Loose tea on the trail?

Shotgun

Shotgun

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Feb 3, 2006
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I was thinking about taking fancy tea with me when I hike but don't really know much about brewing loose tea. I was wondering if any of you guys do and what you use to brew it. There's infusers, french presses, and I'm sure other things I don't know about but I was hoping there was a slick way of doing it that didn't require purpose/singular use gear. Any tips, tricks, or teas that you like? I'm thinking of trying some things out this weekend as well as hunting for a good black tea.:D
 
I've brought a tea ball before.


Also you can just let it soak for a good while and the leaves will sink to the bottom anyway.

Sometimes after a long hard tramp and you don't know if you have the wherewithall to make camp and a fire, to break out the stove, make a strong cup of green tea and a couple aspirin on top of that and soon you are good to go!:thumbup:
 
I'm definitely a fan of those tea balls because they are pretty easy to use and they dont take up tons of room. However, because they (the wire mesh ones especially) are easily crushed, you could also get empty paper filter bags or there are travel mugs with built in french presses/tea infusers.
 
I've use the tea balls, but when on the trail just use some better tea that is already in individual packets. Just easier, at least for me. You can get tea balls that are re-inforced with platic that hold up better than the lighter mesh ones. When camping where we are more set into a camp site and can bring more stuff, then yes its nice to do the french press for a good cup of coffee or tea.
 
I've carried Stash tea Earl Grey for years. Individual packets make it easy.

If I were to use loose tea then I'd just let it steep till the leaves fall to the bottom of the cup. Though tea balls work well too.
 
I do it like they do in the rest of the world: put the tea leaves in hot water, wait a bit, and voilà! No gimmick, no additional utensils of any sort. Sure, you spit a tea leave here and there but using your teeth as a "filter" works pretty good.

Also, I don't know if you guys know this but fresh/new raspberry leaves (lots of it - fill your cup entirely) makes a very good tea! You don't even have to bring your tea along. Pine needles or cedar leaves work too, but the taste of raspberry leaves is unbeatable in my book.
 
Loose chinese tea is cut pretty coarse so just putting it in a cup of hot water and drinking works for me. Just strain it through you're teeth when you get to the bottom. (Assumes you aren't missing too many teeth. :D). Oolong is my favorite.
 
I use the same methods with loose tea as I do with loose coffee. I either take a few coffee filters and tie up my own "tea/coffee bag", or after letting it steep, add a dash of cold water to settle the leaves or grounds. Setting my pot on a cold rock or just the bottom of the pot in a cold stream does the same thing. I can't explain why the leaves/grounds follow the colder temperature to the bottom, but they do.
 
Well you could make up a small cloth porous bag. Kind of like small bag cowboys would carry tobacco in. Put some draw strings on it. Pop in the about of bulk tea you think you will need for the pot. Toss the bag into the pot and you are done. Fish it out, dump the used tea out. Rinse it out for the next time.
 
I was thinking about a fine mesh bag for it. Then the bag could be used for foraging. Hmm...lots of ideas out there.
 
I wish I liked tea, you guys make it sound so good, but the taste gets me every time...
 
sodak said:
I wish I liked tea, you guys make it sound so good, but the taste gets me every time...
Click to expand...

There are literally hundreds of types of teas. You have to experiment to find a taste you like, and it may not be a straight traditional "tea leaf" type tea. I like Formosa Oolong mentioned above, but locally I make sassafrass tea, or willowbark tea (great for headache and pain relief).
 
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