When Reputation Alone Is Not Enough

Recently, I visited a friend who asked me around for tea. As she was boiling the kettle she asked me to get the box of teabags out of her cupboard, which I happily did. Upon opening the box (brand will not be revealed) I was somewhat shocked to see that most of the contents of the tea bags sat in the corner of the box, not inside the teabag. When I mentioned it to my friend, she just rolled her eyes and simply stated "again? they are all like that now".

I am not exaggerating when I say that if I had my Floatea with me, I'd be able to fill it with the loose tea that had collected in the corner and brew a cup. 

This was a brand of tea that I remember advertising on television when I was a child, and was firmly established decades before I was born. Their reputation proceeds them.

Of course, accidents happen. I've worked in retail for most of my working life and have seen items damaged in transit and that is not the company's fault. These things happen. However, for my friend to brush the incident off as something that occurs on a regular basis, and admitting that sometimes, to get a decent brew, she has to use two bags, I was flabbergarsted.

So, the question is, are mainstream tea companies letting their standards slip, are they becoming too complacent, happy to sit back and revel in past successes and not realising the standard they set so high previously needs improvement?

Over the past four years, since I started drinking tea, I've seen all manner of things when I've opened up a box of tea. Weird sticky substances, leaking teabags, perforated teabags that I've had to use scissor's to to separate and teabags that tasted of bleach. Again, I understand that during the manufacturing process things can go wrong, and most companies are more then happy to put those things right if you let them know.

It is, perhaps because of this, that I started to drink loose leaf tea a couple of years ago and have not looked back. Like any tea I've tasted some awful ones but I've also tasted some exquisite tea's too. And with the availability of one cup pots and infusers, it's never been easier to drink loose leaf tea. It's just as easy to use loose leaf tea nowadays then it is to use a tea bag.

And, now, with the internet, you can find a loose tea that will suit any palate. The choice out there is fantastic.

But, there are people out there who simply like the convenience of a teabag, so it's really important that tea companies keep their standards up, so their customers get the best quality they can - and the quality they pay for. And lets be honest, the competition out there is high, there is no way any tea company can rest on their laurels. You can be sure there will be someone willing to take their place.

Nothing urks me more then bad quality tea. I really want every one who drinks tea to get as much pleasure out of it as I do. And I'm sorry, but teabags who leak their contents into the box isn't right. How can you get a satisfying brew with a half empty teabag?

If you are a tea lover and use teabags for convenience, let the companies know if it's not up to standard. Let them know if you can't seperate the teabags, if the contents have leaked or if you're not happy with the contents.

Every cup of tea should be special and satisfying. Why settle for less?