CTC vs teabag tea
One is a manufacturing method and the other is a format, and treating them as the same thing is why 'teabag tea' gets blamed for things the bag did not do.
teabrewing method
What is being compared
These are not the same kind of thing, which is usually why they get confused. Each one is labelled with what it actually is.
- CTC black tea — Tea
- Tea bag brewing — Brewing method
Point by point
| Aspect | CTC black tea | Tea bag brewing |
|---|---|---|
| What it describes | How the leaf was manufactured — cut, torn and curled into granules. | How the tea is packaged and presented for brewing. |
| Can they be separated | Yes. CTC can be sold loose, and it often is. | Yes. Whole leaf in a pyramid bag is common. |
| Why they usually go together | CTC granules are the right size and extraction speed for a bag. | Bags need fast, near-total extraction to work in three minutes. |
| What determines quality | The leaf grade and the garden. | Nothing — the bag is inert. |
| Where the reputation comes from | Commodity CTC in commodity bags. | The same, attributed to the wrong half. |
The short answer
The bag is not the problem. What is usually inside it is a commercial decision about leaf grade, and a whole-leaf bag performs much like a basket infuser.
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