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I used to drink tea, then realized most of the tea bags release billions of microplastics when boiling them.
Is loose leaf the way to go then?
One of the reasons why people prefer loose leaf tea is because the tea leaves are usually of higher quality. When you make tea, you pick the leaves and then roast them. This is like roasting coffee beans -- it's a way to achieve a certain flavor.
However, in the roasting process, there are going to be bits that flake off the main leaves. These bits are then usually gathered up and put into tea bags. They're typically of lower quality.
Additionally, when you brew tea, it's hard to control for the extraction process when you have such fine particles. With full tea leaves, you get a much better flavor. With the fine, dusty particles in tea bags, it's easy to over-extract and get a bitter tasting cup.