This seems like an easy question to answer. Yet it is not. There are lots of discussion on whether you should use loose tea or tea in bags ( tea bags). As you can imagine loose tea with different types of strainers has been used for years. The very first tea bags had the full or broken tea leaves in it. As always with businesses a lower quality form of the tea can be used and substituted.
I am not saying this occurs with all companies that sell tea bags. I prefer some overt others as Bigelow Tea and another brand I buy in Whole Foods called Tea Pigs. I read about fanning> I didn’t know what “ Fanning” was. A fanning consists of small particles of tea that are left over from the production of tea. The tea on that bag is of low quality.
There is a problem with tea in general especially if you do not know where it is grown. There could be metal contamination. This would occur with tea in bags or in loose tea. You must know your source and the quality of the tea especially where it is grown. I also worry about tea bags as some are made with different materials, including plastic. Plastic can be harmful to your health
At Botanical Bounty we sell loose tea. We buy in bilk from organic fair trade companies. Each patch of tea has a certificate of where it was grown. This is especially important to me as a herbalist and physician. I make a perfect ( imperfectly perfect) cup of tea from Botanical Bounty’s loose tea of all types Call 646 723 1823