What’s loose leaf tea?

Loose Leaf Tea refers to tea that is not packaged in tea bags. This type of tea preserves its flavor, aroma, and health benefits as it is not crushed into a bag like bagged tea.

Loose Leaf Tea vs. Bagged Tea

Packaging Differences
Tea bags are exactly what they sound like – tea leaves encased in paper or silk bags. The silk bags are often sewn with delicate threads before being filled with finely chopped tea leaves to create the bags. Loose tea, on the other hand, is a form of tea that is not wrapped in a bag. It is loose and can be brewed according to the tea lover’s preference.

Difference Brewing Method
There is a difference between brewing tea using a tea bag and loose leaf tea. Tea bags are placed in a silk or cotton gauze bag, and after adding hot water to a cup, the tea bag can be put inside. Pulling the thin thread on the tea bag back and forth or letting it brew for a few minutes can remove the tea bag, and the nutrients from the tea leaves will dissolve in the tea.

On the other hand, loose leaf tea requires a deeper understanding of brewing techniques. Each type of tea has its unique brewing method. The brewing process for loose leaf tea requires more patience than using a tea bag due to the difference in brewing techniques.

Difference in Flavor
When it comes to flavor, there is a noticeable difference between using tea bags and loose leaf tea. Tea bags are typically designed to contain a specific amount of tea leaves meant to be consumed in one sitting. As a result, the flavor of tea brewed from tea bags tends to fade relatively quickly and is not suitable for multiple infusions.

On the other hand, loose leaf tea requires more effort to prepare but offers a richer and more unique flavor. This involves distinguishing between different types of tea, appreciating the aroma, washing the tea, and brewing it properly. Choosing loose leaf tea is best if you want a flavorful tea.

Types of Loose Tea

Green Tea

Features: fresh taste, clear soup, and Green leaves. 

The process of Green Tea is: picking- Fixation – Rolling -drying. 

Fixation is considered the core process. The finished tea appears emerald or tender green, with tight leaves and a fresh, natural taste. Freshness is the main feature of green tea. 

Green tea is divided into different types based on the process used, including stir-roasted, steamed, baked, and sun-dried green teas. 

Representative teas: West Lake Longjing, Xinyang Maojian, Dongting Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Enshi Yulu, Duyun Maojian, etc.c

Yellow Tea

Features: Yellow tea is known for its fresh, mellow, and sweet taste, as well as its yellow leaves and soup.

This type of tea is similar to green tea but undergoes an additional process known as “heaping.” This involves wrapping, covering, or stacking the tea between the green tea and baking processes, resulting in a yellowish color and more intense flavor. The yellow soup and leaves are the distinguishing features of yellow tea. 

Representative teas: Junshan Yinzhen, Huoshan Huangya, Mengding Huangya, and Pingyang Huangtang.

White Tea

Features: sweet taste with a grayish-green color. 

Making white tea involves picking fresh leaves and withering them for a long time in a low-temperature environment without frying or rolling. This results in a lightly fermented tea that is directly dried.

The tea leaves have fat white hairs, and the taste is elegant and sweet, making it unique. The soup color of white tea is mainly apricot yellow and orange-yellow. White tea has a fragrance of pekoe fragrance, flowers, and fruits, while aged tea has the fragrance of jujube, with an aged aroma and medicinal aroma. 

Representative teas: White Peony, Gongmei, Shoumei, Silver Needle.

Oolong Tea

Features: high aroma and a long-lasting lingering taste. 

Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea that falls between green and black tea. Its production process is the most complex of all teas, resulting in a varied taste. Oolong tea combines green tea’s freshness with black tea’s mellow sweetness, producing rich and diverse aromas and flavors such as floral, fruity, rocky, and Guanyin Yun(观音韵). 

Representative teas: Anxi Tieguanyin, Fenghuang Dancong, Shui Xian, Rou Gui, Dahongpao, Zhangping Shui Xian, Dongding Oolong, etc.

Black Tea

Features: Smooth and sweet, invigorating and fresh.

Black tea undergoes full fermentation, resulting in a mild aroma and a sweeter taste.

Unlike other teas, black tea is withered, rolled, and fully fermented, causing the tea polyphenols to oxidize into thearubigins, which gives black tea its unique red color and flavor.

It’s important to note that not all black teas have red leaves and red soup. For example, Jinjunmei has three colors: golden yellow and black and a golden soup color. Meanwhile, Lapsang Souchong has a black and oily appearance, with an orange soup color.

Representative teas: Dianhong, Keemun, Chuanhong, Yihong, Lapsang Souchong, Jinjunmei, etc.

Dark Tea

Features: The tea has a deep brown hue and contains thick, aged leaves. The soup is either a reddish-yellow or reddish-brown color.

Dark tea is a post-fermented tea made by killing greens, rolling, and drying in the sun. It then undergoes a second fermentation process, including piling and aging or further fermentation.

Representative teas:

• Anhua dark tea (Fu Zhuan Tea, Hua Zhuan Tea, and Hei Zhuan Tea)
• Hubei Old Lao Qing Zhuan (Green Brick Tea)
• Jing Yang Fu Tea
• Ya’an Tibetan tea

Pu-erh Tea

According to its processing technology and quality characteristics, Pu’er tea is divided into Raw Pu-erh tea and Ripe Pu-erh tea.

Raw Puer Tea
Feature: Raw Pu’er tea is characterized by its dark green color, Qing Xiang aroma, and orange-colored soup.

Fresh leaves are harvested from the large-leaf tea trees in Yunnan. These leaves undergo a process of fixation, rolling, and drying and are transformed into Shai Qing Mao Cha. The end product can be in loose or pressed form. Shai Qing is a method of sun-drying used in the production process.

Ripe Pu-erh Tea
Feature: Ripe Pu-erh tea is either black or reddish-brown. It has a relatively thick, smooth, sweet flavor with hardly any bitterness. For this reason, many people prefer to drink Ripe Pu’er tea.

Ripe (Shou) Pu-erh is pu-erh made from fermented tea leaves. Initially, the process of making ripe pu-erh is the same as that of raw pu-erh. However, it undergoes an additional step called ‘wet piling’ (渥堆 – Wo Dui) to simulate the natural fermentation process. This results in a faster aging process for the Pu-erh tea. 

Representative teas: Lao Ban Zhang, Bingdao, Xi Gui, Bingdao, etc. 

Further Processing Tea

Scented Tea
Scented tea is a type of tea made from tea leaves that are processed by adding natural flowers for fragrance, shaping, scenting, and drying. The process mainly uses sun-dried green tea, with fewer scented black and oolong teas.

Representative teas: The main scented tea varieties include jasmine, osmanthus, rose, etc. 

Compressed tea
The process of making compressed tea involves using raw materials that undergo sieving, blending, steaming, pressing, and drying. 

Depending on the type of tea used, compressed tea can be categorized into different types:

Green compressed tea: Tuocha, square tea, mini cake tea, etc.
Black compressed tea: rice brick tea, Xiaojing brick, etc.
Oolong compressed Tea: Wuyi rock tea is pressed into strip tea bricks.
white compressed tea: Shoumei cake tea, chocolate bricks, etc.
Black compressed tea: Laoqingzhuan, Kangzhuan, Fuzhuan, Shupu, etc.

Tea Bag

This product is made from tea leaves processed to meet certain specifications and then packaged with filter materials. According to available information, tea bags first appeared between 1903-1904, with the “Lipton” brand being a representative example.

The teabag particles are small, and over 80% of the nutrients are extracted during the first brewing. After the second brewing, all the nutrients are extracted, so a tea bag is recommended for brewing only a few times.

Teabags are convenient and suitable for the fast-paced lifestyle of modern society, as they eliminate the need for traditional tea sets and brewing methods.

Powdered Tea

Tea is transformed into a finely powdered product through specialized processing techniques. This type of tea, known as powdered tea, is commonly represented by matcha. Powdered tea is often used in processed foods such as tea biscuits, cakes, and ice cream.

What Loose Leaf Tea Should I Drink As a Beginner?

If you’re new to tea, starting with sweet and fragrant varieties is best, as those with a strong taste may be challenging. Some good beginner options include green tea, black tea, and oolong tea.

What Is The Shelf Life Of Loose Leaf Tea?  

Hei Cha (Dark Tea)
Best-by Date: Suitable for long-term storage

Green and Yellow Tea
Best-by Date: 18 months

Black Tea
Best-by Date: 36 months

White Tea
Best-by Date: the aged, the better

Oolong Tea
Best-by Date: 24 months

Pu-erh Tea
Best-by Date: the age, the better

Flower & Herbal Tea
Best-by Date: 18 months

What are the health benefits of loose leaf tea?

Green tea: good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.
Unlike other teas, green tea is entirely unfermented with tender raw materials, which retains the freshness and natural substances in the leaves to the greatest extent. It is a potent anti-aging, anti-cancer, sterilizing, and anti-inflammatory agent since it contains catechins, vitamins, amino acids, and tea polyphenols.

Black tea: warms the stomach and promotes digestion
Black tea is a fully fermented tea. During the processing stage, chemical reactions give rise to various components, such as thearubigins and theaflavins, responsible for the taste, aroma, and color of the tea.

Theaflavin, also known as the “soft gold” in tea, effectively regulates blood fat and reduces cholesterol levels.

Moreover, the fermentation process significantly reduces the polyphenols present in the tea, making black tea less harmful to the stomach and beneficial for digestion and blood vessel relaxation.

Dark tea/Puer tea: the best time to drink in winter
Dark tea/Puer tea is a post-fermented tea with high fermentation. With the participation of microorganisms, many particular substances beneficial to the human body are transformed.

One example is the “Golden Flower” found in Anhua Dark Tea, a probiotic that can improve the intestinal tract, promote weight loss, and lower high blood pressure.

In addition, for those with a high-fat diet, Dark tea/Puer tea can provide essential nutrients, aid digestion, and alleviate greasiness.

White tea: It is known for its medicinal properties, especially when aged.
Unlike other teas, white tea is neither rolled nor fired, so it is essentially non-oxidized, and it is the least processed, allowing it to age over time. This aging process enhances its medicinal benefits, so the folks have always said, “One year of tea, three years of medicine, and seven years of treasure”.

On the other hand, new white tea is produced with young, fresh raw materials, giving it a delicate, mellow flavor. It is thought to possess qualities that aid in body detoxification, removing heat, and preventing colds.

As white tea ages, its internal substances transform, which enhances its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and free radical scavenging effects. In traditional Chinese medicine, aged white tea is often used as a natural remedy.

Yellow tea: a milder alternative to green tea.
Despite sharing a delicate and tender raw material and a similar production process, yellow tea undergoes an additional step known as “heaping,” which involves light fermentation. This promotes the oxidation of polyphenols, resulting in a smoother taste and less astringency than green tea. 

Oolong tea: best for improving energy metabolism
Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea with mature raw materials. It has a degree of fermentation between black tea and green tea. Some polyphenols in the finished oolong tea leaves are transformed into tea pigments with anti-oxidation, degreasing, and blood pressure-reducing effects. 

A study in Japan tested the metabolic function of various teas and found that green tea can increase metabolism by four calories in 1 hour. In comparison, oolong tea can boost metabolism by nine calories.

How to Store Loose Leaf Tea? 

Properly storing loose leaf tea helps keep it taste excellent and flavorful. For more details about how to store tea, please check it here.