mhardy6647
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(the following are very black tea-centric comments and observations, with apologies to those focused on other kinds of teas!)Serious question, for you or anyone else who might know.
Is there even enough loose leaf tea sold for the smaller bits in standard teabags to be the "leftovers"? Just looking at the relative quantities of each type sold in grocery stores this seems impossible.
Most store-bought bag tea is what's called "fannings grade" -- it' s essentially dust, ends, and pieces of tea leaves. It's not "used" or recycled in any sense, and it has one advantage of sorts... it steeps really fast. It is generally, at the least, considered inferior quality.
I use commercial bag teas occasionally (and usually use it for iced tea, which we DO enjoy in the summertime).
There are better commercial bag teas -- here is one that we actively like and always keep some on hand (FWIW).
Lifeboat Tea 80's
As well as caring for our farms we also care about the RNLI, having raised money for nearly 40 years for the charity through our ‘Lifeboat Tea’.
www.williamsontea.com
Lifeboat Tea | English Breakfast Blend | Mark T. Wendell Tea Company
Lifeboat tea is a hearty English Breakfast blend of Kenyan teas. This rich breakfast tea is sourced from Williamson Teas’ Fair Trade Kenyan tea estates and sold on behalf of the world famous Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
marktwendell.com
The better (??) choice for serious tea drinkers may be to buy loose leaf teas, and also purchase 'bags' for steeping the tea separately -- simply "bag your own"
Here's an example (Finum), from my favorite "local" (US, New England) vendor.
Finum Loose Leaf Tea Filter Bags | Upton Tea Imports
Find high-quality, Finum disposable loose leaf tea filter bags at Upton Tea Imports. Free shipping on domestic orders $75+.
www.uptontea.com
There are also all sorts of single-cup strainers for steeping loose leaf teas.
Many drinkers of green teas steep the tea 'free range' in cups. Green and oolong teas are often amenable to multiple steepings, yielding different flavor profiles from steep to steep... but that's another story for later or elsewhere.
EDIT: Strictly for completenetss Here's a bulk version of a 'fannings-grade' tea blend. It's cheap I have tried this particular blend, and found it OK at best but utterly unremarkable (FWIW).