Loose vs. bags
BENEFITS OF LOOSE TEA VS. TEA BAGS
Tea brewed in its loose leaf form allows the hot water to infuse every part of a high-quality, whole leaf tea, to produces the fullest, freshest flavor. The commercial tea bag is a modern invention that was designed in order to make tea drinking convenient and easy and yields a lower-quality tea product that produces a one-dimensional flavor profile.
Loose leaf tea is packaged loose in airtight containers that seal in flavor and freshness. Tea bags are often bagged in bleached paper material which can add chemicals and off flavors to your brewed cup.
Loose leaf is produced seasonally in small quantities using an artisan method involving hand-picking and hand-sorting quality tea leaves. Tea bags are machine-produced in high volume to be stored in a warehouse and for long periods of time.
The same loose leaf tea leaves can be steeped multiple times for several cups of tea. Tea bags flavor is fully extracted after just one steeping.
Check out this fun video which BUSTS THE MYTH that loose tea takes longer to brew than teabags.