I've been served or have made tea inside a bag for pretty much my entire life. Tea always had an after taste but I thought that was just the different type of tea brands and accepted it for what it was. When I tried steeping loose leaf tea I was inexperienced and would always mess up the process by either burning it, keeping it in the water for too long or not long enough and just drank it knowing it had an after taste because I messed up the process. Well, naturally (And also looking up a lot of different methods to properly steep tea) over time, I became experienced enough to make tea exactly how it should be made and the flavor was good!
But recently, perhaps due to my taste buds changing or just noticing less of the tea, the after taste of the bagged tea became too much. What the hell had the brand I usually bought done with their tea? I pondered it for awhile, hoping this batch was a fluke and it would go away over time, but one day, as I just made a pitcher of bagged black tea, I took a sip and again was caught by the bad after taste. I walked away when the realization hit... The Bag! Over my life I've heard of coffee drinkers and loose leaf tea enjoyers often make a comment about the filter or bag altering the taste of the beverage but never put much thought into it, different strokes for different folks I assumed.
But now to realize that the after-taste I had been experiencing for all my life was the bag! I couldn't believe it. Well, I could because others have said it but how was I supposed to know when every home made tea I drank was steeped with a bag?
So now I am opening the teabag and dumping the contents into a strainer to steep the tea
Ripped open bag, strainer, and steeped tea in the background
Though I may need to buy a brand that doesn't 'powderize' the leaf
Southern classic.
This whole experience has been like when somebody is allergic to a food but they don't realize and just think the food always tastes like that. That was me with the 'bag' after taste.
Example of what I am referring to! Source: Photo taken from Tumblr/reddit
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.
Happy Steeping!
