Lake Missoula proudly sells loose leaf tea: good for the earth, and the best tasting tea you can find. Sure, filter bags work when you’re on the go, but we exclusively sell loose leaf. Here are four reasons why we encourage everyone to ditch the tea bag.

Less Waste

First, loose leaf means less garbage. Bagged tea involves filters, strings, glue, and even staples! Also, many bagged teas come in individual wrappers. This wasteful material isn’t necessary when you drink loose leaf tea.

Better Quality Tea

Second, tea maintains quality better when stored with more tea. It keeps fresher, and flavors remain more vibrant. When you put tea in a bag, the isolated tea doesn’t keep as fresh and tasty as it otherwise would. Exposure to air also degrades tea’s antioxidant properties. For the freshest and best tea experience, drink loose leaf. Not only do the health benefits remain more potent, but every cup tastes better!

Interact with the Tea

Third, you can’t interact with tea when it’s already bagged up. Loose leaf brewing involves scooping the tea, measuring the right amount for your cup or teapot. You can also see and smell the beautiful blends we create. Tea has a greatly underappreciated aesthetic value: visually appealing, colorful, and aromatic. Loose leaf often means whole, beautiful tea leaves! Bagged tea is cut and broken, often to the point of resembling dust. Our small batch blends always use loose leaf, quality ingredients. Drinking whole, loose leaf tea, like any good culinary experience, engages all your senses.

Biodegradable Waste

Fourth and finally, loose leaf tea is fully biodegradable! You can compost it, feed it to your chickens, or add it to your vermiculture. No matter the method, loose leaf tea returns quickly and easily back where it came from: the good Earth!

Keep Tea Simple and Beautiful

At the heart, loose leaf tea brewing requires only 3 things: tea leaf, water, and time. Then you’ll usually want some barrier to remove the tea leaf. Or, if you like to keep your leaf in your cup, you’ll need a barrier to keep the tea separate. We carry many steepers and accessories to suit your preference.

As you dig deeper into the rich world of whole, loose leaf tea, know you are contributing to a system that uses minimal waste. You get to drink fresher, more flavorful tea. And you get a treat for your senses along the way!