tea Protect Environment?
From the above, you might have an idea of how loose leaf tea protects your environment. The major downside of tea bags is packaging material. This material causes a serious threat to the environment. Even if the manufacturers claim that they are using recyclable and decomposable material, the truth is far from it. Some portion will not be recyclable and will considerably impact your environment
Loose leaf tea demands less packaging material. So, they are not going to impact the environment badly. No doubt, there will be some impact. But it will be much lesser than tea bags.
In fact, tea bags are more harmful now than before. Traditionally, manufacturers were using papers to prepare tea bags. This paper was derived from a type of banana tea known as the Abaca. But now, some major companies have started using PET and nylon. These tea bags cause some serious concerns due to chemical leaching. Just imagine, even the papers are not completely decomposable. What will happen if they start using nylon? It will even worsen the condition.
Related Article: How and When Can You Reuse Loose Leaf Tea?
What are Benefits of the Loose Leaf Tea?
The loose leaf is better for your environment. Now people have started realizing that teabags have plastic and that can harm both the environment and their health. Even some teabags which are labeled as completely biodegradable are not compostable and will pollute the environment. You can switch to the loose leaf tea to minimize pollution. Some other benefits of the loose leaf tea are the followings.
1. Higher Quality
Most tea bags contain only dust add fanning. So, you cannot expect the best quality. However, the large loose tea leaf is of better quality and does not need any processing.
2. Original Flavor
In tea bags, many manufacturers add artificial flavors to grab the attention of their buyers. But the loose leaf tea does not demand a lot of processing and retains the original flavor for a long. You will love the taste and enjoy your tea without experiencing the side effects of artificial flavor.
3. Unique Taste
You will find different types of loose leaf teas. All of them have some unique taste and you can choose the one depending on your taste preference. But if you buy teabags, you can expect a one-dimensional and consistent taste. The flavor options will be limited. Even if there are a few options, you will not enjoy it most when it is added by using artificial flavors.
4. Good for Your Health
You will find different types of loose leaf teas in the current market. Some of them are known for offering a number of health benefits. They have rich anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These properties can help you in many ways to improve your mental alertness and pain. You can notice an immediate effect. Some are also helpful for weight loss. You might not expect such benefit from tea bags.
Conclusion
Loose leaf tea is good for your health and your environment. There is no doubt that teabags are convenient to use. These are also less time-consuming. But now you can prepare your loose leaf tea easily by using an infuser. It will not take a lot of time and effort. The benefit is that you can try different varieties without bothering much about the environmental impact. Switch to the loose leaf tea now to protect your environment and inspire others to do the same.