Many people ask me why use loose-leaf tea instead of teabags, especially as Telltale Tea Co only stock organic loose-leaf tea.
Well, there are a number of reasons, and some of them are personal.
I want to help encourage the loose-leaf tea revolution, because when it comes down to it we don't actually need teabags at all. Whatever way you look at it, biodegradable or not, they simply create extra waste. I could also go into the fact that cheap plastic-based teabags actually release micro-plastics into your tea (yum!) but you can read plenty about that online if you search for it. But to put it simply, the loose ingredients on their own are easily disposed of and fantastic for compost.
First, I have to admit that I still use both, loose-leaf and teabags, the latter for convenience, but mostly I tend toward loose-leaf tea, and always loose-leaf for high grade tea.. As I write this I am drinking from an infuser teapot in which I have steeped some delicious genmaicha tea, loose-leaf, (*note, Telltale Tea don't sell genmaicha, yet) and one thing I can attest to is that good quality tea always tastes better when it is served loose-leaf. A reason for this is that the water gets to move around the ingredients when you use loose-leaf tea, this is essential in the brewing of a great cup of tea, and this works even better in an infuser teapot, rather than a tea egg or ball, a bit more on that in a minute. When brewing high quality tea the movement of the water helps to release the flavour of the ingredients by fully encircling each individual part. Whereas in a teabag the ingredients simply expand and the water does not circulate. This is a similar reason why an infuser teapot is better than a tea-ball, because in a tea-ball the ingredients expand but the water does not get to move around the individual parts as much, so you are missing out on some of the flavour being released.
Another reason the loose-leaf tea is often better is because you are dealing with whole ingredients, whereas in a teabag the ingredients are often crushed. It's true that crushing does have benefits with some ingredients, but for the most part whole ingredients retain more flavour and also have the advantage of providing the entire form of the ingredient, rather than just a part of it. Many herbalists will attest to the benefit if using whole ingredients where possible, instead of crushed or ground ingredients. I have read that the reason that herbalists began to crush ingredients into powder was because people had grown accustomed to obtaining medicine in a powdered form and were more willing to buy powders, while the herbalists still knew whole ingredients are more beneficial.
Saying all this, I do understand the desire for convenience and teabags are certainly more in keeping with this. For ease of use, quickness (a seemingly key value in today's culture), and storage a teabag wins. But if you want a meaningful tea ritual (i.e. the time you take out to enjoy a cup of tea), a better taste experience, and a more ethical choice, then loose-leaf tea wins hands-down.
Teabags have only been around since 1908, when they were unwittingly invented by a tea merchant in New York named Thomas Sullivan, when he decided to posh-up his tea by sending it in individual amounts in silk bags and people assumed these were intended for steeping in the cup and the fad caught on, whereas steeping or boiling whole ingredients has been around for thousands of years.
If you want to join the loose-leaf tea revolution then get yourself a few pieces of infuser-style teaware, I have at least 7 infuser teapots at home for the purpose, but you don't need that many, you could start with 2 or 3. One that is of personal use size, and one that is big enough for 2-3 people or bigger. If you want a third option then go with one that is more portable, I have one that travels with me plus another that is handy for putting in a backpack. There are some pretty good infuser bottles out there these days that are perfectly portable. The one I like has a screw-on lid with a receptacle in the top for the dry tea leaves, when you want to steep the tea you simply remove the top cap and turn the bottle and, voila!, the tea steeps (*note, Telltale Tea are planning to stock these in the near future).
So whatever your choice, loose-leaf or teabag, enjoy sipping your tea. But I do encourage you to join, at least partially, the loose-leaf tea revolution!