6 ms·

To be fair, bagged tea exists because there are lots of buyers who only want quick refreshing non-coffee caffeine, and don't care for taste that much. Or someti

To be fair, bagged tea exists because there are lots of buyers who only want quick refreshing non-coffee caffeine, and don't care for taste that much. Or sometimes they just want a background for those 100 g. of sugar you mentioned. Tea dust is a perfect match for this market, because it releases everything it holds to water immediately, while whole leaves may require some patience, and proper procedure.

jolotriage 7y ago
We took a tour of Loolecondera Tea Estate aka James Taylor Tea Museum a few years back. I left with the idea that high quality tea manufacturers consider dust almost waste material.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
mumblemumble 7y ago
FWIW, I'm personally fond of tea dust for cold brew, too. This summer I've been very much enjoying gyokuro dust steeped overnight in the fridge as my morning beverage. Not only is it less expensive than the whole leaf stuff (essentially free vs. some of the most expensive tea I own), but I think that works better with that brewing method, too. Probably the main reason I don't use Lipton instead of the good stuff when I'm making cold brew is that I dislike all the packaging waste. Between the brewing method and the serving temperature, I don't necessarily find the taste alone to be enough better to justify the higher price.
- thinnerlizzy 7y ago
  I've been using Lipton for this purpose and don't like all the packaging either. What do you use to contain the dust while you brew overnight? I make mine in a pitcher that lasts a few days.
  - mumblemumble 7y ago
    I use a travel mug with a strainer cup that fits snugly inside. In the morning I pour it out without removing the strainer, so whatever dust fell through and collected in the bottom ends up getting filtered out when it goes back through the wet bits of leaf.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
  Gyokuro is supposed to be high grade tea leaves grown in the shade, which are then ground into powder. (This is basically how matcha is made.) By contrast, the tea dust that Lipton uses is the leftovers when all the higher-grade roasted whole leaves have been taken out, and it's quite literally the worst/cheapest grade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_grading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_grading
- ozzmotik 7y ago
  where do you get your gyokuro from? the last time I had it was literally almost a decade ago and I absolutely loved it but I haven't been able to really find it except for expensive online retailers that strike me more as vanity brands than anything. but if you know of any good sources, id love to check them out
  - mumblemumble 7y ago
    I get it from a local tea place that specializes in chinese and japanese teas. It looks like the price I'm paying is a bit higher than what I'm seeing from a cursory look on the Internet. No idea how the quality compares.
  - uadjet 7y ago
    https://www.hibiki-an.com/sp/index.php/cPath/21 https://www.hibiki-an.com/sp/index.php/cPath/21 This is a farm I quite like. They're high quality and not a terrible price point since your buying directly from the farmer without a middleman.
duxup 7y ago
Much like lesser quality pizza... it's still pizza and I'm happy to eat it. It's not as good as other pizza, but it has its place.
comtn 7y ago
Celestial Seasons uses high quality ingredients, offering tours for anyone in the Boulder, Colorado area. They also use a patented pillow bag according to their FAQ: unique pillow-style tea bag that doesn't need a string, tag, staple or individual wrapper—and as a result, we save 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills every year.
- sandworm101 7y ago
  >> we save 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills 3.5 million pounds? Of tiny strings and staples? Wouldn't that require literally billions of teabags to reach 3.5 million pounds saved?
  - mc32 7y ago
    Yeah it seems overstated. Maybe they mean in terms of raw materials? Like iron ore and extra cotton production... still seems steep.
    - pg_is_a_butt 7y ago
      I see what you did there.
    - pixl97 7y ago
      That manufacturer is in every Walmart in the US. Do not underestimate how much they sale.
  - jmharvey 7y ago
    Celestial Seasons FAQ [1] says they sell 1.6 billion cups of tea per year, so this would work out to about 5 grams per serving, which seems around the right ballpark for the entire tea bag. Maybe their thinking is that without the staples, the tea bags are compostable, so they don't go in a landfill? [1] http://www.celestialseasonings.com/learn-about-us/faqs http://www.celestialseasonings.com/learn-about-us/faqs
  - petecox 7y ago
    Not all brands, obviously, but don't assume the 'bag' itself is biodegradable. Anecdotally, certain fancy tea bags survived an 18 month composting cycle, which I had to then pluck out by hand before spreading said compost on my vegie patch. Be kind to worms!
mcv 7y ago
Not all bagged tea is terrible. I usually use bags from Pickwick, which is okay. Not great, certainly not as good as high quality loose leaf, but good enough when I'm lazy or in a hurry. I recently used some Lipton yellow label, though, and that was terrible. There's absolutely variation in quality, even among bagged tea.

jolotriage 7y ago

We took a tour of Loolecondera Tea Estate aka James Taylor Tea Museum a few years back. I left with the idea that high quality tea manufacturers consider dust almost waste material.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

mumblemumble 7y ago

FWIW, I'm personally fond of tea dust for cold brew, too. This summer I've been very much enjoying gyokuro dust steeped overnight in the fridge as my morning beverage. Not only is it less expensive than the whole leaf stuff (essentially free vs. some of the most expensive tea I own), but I think that works better with that brewing method, too. Probably the main reason I don't use Lipton instead of the good stuff when I'm making cold brew is that I dislike all the packaging waste. Between the brewing method and the serving temperature, I don't necessarily find the taste alone to be enough better to justify the higher price.

thinnerlizzy 7y ago
I've been using Lipton for this purpose and don't like all the packaging either. What do you use to contain the dust while you brew overnight? I make mine in a pitcher that lasts a few days.
- mumblemumble 7y ago
  I use a travel mug with a strainer cup that fits snugly inside. In the morning I pour it out without removing the strainer, so whatever dust fell through and collected in the bottom ends up getting filtered out when it goes back through the wet bits of leaf.
9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
Gyokuro is supposed to be high grade tea leaves grown in the shade, which are then ground into powder. (This is basically how matcha is made.) By contrast, the tea dust that Lipton uses is the leftovers when all the higher-grade roasted whole leaves have been taken out, and it's quite literally the worst/cheapest grade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_grading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_grading
ozzmotik 7y ago
where do you get your gyokuro from? the last time I had it was literally almost a decade ago and I absolutely loved it but I haven't been able to really find it except for expensive online retailers that strike me more as vanity brands than anything. but if you know of any good sources, id love to check them out
- mumblemumble 7y ago
  I get it from a local tea place that specializes in chinese and japanese teas. It looks like the price I'm paying is a bit higher than what I'm seeing from a cursory look on the Internet. No idea how the quality compares.
- uadjet 7y ago
  https://www.hibiki-an.com/sp/index.php/cPath/21 https://www.hibiki-an.com/sp/index.php/cPath/21 This is a farm I quite like. They're high quality and not a terrible price point since your buying directly from the farmer without a middleman.

duxup 7y ago

Much like lesser quality pizza... it's still pizza and I'm happy to eat it. It's not as good as other pizza, but it has its place.

comtn 7y ago

Celestial Seasons uses high quality ingredients, offering tours for anyone in the Boulder, Colorado area. They also use a patented pillow bag according to their FAQ: unique pillow-style tea bag that doesn't need a string, tag, staple or individual wrapper—and as a result, we save 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills every year.

sandworm101 7y ago
>> we save 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills 3.5 million pounds? Of tiny strings and staples? Wouldn't that require literally billions of teabags to reach 3.5 million pounds saved?
- mc32 7y ago
  Yeah it seems overstated. Maybe they mean in terms of raw materials? Like iron ore and extra cotton production... still seems steep.
  - pg_is_a_butt 7y ago
    I see what you did there.
  - pixl97 7y ago
    That manufacturer is in every Walmart in the US. Do not underestimate how much they sale.
- jmharvey 7y ago
  Celestial Seasons FAQ [1] says they sell 1.6 billion cups of tea per year, so this would work out to about 5 grams per serving, which seems around the right ballpark for the entire tea bag. Maybe their thinking is that without the staples, the tea bags are compostable, so they don't go in a landfill? [1] http://www.celestialseasonings.com/learn-about-us/faqs http://www.celestialseasonings.com/learn-about-us/faqs
- petecox 7y ago
  Not all brands, obviously, but don't assume the 'bag' itself is biodegradable. Anecdotally, certain fancy tea bags survived an 18 month composting cycle, which I had to then pluck out by hand before spreading said compost on my vegie patch. Be kind to worms!

mcv 7y ago

Not all bagged tea is terrible. I usually use bags from Pickwick, which is okay. Not great, certainly not as good as high quality loose leaf, but good enough when I'm lazy or in a hurry. I recently used some Lipton yellow label, though, and that was terrible. There's absolutely variation in quality, even among bagged tea.