What the average tea consumer is accustomed to is black dust inside a teabag, steeped once, tasting stringent and slightly bitter, and cream and sugar are quickly added to dilute the taste. No wonder, as the dust found inside the teabags are usually either fannings (ground up parts of the leaves) or twigs, and can be compared to spam meat or a hot dog as far as quality goes. Today, some newly popular ‘silken’ teabags are found in the market, boasting of full leaf teas. These bags are often made of polypropylene or some other nylon like material, and definitely not silk. The effects of steeping nylon in hotwater is at best, questionable. Besides, full leaf teas need room to unfurl, and the constrictive teabags makes no allowance for the full flavours of these teas to be experienced. That is why the best teas are experienced at the whole leaf level, and steeped in teapots or vessels that allow them to expand.
Whole Leaf Teas are the traditional method of drinking and appreciating tea. The more broken the leaf, the more nutrients were lost in processing (in the case of many mechanized processed Black teas). By keeping the leaves whole and with as minimal breakage as possible, the flavour of the tea is released slowly infusion after infusion, bringing nuance and depth to its appreciation.
Artisanal teas are defined as hand crafted, from harvest to final product, although some machinery might be involved during this process. Grown at high elevations in their mountain of origin, under proper conditions where the best buds and leaves are harvested- processed by tea masters, artisanal teas are graded and judged for their true esteemed values. Consumers around the world appreciate artisanal level teas for their unsurpassed quality, and also, to support the art of handcrafted teas from generation to generation.
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