Tea bags have several advantages over loose leaf tea, but they also have disadvantages as well. Let's examine both.

Advantages:

Easy to brew one cup at a time.

Faster and less fuss to brew.

Easier to remove leaves after brewing.

No loose leaves to block drainpipes.

Easy to make large quantities for large gatherings.

Disadvantages:

Contents usually consist of smaller pieces such as dust or fannings. They give a quicker brew, but lack the sparkle and subtelty of loose leaf brews.

They can release too much "tannin". This can produce bitterness and harshness.

They lose flavor and quality more rapidly than loose leaf tea. If stored properly, many loose leaf teas can be stored for up to 2 years, ( Pu'erh tea can actually be aged like a fine wine ), whereas teabags usually can last only 4 to 6 weeks at most. After that, they give an unsatisfactory brew.

So! Loose leaf or tea bag? That depends on what you're looking for. It could be awkward to make loose leaf tea at the office, for example. You would need an infuser mug or teapot. ( Throw away those little mesh tea balls!!!). You need to have a supply of well stored loose tea. Then there's the water temperature. Some teas are supposed to brew in boiling water while others should be brewed at 180 degrees, or even as low as 150 degrees in some cases. And yes, water temperature is as important as length of infusion! If you have a tea bag, though, just boil water, dump the bag in your cup, brew as long as you wish, (not TOO long though), then toss the bag in the trash.

Well, that's about all for now.

Until we meet again,

HAPPY BREWING!