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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Three Reasons Why to Buy Bulk Loose Tea.


When it comes to buying in bulk, it seems natural enough for coffee...but what about tea?  For some reason, it seems like a crazy purchase that makes no sense but I want to show you three great reasons you should consider buying your tea this way.  If you only ever drink a cup of tea every once in a while, then this is probably not for you.  However, if you enjoy drinking it hot or iced all year long like we do, then you'll want to read on to see why it's a great idea to buy lots of tea leaves and step away from the tea bag!

We drink all kinds of teas because they taste great, but also because they're nutritious and medicinal.  Green, white, oolong and black teas all come from Camellia Sinensis plant or bush.  They are all the same leaf but look and taste different based on the way they were dried and processed. White/green being the only non-processed leaf. They all contain antioxidants but green and white contain the most.  Green tea has been researched quite a bit in recent years and is found to be helpful in preventing cancer, stomach conditions, beneficial for the liver and skin (resource.)

Herbals, especially "rooibos" are also chock full of antioxidants as well as alpha-hydroxy and I drink this one for my skin on a daily basis. Rooibos comes from a plant in Africa, so even though it has the dark coloring of black tea, it actually is decaffinated and has no tannins.  No tannins = not bitter!  I have a "caffeine-sensitivity" so Rooibos gives me the benefits of green tea without the caffeine.

Of course, all this information makes them a great reason to drink more tea.  So, we drink these in place of sodas and sugared vitamin waters as they do so much more than just taste great. 

Now I still do have and use teabags, but our main teas I buy in bulk.  There's room for both in your tea locker (yes, I do have an actual painted locker I use for herbs and teas!) but buying your tea loose leaf and in larger quantities makes LOTS of sense.

  Okay, let's get  on to the reasons...

Reason #1: Taste!  Buying your tea loose leaf is going to naturally result in MUCH better tasting teas.  One reason is that the leaves are much larger and not broken down in order to fit into the bags.  Once a leaf has been broken in pieces, it begins to lose its essential oils which means it loses much of its flavor.  The first time I tasted bulk loose tea leaves that I had steeped myself, it was a tea experience epiphany! It's like comparing a value hamburger to a prime rib...no comparison.  Now, you can get a decent cup of tea from a bag sometimes, but it's never the same as with good quality loose leaf tea.  Cup after cup, I can tell the difference and tea has never been the same since I tasted it this way.  Quality wins, every time.


Reason #2: Value.  Yes, when you see how much a pound of tea costs, it's can be a bit of a shock.  It's almost always much more than a pound of coffee, however, I've found several places that sell great tea at a great price. (Check out Adagio Tea for Rooibos, Mountain Rose Herbs for Green)  I pay only 10 cents a cup for a pound of organic rooibos from Adagio Teas.  Plus, every purchase, review and post on Facebook gives me points towards 100 points for $10  coupon for my next order!  It's a great deal and I've been ordering from them for years. Plus they have the best shipping prices that I've found on the web.  A good gunpowder green tea can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs. Only $12 a pound!  Also, if you buy great quality tea, this means you'll end up with leaves that you can steep multiple times.  And that means more $$ for your buck. We usually steep twice and then drink the tea iced the next day. Yes, I know tea bags can be steeped again but we're talking about gourmet high quality tea that taste great.  It's a much better tasting tea,
  Can't drink a pound?  Consider putting in a fun packages and gifting some of it.  Or, find another tea addict, I mean, tea drinker and goes halvies with them.  I have quite a lot of tea here...there are four of us and we drink an assortment of herbals, greens and black tea and it doesn't go to waste!


Reason #3: It's Green!  That's right.  No more tea bags, strings and boxes to go into landfill.  I recycle my boxes and compost the paper tea bags, but they do take awhile to break down.  This also brings me to the new line of teas in the pyramid bags.  They put them in these bags so they don't have to break up the tea leaves and lose its flavor.  Great idea, however, these bags seem to be made of some kind of nylon material.  Definitely NOT going into my compost bin :(.  Now when I'm brewing loose leaf tea and I'm finished with my multiple steepings, I simply compost the tea leaves. Done.  I like this reason...while I do use some tea bags especially when I'm on the go, most of my steeping is done paper free.  


  Of course this all touches on what you steep your tea with and that will be for another post.  I have an assortment of tea steepers and I'll show you my favorites and why I like them.  There are some great products to steep with now and it's so easy to use them, you'll wonder why you didn't drink loose tea sooner!


Storage is premium for bulk loose tea.  But it's also simple.  They usually come in a foil bag with a zip closer.  I mostly keep them in these bags, in my tea locker (any pantry or cabinet away from light and moisture will do) or in any kind of air tight container. 


I have quite a few tea tins that I use and re-label to store new teas in as well.  I have one tin of Jasmine that I've stored for a good ten (yikes!) years and it still smells amazing whenever I open it.  Now, the teas should be used faster than that, but it does show you how proper storage can extend their lives!

I hope this inspires you to try bulk loose teas or to as least consider them.  If you've never tried quality tea, then well, this could be the time to drink it...it will revolutionize your taste buds!!

Blessings!!

What's your favorite tea? 

Are you a fan of tea?  You may want to check out these posts...Vintage Tea Room Fun
Tea Chat at the Open Door Coffee House  Mother's Day Tea Party


Linked to these blog parties...Living Green Tuesday Link-Ups 
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways  Wednesday Fresh Food Link-Up 
Waste Not-Want Not-Wednesdays
Wicked Good Wednesday  
Natural Living Link-Up
Small Footprint Friday 
Homestead Revival Barn Hop  Backyard Farming Connection

28 comments:

  1. Oooh, how interesting! We drink quite a bit of sweet iced tea and I never thought to buy it in bulk. I may make sense for us.

    Cute teacup!

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    1. Yes, we love iced tea and make it out of every kind of tea...whatever we don't finish drinking hot. It's all pretty yummy! Thanks for reading! :)

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  2. Hi Nancy

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting.

    My favourite tea is Earl Grey, I love the smell of it but on a day to day basis green tea is what I drink. Earl Grey is for every now and then.

    I love your painted locker, looks like something I would do.

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    1. Yes! Earl Grey is a classic for sure. I used to have a pound of that! Thanks about the locker, I painted it years ago and it was a fun project...thanks for stopping by, blessings!

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  3. My hubby and I are tea fanatics, and I do buy in bulk and loose whenever I can get it (my local co-op has a fantastic collection, too). I'd love it if you'd consider sharing this on my blog's new linky - Waste Not Want Not. Thanks!
    http://poorandglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/11/waste-not-want-not-wednesday-4.html?utm_source=BP_recent

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    1. Thanks for reading and the invite...will visit your page, Blessings! :)

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  4. Great post! now that it's cooler weather, I will be doing plenty of curling up on the sofa with a hot cup of tea.

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    1. For sure, hot tea in the Fall/Winter is THE best..thanks for reading! Blessings!

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  5. Ha ha. I found you by way of The Wilderness Wife Link up, and my post also happens to be on tea this week. Funny. Mine was herbal tea though - from my garden. Thanks for the tip on Rooibos tea! My youngest son loves tea but I only let him drink herbal teas because of the caffeine. Looks like we get to add another to his list. I had no idea Rooibos was caffeine free.

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    1. I think this is tea season for sure! Looking forward to reading your post on herbals. I grow mints, lemon balm and tried chamomile this year. Love all teas for sure! Hope you like rooibos. I usually drink it with a flavor as it has a unique taste. I like it in chais too. Thanks for visiting! Blessings!

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  6. I start every morning with a cup of Rooibos Earl Grey and also have a few cups of Dragon Well or Rooibos during the day while I work! We buy our tea in bulk as well, it is definitely cheaper and fresher!
    ~Rob

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    1. The rooibos Earl Grey sounds very interesting...I think I will have to try a sample of that one! Haven't had Dragon Well, so many teas out there and so little time! Thanks for stopping by... :)

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  7. Hi, I'm a new follower from "Welcome Wednesday"!

    xo,
    Gwen
    http://junior-executive.blogspot.co

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  8. I love rooibos - I usually enjoy Vanilla Rooibos this time of year, it's very deliciously comforting! What a great post!

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    1. Just enjoyed a pot of Vanilla Rooibos and Honeybush Chocolate today...so glad you like it too! Thanks for visiting...:)

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  9. I followed your post from the fresh food wednesday link-up.
    I started drinking more tea (usually green, or mint) to cut down on a coffee consumption that was getting rather ridiculous. And it worked. I'm a cup a coffee a day then a pot of tea person now.
    Completely agree about those stupid nylon tea bags.
    I'm also a double steeper.
    I'm looking forward to your steeping review.

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    1. Love green and mint...we put green and mint together quite often. I love coffee. (We managed a local coffee house for 7 years and learned a lot about coffee.) I save a cup of coffee for special occasions now. Stopped by your blog and love the squash gnocchi recipe - pinned it! :)) Thanks for visiting!

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  10. A tea locker!?!?! and relabelling tins for tea!?!?! genius! I have a bunch of vintage tins I LOVE and don't know what to do with. Right now the tea is in the pantry but if I had a beautiful little shelf that could go on the counter with antique tins, now that's the ticket!

    We almost only drink black tea. Next time someone's out from England, I'm asking for loose tea!

    Natalia
    http://preputilityvehicle.blogspot.ca/

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    1. PS I found you at the Waste Not Want Not hop at Poor and Gluten Free, in case you like to know that sort of thing. I'm also in town and *trying* to be a suburban homesteader. It's hard with a family that is just not interested! You might like the books I found free today, great for suburban homesteaders like us. ;) I downloaded many of them myself and love to share (dyeing, gardening, canning, reusing cans and plastic, etc, etc.)
      http://preputilityvehicle.blogspot.ca/2012/11/free-books-available-nov-10-2012.html or if you don't see this for a long time, there are new ones every day.

      BTW I've subscribed as I love your blog! :)

      Natalia
      http://preputilityvehicle.blogspot.ca/

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    2. I would be very interested in the books you're describing, thanks for following and will follow you back. Hoping you're able to work out the suburban homesteading with the family. My family has gotten used to it and my husband enjoys gardening now! They even made their own homemade deodorant and told me how much they loved it! (I read different recipes to them and they became interested.) Can't wait to check out the books! Blessings!

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  11. i am also in love with your tea locker!! i love green tea. a lot. and chamomile has been a recent re-discovery that i can't get enough of. now if only i had a tea locker to keep them in!

    you're right - taste taste taste is the major reason i buy loose tea. it's so much better than the bagged stuff.

    thank you for sharing your post with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up! I hope to see you again this week with more seasonal and fresh/real food posts :) xo, kristy

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    1. I grew one chamomile plant this year and dried the flowers - wow! I have already sown seed in two windowboxes for next year, hoping they make it so I can have lots of great flowers next year! Thanks for visiting and hosting the Link-Up...! Blessings, Nancy

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  12. My favorite tea is actually the Jasmine tea in your picture, the kind on the yellow tin! :) Just curious - how do you brew yours? I used to get all prissy about putting the tea in the little metal strainer ball thing, but now I just scoop it straight into the cup!

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    1. Michele, that's wild you have the same tin! I like to brew my Jasmine in an open basket type. The one I reviewed in this post: http://livininthegreen.blogspot.com/2012/11/reviewing-my-favorite-tea-steepers-for.html

      It does need room to steep...so your method sounds good too! :)

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  13. Green tea is also a option, they don't have much of a taste but healthy to have.

    Bulk Containers

    Solar Power Kits

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    1. Martin, I drink lots of green tea...especially in the summer as I find it refreshing. I do like to add mint or lemon balm to green tea though as I agree it can sometimes be a bit bland. :)

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