I have always used teabags when making tea but ive seen that some people have tea leaves loose in a can?!

I have always used teabags when making tea but ive seen that some people have tea leaves loose in a can?

is this better tea or something because its not pre-bagged? do you put it in a tea bag yourself or is there some other method to making it? dumb question i know but im thinking of making my own tea using herbs and this info might be useful to me.

Tea bags are purely for convenience. You usually get tea dust and tea fines in tea bags, but there are some companies that offer pyramid tea bags which allow the tea bits to expand more. Some pyramid tea bags have whole tea leafs in them, and are the closest thing to drinking loose leaf tea as you can get.

Drinking loose leaf tea is usually using an "infuser" to capture the tea leaves after the time is up to remove the tea leaves. Some people use a tea ball where you put the leaves in the ball, and dunk it in the hot water, then remove it after the proper steep time. Other people put the leaves in a teapot, then strain the leaves out. There are so many ways, but basically, they want the whole leaves to expand, giving more flavor to the drink.

The same can be done with herbs like mint, hibiscus flowers, fruit pieces, dandelions, etc. These are called herbal teas, or Tisanes.

True teas are your green teas, black teas, white teas, and oolong teas. All come in loose leaf as well as tea bag types. So if you want to make a herbal tea from your favorite chinese herbs, go for it. But just try and find a good way to do it by googling or whatnot.

here are some types of infusers...
http://www.fantes.com/tea_infusers.htm...