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Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

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Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#241

Post by toastal »

userbinator wrote: post #207
skookum wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which flavor is "tea flavor"? Black, pu-erh, oolong, green, white? For black, is it Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, etc, etc? Why should the specific flavor blend that Lipton's tasters put together for their Yellow Label be good enough for everybody?

I think someone who refers to a generic "tea flavor" really just means "tastes vaguely like a plant".

I had the opposite experience in many coffee shops when asking what kind of teas are offered and the answer was "black and green" as if that told me anything.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#242

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

cjrp wrote: post #230
roboys wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't compare the grade of loose leaf I'm talking about to the dust Lipton sells, having tasted the difference. Even visually...it's like comparing champagne to cooking wine. Elephant Chateau - https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61N4gza3WuL... Lipton (similar look) - http://ongsambee.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/tea-dust.... In this case the proof is in the pudding, and Lipton happens to make espec…

Isn't it just that the Lipton's content is crushed up, presumably to reduce brewing time?

IIRC (struggling to find a source), Thomas Lipton was the guy who formalized the tea-leaf grading process for Western Europe. The "legend" goes that back in the day, all of the imported tea would be dumped onto the floor of a particular room. The first round of tea producers would come and extract the full, unbroken tea leaves for top-shelf tea. The next round of producers would extract the broken leaves for mid-grade tea. On and on.

Finally, what was left would be the tea leaves that had been so crushed, broken, or pulverized that they were little more than a tea dust. This is what Lipton would then sweep up to make Lipton tea.

Which is to say, Lipton knew what he was doing. He went for the cheapest stuff possible. And that's what you get.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#243

Post by nimajneb »

dragontamer wrote: post #32
simias wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using these tea balls in office environments: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51mTZ1eURrL... In terms of convenience I don't think it's significantly worse than sachets. But yeah, I do buy my own tea and store it in my drawer.

I have about 3 different devices, all of which seem to work well. 1. A device identical to your picture. 2. This "other" tea ball: https://i.imgur.com/Hg0mWFl.jpg 3. Tea "infuser". Similar to this one (but a different brand): https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41QJxs18f1L... . This is the bulkiest option though, and you still need another cup to transfer the liquid to. My favorite tool is #1: the "sprin…

I use option 3 at work. I like it a lot. It's not too hard to clean. It's actually the very one you linked a 16oz black Teavana Tea Maker.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#244

Post by Spivak »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #242
cjrp wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it just that the Lipton's content is crushed up, presumably to reduce brewing time?

IIRC (struggling to find a source), Thomas Lipton was the guy who formalized the tea-leaf grading process for Western Europe. The "legend" goes that back in the day, all of the imported tea would be dumped onto the floor of a particular room. The first round of tea producers would come and extract the full, unbroken tea leaves for top-shelf tea. The next round of producers would extract the broken leaves for mid-grad…

I guess my question as a non-serious tea drinker is whether the dust actually makes for worse tea or is just ugly.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#245

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

Spivak wrote: post #244
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC (struggling to find a source), Thomas Lipton was the guy who formalized the tea-leaf grading process for Western Europe. The "legend" goes that back in the day, all of the imported tea would be dumped onto the floor of a particular room. The first round of tea producers would come and extract the full, unbroken tea leaves for top-shelf tea. The next round of producers would extract the broken leaves for mid-grad…

I guess my question as a non-serious tea drinker is whether the dust actually makes for worse tea or is just ugly.

Well, if you're willing to spend $5-10 to find out for yourself, you can try this experiment:

1) Buy a box of Twinings* tea bags from your neighborhood grocery store (https://www.amazon.com/Twinings-Earl-Grey-Tea-Bags/dp/B000R9...).

2) Buy the same flavor of Twinings tea from your neighborhood grocery store in loose-leaf form (https://www.amazon.com/Twinings-London-Earl-Loose-Ounces/dp/...).

3) Boil a kettle of water and prepare a mug of each. Note the varying instructions: the teabag is only recommended to steep for about two minutes, because the tea dust is comprised of smaller particles and will overextract if left alone too long, while the loose leaf tea calls for about 4 minutes of steeping.

4) Taste and decide for yourself whether you feel there is a meaningful difference between the two. If not, then great! You can continue to buy the more convenient option without feeling like you're being deprived somehow.

* I'm sure there are other brands, but Twinings was the only one off the top of my head that sells both teabags and loose-leaf of the same flavor and can be found in most grocery stores.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#247

Post by mantoto »

roboys wrote: post #53
simias wrote: post #7

Loose tea is often cheaper and of better quality in my experience. If you brew tea a lot using a reusable strainer seems like a much better choice. I'm also entirely convinced that these plastic pyramid-shaped bags are pure marketing. Then again, I find Lipton tea absolutely terrible regardless of the shape of the bag.

My buddy used to work for Lipton. He explained that they use the cheapest grade of tea (dust) available. Also many tea companies mix non-tea additives (fillers) to their tea bags. After hearing this I decided, if it's not full loose leaf, I don't drink it. We found that companies like Elephant Chateau ( http://elephantchateau.com ) deliver the 3 highest grades of tea direct from Ceylon mountain estates with the optio…

And by what standards is dust garbage? It is still tea.

You might get even more out of it as it has a bigger surface.

Anyway try a blind test if you can taste the difference.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#248

Post by inimino »

If you want good tea:

Forget about Lipton, Celestial Seasonings, anything that comes in tea bags, or has a name brand on it.

If there's a Chinatown or international market street in your area, go there. Ask around for where there's a tea shop.

A good tea shop will offer to make you some tea when you walk in. Accept and try whatever they give you. Buy what you like. There are hundreds of varieties of green tea alone, not to mention white, black, oolong, pu-erh, etc.

Tea is sold loose and by weight. When you make it, you can put water just off the boil in a tall glass with the tea leaves. They will sink to the bottom and you don't need to filter it. Later you can get more sophisticated about your brewing and buy a clay teapot, or a special glass flask with a pop-in stainless steel strainer at the mouth.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#249

Post by inimino »

Spivak wrote: post #244
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC (struggling to find a source), Thomas Lipton was the guy who formalized the tea-leaf grading process for Western Europe. The "legend" goes that back in the day, all of the imported tea would be dumped onto the floor of a particular room. The first round of tea producers would come and extract the full, unbroken tea leaves for top-shelf tea. The next round of producers would extract the broken leaves for mid-grad…

I guess my question as a non-serious tea drinker is whether the dust actually makes for worse tea or is just ugly.

Yes. It's oxidized and stale. It's like buying cheese in a block from a refrigerator or something that was grated three months ago and put on a shelf.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#250

Post by dTal »

gambiting wrote: post #228
jdnenej wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People add sugar to tea O.O? I understand it for coffee but tea isn't even bitter. That's just insane.

Tea + lemon + sugar is the only way to drink it. True madness is milk in tea, those two liquids should just never go together. And coffee...I guess that's why the best most delicious coffee I buy is literally whatever is cheapest at Lidl - milk and sugar make all coffee taste acceptable. //obviously, I realize that people around the world have different tastes :P Where I am from literally no one drinks tea with milk,…

Logically, even if milk and sugar made all coffee taste acceptable (spoiler - they don't) that still wouldn't explain why specifically the coffee you buy from Lidl is "the best, most delicious coffee you buy".

In point of fact, cheap Lidl coffee is actually weirdly really really good.

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