100 years of tea bags (give or take a few years)

Tommy

#1 – 7:54 AM September 17, 2008

What could obviate the tea bag? How about loose tea. Tea bags are an abomination.

jahknow

#2 – 8:25 AM September 17, 2008

They may eliminate the tea bag, but they'll probably never stop the practice of teabagging.

Enochrewt

#3 – 9:51 AM September 17, 2008

Peep teabags would be awesome. Maybe in more than one context even.

Scuba SM

#4 – 10:20 AM September 17, 2008

I like using loose tea, but teabags have an often overlooked property that keep them in constant use in my house: They stick to the mug. I'm one of those heretics that likes to leave the tea in the mug as long as there's liquid in it. When you're drinking the last few drops of a mug of tea, often the wet teabag is stuck to the side of the mug. A tea ball, however, will roll down and hit you in the face (guess how I know that). Until they develop a reuseable tea container that has the same property, I will continue to rely heavily on teabags.

muteboy

#5 – 10:43 AM September 17, 2008

Teabags are not an abomination, don't be so snobbishly melodramatic. They are a perfectly acceptable convenience. PG Tips and Typhoo, mmm.

Can these tea sticks be composted? Didn't think so.

Enochrewt

#6 – 11:34 AM September 17, 2008

#4: I like to leave the tea in the cup as well. I use the tea infusors with a handle that gets held by my index finger while drinking. Nothing hits your face, and you have the bonus of a giant stir stick in your cup.

Anonymous Anonymous

#7 – 12:31 PM September 17, 2008

+1 JAHKNOW!

retchdog

#8 – 2:02 PM September 17, 2008

I knew someone who took a private tour of some tea factory in Indonesia. He claimed that the "tea dust" used in teabags, does actually include the floor sweepings left from producing loose-leaf.

Is it that hard, to just use loose leaf in a mug and sip carefully? It tastes better and is just as convenient. A few pieces of leaves slip through your teeth, but who cares? And for serving guests, you'd use a teapot of course.

Anonymous Anonymous

#9 – 2:46 PM September 17, 2008

Loose leaf for life yo! Peace!

Seriously though, I don't consider tea bags an abomination, I just prefer loose leaf for the superior control of flavor.
If you don't want dust or fannings in your tea bag, buy them from somewhere that isn't India's anus. Tazo for instance.

What I cannot understand though, is leaving tea in the cup, whether loose or bagged. I suppose I'm more sensitive to bitter tastes than most people, but when I accidently oversteep my tea, I throw it out and start over.

Scuba SM

#10 – 5:00 PM September 17, 2008

Anon,

I'm a sucker for bitter, really. Some will claim that it masks all the other flavors in the tea, and it may, but I find taste extremely subjective. Everyone in my house adores strong flavors (oysters, coffee, etc etc etc). That extra little belt of bitter, plus all the other flavors, helps warm me up with a mug of hot tea, or underscores the coolness of a glass of iced tea. Plus, then it's just fire and forget for the tea.... Water boils, drop the bag in, drink until there's nothing left, rinse, repeat.

Downpressor

#11 – 1:06 AM September 18, 2008

Nothing so far about teabagging your peeps? For shame!