Is Loose Tea Better Than Bagged?

Tea aficionados will tell you loose tea tastes better. But bagged tea is much more convenient. We talked to tea experts to get the real story on how loose and bagged tea compare.

Selection. While you’ll have plenty of choices among bagged teas, loose tea comes in even more varieties and blends. "There are so many more options—thousands," says Michelle M. Francl, PhD, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and author of "Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea" (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024).

Flavor. It’s all about personal preference, but overall, loose teas’ flavor has more breadth and depth. The leaves of loose teas are usually larger and typically of higher quality than those in bags, which tend to contain mostly small leaf particles. Plus, loose leaves can expand in a pot or cup, exposing more of their surface area to the water, which enhances the taste. Tea bags, on the other hand, compress the leaves and can absorb some of the flavor compounds. One benefit of bagged teas, says Francl, is that they’re blended to be the same cup to cup. So if you find a bagged tea that you really like, you can expect it to taste the same each time you drink it.