If you’ve switched to loose leaf tea, share your favourite kit and brews!

[Squirrelfruitandnutkin]

I drink a lot of tea, mostly peppermint tea. With a bit of decaf and occasional real tea.

I’m trying to reduce the plastic in our lives and was really surprised that tea bags have plastic in them!

So, loose leaf tea. There’s a load of options, lots of them very expensive.

What’s your favourite brew?
And what sort of kit do you use?

My DH was disgusted to read that tea bags have plastic in them so I just switched to loose leaf "normal" tea (I'm not British, so forgive me if I don't use the right term!).

So far I've just tried Sainsbury's "Gold Label" with a tea strainer. DH is raving about the flavour difference between it and the Tetley bog-standard bags I used to buy, and I agree it does taste better, but it is definitely more expensive than bagged tea. I understand this is because tea brands can put what is basically tea dust in the bags, while loose tea has to have real leaves in it.

Cleaning out the tea pot, however, has become a chore that I could do without.

I grow mint and other herbs and just use the mint leaves. Easy to clean out teapot! The mint is lasting well in a pot in the greenhouse...

We've used loose leaf tea for the whole time we have lived together. Almost 25 years - gulp! We use Sainsbury's red tea - a basic Fair trade one - and loose Lapsang Formosa in a 2:1 ratio.

I use a For life pot with inbuilt strainer. Very little mess or faff.
I seem to have different tea each time so can't compare brands, but I like ones in a tea (expensive though)

What do you do for individual cups of tea? Dh doesn’t drink much tea so I never make a pot.

I use Miles loose leaf tea + nice Whittards teapot from charity shop. I think it used to have a mesh insert, but I just use a tea strainer. Tea cosy to keep it warm. I also sometimes put 1 spoonful of earl grey in the pot.

For individual mugs or making herbal tea I use Ikea Sakkunnig tea infusers which clip over the side of the cup.

www.djmiles.co.uk/West-Country-Original-Loose-Tea/groupproduct/352/

Charity shops often have one person teapots. It's so quick to make a pot, you won't look back!

Placemarking to come back later!

I have a mug that was from Whittards that has a metal strainer that sits in / on top of it.
Does loose leaf tea not come in a foily plastic bag inside the cardboard box though?? I imagine there's a lot more plastic in that than the tiny amount used to glue teabags together?
www.whittard.co.uk/equipment/tea-equipment/all-tea-equipment/teal_pao_infuser_mug.htm

This is my favourite tea. Yummy

www.tea-and-coffee.com/peppermint-green-tea?amp=1

I got this to put in the teapot. (Warning: it arrived in a little cardboard box but additionally wrapped in a completely pointless bit of plastic).

www.amazon.co.uk/Teapot-Infuser-Steeper-Strainer-Handle/dp/B00IMXJ3UA?tag=mumsnetforum-21

It works really well. It'd probably be a bit awkward to remove from the teapot before pouring but our teapot is quite squat so we don't need to remove it first.

I found that tea leaves came wrapped in plastic /foil which kind of defeats the purpose. Annoying.

I also have a for life teapot with infuser, works well but only just enough for two cups of tea. Currently using teapigs breakfast (ordered online, couldn't believe what a tiny packet), tastes great though. Have found loose Yorkshire gold (my usual brew), so onto that next.

Teabags don't just have a little bit of glue to stick them together. The actual bag has a plastic in them to stop them from disintegrating in your mug. I think, even though loose tealeaves still are in plastic, there is less than teabags, but I could be wrong.

Anyway, we have just switched from teabags to loose. I bought Co-op loose tea as we love their teabags but its like dust and we end up with lots of bits in our mugs. Does anyone have a loose tea they would reccomend, that tastes good, not dust, and I can buy in the supermarket? Thank you.

I haven't switched completely, but I do use Whittards loose tea with an infuser ball for individual cups.

I also still have some unbleached biodegradable tea bags that I used to use to make herbal tea combinations. That sort of thing might do.

Clipper as they do an organic one. I have a cheap old 1970s teapot with a very wide top so you can get the tea leaves out to throw away. Whatever nicompoop designed my other teapot with a tiny lid obviously never never tried to empty it of tea leaves.

PG recently announced they are phasing out plastic in their bags

We go to the East India Trading company and buy tins of tea. About £15 per tin, but they are a lovely tea and one tin lasts months. My absolute favourite is loose Darjeeling.

we use one of these
they fit most pots

We have an infuser that sits in you teapot and yes balls for individual cups.
The larger leaf tea has become harder to find,this is how loose tea used to be but the supermarkets all sell finely chopped tea.