Green Tea Forum

wehayley · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 194

I rarely use teabags, likely less than one percent of all my tea comes from bags. But here's a little something I noticed today: for whatever reason I decided to put a bag on my scale. It weighed in at a measley 1.9 grams. Based on the ideal measure for a good cup of tea, can anyone offer a rational explanation? These bags DID NOT come from O-Cha...

Seedillume · Posted: May 20, 2008 6:42 am Post subject:

I was wondering if you weighed the bag, string staples, etc or just the tea itself?

It might have been Chinese green tea. It's pan fried and not steamed. Maybe less tea is required for Chinese green tea? Most likely it's bancha. Bancha tastes very bitter to me. As does all Chinese green teabags I can buy here in the states. So maybe less is better?

Ryan · Sensei Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 475

There are probably several reasons the tea bag has a smaller amount of tea.

For one thing, the manufacturers of the tea bag know that many people let their tea bag sit in their cup for extended period of time (sometimes the entire sipping process). In this case, a smaller amount of tea will be an asset.

Secondly, it costs the manufacturers less to put less tea in. They can get away with selling more tea bags, yet packed with less tea. Less is more? Sometimes, but not in this case.

Lastly, most people who purchase and drink tea bags don't have a very developed palette. If the finished product tasted something sorta akin to tea, they'd dig it.

But us tea masters, accustomed to loose tea from the island of Japan... Well... We are a bit more sophisticated, and a bit more snobby.

spacesamurai · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 204

Two grams is fairly standard. E&A Tea Co, Mighty Leaf, Two Leaves and a bud (to name juft a few) all use that amount.

I think this is one of the primary problems with tea bags. Even if the tea isn't that bad, you can pay 7, 8 or 9 bucks for just 30 g of tea. Its just not worth it.

Its not that the higher price is a scam, per se, only that the extra costs get passed down to the customer. Things like extra packaging for those individualy wrapped/sewn silk tea bags and more middlemen--the store you buy it from will get a 30-50% of the retail price, for example.

Chip · Posted: May 20, 2008 9:01 am Post subject:

Just knowing they skimp on leaf is all the info I need really. ranting

Ryan · Sensei Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 475

Ed · Posted: May 20, 2008 11:09 am Post subject:

Wimpy teabags are such a waste. Neutral

Enthrall · Uh, Can I Add Sugar? Joined: 12 Apr 2008 Posts: 18

Heres my theory. In a tea bag the leaf is shredded. So the leaf has more surface area and it extracts much quicker, etc.

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 904 Location: Japan

Whenever I travel, I always take Karigane Sencha Green Tea Bags with me. Easy to make on the airplane, nice green color, easy to carry. That's pretty much the only time I personally bother with tea bags.

Good green tea bags were not easy to find, let me tell you.

syntheticpanda · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 198

spacesamurai · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 204

greenisgood · Black Belt Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 112

I agree about the karigane teabags Kevin, very good for being out and about. I was at a hotel last week and was jonesin' for some o-cha...luckily I had along a few Tsuen teabags which though unceremoniously brewed in a styrofoam cup with the hot water from the coffee machine made a delightful two steeps of karigane. That stuff is intense though, takes some getting used to, but I'm starting to really like it.

wehayley · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 194

Enthrall Wrote: Heres my theory. In a tea bag the leaf is shredded. So the leaf has more surface area and it extracts much quicker, etc.

While this is true, an honest maker could simply add directions to steep the tea for less time. I have reason to believe it goes back to cost and basic profit motives... there's nothing that says the dustings found in bags could not be replaced by whole leaves.

And yes, loose tea is simply better, but bags are very convenient when traveling...

HelplessFool · Posted: May 22, 2008 4:54 pm Post subject: