Half-pound bag with plain Green Rooibos Loose Leaf Tea (Pesticide-Free, CITES-Certified)

There are a number of ways to brew loose leaf teas and you can choose to keep it as simple or make it as elaborate as you so desire. The traditional way advocates pouring rapidly boiling water over leaves placed in a pre-heated teapot - very important that the teapot has been recently rinsed with boiling water to ensure that no heat is lost during the steeping process - allow it to steep for up to four minutes and then pour it through a strainer. Alternatively, instead of pouring through a strainer after the brewing process, you can place the leaves into a diffuser that fits neatly inside your teapot or even one of the many portable strainers available today - you will find tea ball strainers, infuser spoons and other similar devices very convenient, if it's single cup steeping you're seeking.

 

There are many benefits associated with going the more traditional medium cut leaf tea route when it comes to brewing your rooibos tea, aside from impressing your friends with your distinctive tea making techniques of course. Since rooibos is virtually free of the tannins found in traditional black and green teas, a single loose leaf serving can provide you with an endless cup of rooibos from the first to the last pouring if you follow these brewing tips:

 

Good quality rooibos organic loose leaf teas, when brewed correctly, can be re-infused several times. If you take care to add only enough water for the cup or pot you are using and pour off all of the infused liquid from the leaves when done with steeping, you will be able to use one measure of leaves several times. So by enjoying our premium loose leaf rooibos, time-after-time, the discerning tea lover also recycling whilst also preserving their cache of loose leaf!

 

Once you are done enjoying your tea, the dregs can be re-used in a number of useful household tasks. Need to clean greasy floors? Simply spread well drained tea leaves over the surface you wish to clean and sweep. Polish wooden furniture? Simply tie the leaves in a rag and use it to polish wooden furniture to a lustrous sheen. Protect against Rust? Simply wipe iron cooking utensils with tea leaves to minimize the possibility of rust. Of course you can also work it into your compost heap to keep pests at bay and give your acid-loving plants a new lease on life.

 

Going Back to Loose Tea Roots 

Did you know that the teabag actually only came into existence at around 1904? Up until this time, using loose leaf tea was the only way that tea was made. The story goes that an ambitious Chinese tea merchant, bent on expanding his business to America, sent a small silken bag containing a sample of his tea leaves to a coffee merchant in New York. Upon receiving the sample, the coffee merchant (perhaps unsure as to how the tea should be brewed) added both the bag and the leaves to a teapot of boiling water. The tale continues to link this happy mistake to the coffee merchant's decision to market a patented teabag commercially, with much success. And there you have it - the legend of how the humble, and later instant, teabag came into existence!