Tea bags, albeit convenient, are not the tea connoisseurs’ friend. Most commercial American and English tea bags are filled with mechanically harvested and processed tea from South America! Once you have begun to appreciate loose teas you can actually taste the paper or nylon (a new tea bag material) in the cup. There are a few companies who fill a bag well and deliver a decent cup of tea, but tea bags should only be used as a last resort.

I personally sojourn with a stainless steel lined travel mug and some of my favorite long steeping teas. I can find filtered hot water at almost any coffee shop or lodging facility, and then I happily sip my tea with the leaves in it.