Is Rooibos best in a bag, or as loose leaves?

You’re enjoying the refreshing flavor of natural Rooibos Rocks. And you are feeling pretty positive about its various health and wellness benefits. But there’s still something bothering you – should you brew with tea bags or loose tea? We know exactly how you feel. Because we felt the same way. And here’s what we found.

Regular black tea – loose leaf is better

With regular black tea, the aficionados tend to favor the loose variety over the bags. At first, we thought this was probably snobbery – a sense that something which takes a bit more effort has to somehow produce a better result. After a little research, however, we discovered that there was more to it than a mere perceived difference – you actually get a superior cuppa from the loose stuff.

Without giving you a long lecture on how tea leaves are processed it’s true to say that the better grades of oxidized leaves are packed as “loose” whereas the ‘dust and fannings’ from broken tea leaves tend to go in the bags. This means the bagged bits have lost most of their essential oils and aroma.

What’s more, when you steep the bags these fine tea bits release more tannins than loose leaf tea or whole leaf tea, resulting in more bitter or astringent brews. Finally, the tea leaves need to expand to release their full flavor and arguably the loose tea is better able to do this than the bits in the bags.

For all these reasons you get a better cuppa of regular black tea from the loose packs.

Rooibos Rocks whether loose or in a bag

You might imagine that the same holds true for Rooibos – the bags produce a lesser brew. But you’d be wrong.

Rooibos is a completely different plant and produces spines rather than leaves. These are processed in a similar way to black tea but when we pack Rooibos the bags contain the same grade and quality of the product as the stuff that is sold as loose. Furthermore, the spines don’t swell up to the same extent as tea leaves so brewing loose, or in a bag, makes no difference to the flavor or amount of goodness that’s released.

This is great news. With Rooibos Rocks you can enjoy the convenience of tea bags without losing any of that characteristically earthy taste or the wealth of health benefits that you get with every cup. It’s a win-win and one less thing you have to worry about. Another way in which we create Moments of Calm in a World of Crazy!