Steep it Loose!

I guess I never realized how spoiled I really am when it comes to tea. Not a tea drinker before working for a loose leaf tea company, I never suffered through the early stages of the tea bag. Luckily I was overwhelmed with a veritable treasure-trove of loose leaf tea my first day on the job. After a snide remark or two about bagged tea from my new co-workers, I fully understood that I was never to waste my time with any tea that was delivered to my cup via a bag. So I never really spent much time thinking about the ground-up tea that lives inside a tea bag and how it, when combined with water, responds differently than the sprawling leaves I've come to know and enjoy. Until yesterday. Our CEO returned from her trip abroad with some loose leaf tea and promptly steeped the crew each a cup. Curious how it became so bitter after only steeping 30 seconds, I began asking questions. So this particular tea was ground up almost into powder form, like the tea in a tea bag. I guess it makes sense that the water has more surface area of the tea with which to connect, essentially speeding up the process. I can't think of a better time to utter the old adage "The best things come to those who wait."

picture from www.bookeyetest.info