Epcot: United Kingdom Pavilion
By now, almost everyone has in some way been exposed to tea. Maybe a relative has made you a cup of tea when you weren’t feeling well, or perhaps you tried a tea bag while in a waiting room, or maybe you’ve just always been fond of tea over coffee. For many people, their first exposure to tea was the tea bag. This is because that little paper pocket of tea on a string has been manufactured at such a low price using such low quality ingredients, that they are cheaply spread out everywhere, and in many people’s kitchen cupboards. Unfortunately, most of these tea bags are filled with the mere dust of the plant we love so much, the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. Oftentimes, the tea bag will be dull and stale in flavor, that’s because the store that sold it may not know when it was produced, when it was restocked, or how long it’s been sitting on the shelf. It’s no wonder some people are apprehensive about giving tea another chance.
Epcot: United Kingdom Pavilion
Hollywood Studios: Tower of Terror
Grand Floridian Resort
If you want to give tea a fair try, you must try loose leaf tea. With loose leaves, you will get full, unbroken, flavorful leaves that will enhance the natural health benefits of tea and enhance the experience as a whole. You can plainly see and smell what you are about to drink. Loose leaf tea is the highest quality of tea you can get, and in many instances, is not actually that much more expensive than the low quality tea dust you get with tea bags. To be clear, there are certainly expensive loose leaf teas out there, with some selling for hundreds of dollars per ounce, however, that is an exception; many “everyday” high-quality loose leaf teas can easily be found for as little as $2 or $3 per ounce, which makes about 12-14 cups of tea.
You will notice the visually stunning leaves of different types of loose leaf teas; the golden colored leaf tips of a golden yunnan tea, or the silver strands of leaves in a high-grade formosa oolong, or the multi-colored specks of leaves found in some Darjeeling. For flavored loose leaf teas, you will often find a beautiful mix of colors from different herbs, dried fruits, and tiny decorative flowers. When brewing loose leaf tea, you will also notice how much the leaves expand, usually doubling or tripling in size! But the real reward comes in the taste. Loose leaf tea will have a depth of flavor simply not found in tea bags. Teas with a sweet note will be sweeter, teas that are grassy will be more grassy. After some practice, you will be able to pick up different flavor notes, complexities in mouth texture, and subtleties in different grades of tea.
Animal Kingdom: Joffery’s in Asia
