Oolong Tea Bags Pyramid
What kind of Oolong tea bags do you prefer… a traditional bag, circles, or the triangles? Why are pyramids the choice over a regular paper tea bag? The primary reason is so that during the steeping process the leaves have a chance to expand. In a traditional tea bag, many of the leaves get crushed and break into smaller pieces. In a pyramid they tend to stay more whole and thus are allowed to release more flavor as they expand.
Lipton was the first company to really begin producing these tea bag pyramids in the 1990′s. I was really surprised to learn this since Lipton tends to be far more concerned with the commercial and main stream market. Other companies began to catch on to this and began using this.
One of the primary concerns against this cute little pyramid was that many of them were being made out of a synthetic material and would not break down in landfills. You will see many companies advertise that their tea bag pyramids are environmentally friendly. If that is a concern of yours, be sure to look for that on the box when you are making your purchase.
When I was in Kenya back in the 1990′s, I lived for about 6 months near a town called Limuru. All around Limuru, as far as the eye could see were tea plantations. It was spectacular and peaceful to go for walks through the fields. I was in tea heaven. We would have chai every morning around 10 a.m. I was at this time introduced to the world of loose leaf tea.
Up to that point I actually did not know that tea was sold in this manner. I figured that the little paper tea bag was the only way things were produced. I don’t know if it was a combination of have such proximity to the tea plantations itself, or learning to enjoy tea more because it was steeped as a loose leaf tea, but ever since then I have had a fondness for my beveage this way.
Living back in America now it is not always convenient to do my tea this way, until I discovered the pyramids. And, with my new fondness of Wulong tea, I could not get the best of everything. I usually find Oolong Tea Bag Pyramids at my local Whole Foods store, but you might have a better chance of finding them online if you don’t live in a larger city. I realize not everyone may have one close to their home, but you may also want to try looking online for this.
In my opinion, using the triangles, or pyramids, may be one of the ways to help some of those “purists” get over seeing their tea in a bag. Oolong Tea is one of the finest teas available. I just want to make sure that I am getting the full health benefits when I prepare and drink it.