What is loose leaf green tea?
I have an idea, but am I supposed to drink the loose leaves in order to reap the healthful benefits?
Loose leaf green tea is basically what you think… it’s basically the leaves that aren’t in a pill or a bag. No you don’t drink the leaves straight, you would put them in a tea strainer (like a little ball with holes they sell near the tea) and drink the water from that. For lack of a better term, it’s the "old fashioned way" to make tea by putting ground up leaves into the tea ball and putting that in hot water instead of putting a tea bag in water. You’ll get the same benefits as using a tea bag would give, but you don’t have the paper from the bag… some people like it more (especially if they like weaker or stronger doses as you put in only how much you want), some people don’t (especially those that want the least work to get their tea). 
I hope this helps!
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Loose leaf green tea is basically what you think… it’s basically the leaves that aren’t in a pill or a bag. No you don’t drink the leaves straight, you would put them in a tea strainer (like a little ball with holes they sell near the tea) and drink the water from that. For lack of a better term, it’s the "old fashioned way" to make tea by putting ground up leaves into the tea ball and putting that in hot water instead of putting a tea bag in water. You’ll get the same benefits as using a tea bag would give, but you don’t have the paper from the bag… some people like it more (especially if they like weaker or stronger doses as you put in only how much you want), some people don’t (especially those that want the least work to get their tea).
I hope this helps!
References :
Personal experience and personal research in my role as a Product Specialist for a vitamin company
You have the right idea.
It’s tea without the bag. In my opinion, it is better than tea bags. Better quality tea is normally sold as loose leaf. First you get to control better how much tea you put in your tea pot. For some, one tea bag may be too little and two, too much.
So, in only once, choose to drink loose leaf tea and see if you like it better or not. Use a sifter to keep the leaves from getting into your cup.
Oh, and with loose leaf you get to test the quality of your tea for yourself. A good tea will sit at the bottom of your teapot, bad quality will float.
References :
Here’s some more info:
http://www.therighttea.com/facts-about-tea.html
All true tea comes from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. The type of tea the leaves become is a result of how the leaves are processes. Loose leaf green tea offers many health benefits. Tea bags purchased in the local super market are not loose leaf tea, but the left over tea dust and fannings of the tea process.
You will want to brew your tea using a filter or tea basket of some sort that allows the leaves to rest in the water while brewing. After brewing you will then want to immediately remove the leaves to prevent over brewing which causes bitterness to develop. Believe it or not it only takes 3 minutes to brew a great cup of green tea. If you want a stronger flavor do NOT brew for a longer period of time. Instead add more loose leaves.
Another way to get the health benefits of green tea is to drink what is called matcha tea. This is actually the green leaves ground into a powder.
You may want to go to to this web site to learn more about brewing green tea. Also look for a matcha latte recipe if you are interested.
http://www.your-cup-of-tea.com/how-to-brew-green-tea.html
References :
http:www.your-cup-of-tea.com
The ground up tea that you are accustomed to seeing in tea bags actually started out as whole leaves from the green tea plant, Camelia Sinesis.
Many of the health benefits attributed to green tea are due to the high concentrations of EGCg, a powerful antioxidant found in green tea leaves. There is 10,000% more EGCg in whole leaf green tea than there is in brewed tea, so the best way to get the full benefit from green tea leaves is to eat the whole leaf.
References :
http://www.eatgreentea.com