Loose leaf or tea bags?
It is one of those debates tea people can become surprisingly passionate about.
Loose leaf is often treated as the gold standard. The proper way to make tea.
And sometimes, it absolutely is.
But cafés are busy places. Tea has to taste brilliant, look good and work when there is a queue at the door.
So for us, the more useful question is simple.
Which format gives your customers a great cup of tea while actually working for your business?
Why choose loose leaf tea?
There is a lot to love about loose leaf.
You can see the tea. Smell it. Watch the leaves open as they infuse. Served in a good teapot, there is a sense of occasion that is difficult to replicate.
And when the tea itself is full of colour, aroma and character, putting those leaves on show makes perfect sense.
For hotels, restaurants, afternoon tea and cafés where tea is a big part of the experience, loose leaf can be a brilliant choice.
It turns a cup of tea into something worth slowing down for.
But there is another side to it.
The reality behind the bar
Loose leaf needs a little more attention.
Someone needs to measure the tea. You need infusers or strainers. Brewing times need to be understood. There is more equipment to clean and more potential for one person to make the tea differently from another.
None of those things are particularly difficult.
But add them together during a busy service and they start to matter.
Especially if tea represents a smaller part of your drinks sales and most of the team is focused on keeping the coffee machine moving.
Great tea should not become the complicated drink nobody wants to make.
Where pyramid tea bags come in
Forget the dusty little square tea bag for a moment.
A good pyramid is a completely different proposition.
The larger shape gives quality tea leaves more space to open and move as they infuse. That means you can put genuinely good tea inside while making the preparation incredibly straightforward.
One pyramid.
One pot.
The right water.
The right brewing time.
Done.
No measuring. No loose leaves across the counter. No guessing how much tea went into the last pot.
And importantly, no need to compromise on character.
Consistency counts
If someone orders your Earl Grey today and comes back next week, it should taste just as good.
Pyramids make that much easier.
Each serving contains the correct amount of tea, so your team can focus on getting the water and brewing time right.
That consistency is especially useful in high volume speciality coffee shops.
Tea may not be the biggest category on the menu, but the person ordering it does not care about that. They still expect a great drink.
And they should get one.
There is less mess too
Not the most glamorous consideration, admittedly, but an important one.
Loose leaf gets everywhere.
In infusers. Across counters. Around sinks. In places you did not realise tea leaves could reach.
During a quiet service, it is barely worth mentioning.
Halfway through a packed Saturday, you may feel differently.
Pyramids make preparation and clearing up considerably simpler, which means more time serving customers and less time fishing wet tea leaves out of the sink.
Sometimes the practical things really do matter.
So, which should you choose?
It depends on the experience you want to create.
If you run a hotel serving afternoon tea, a restaurant where tea is part of the occasion or a café with a strong tea focus, loose leaf can add something special.
If you run a busy speciality coffee shop making hundreds of drinks a day, high quality pyramids can make a lot of sense.
And there is no rule saying you have to choose one.
Some of our customers use both.
Loose leaf for table service and occasions where the presentation is part of the experience.
Pyramids when speed, consistency and takeaway service matter.
It is a simple solution and often a very good one.
What is inside matters more
This is the part we care about most.
Do not become so distracted by loose leaf versus pyramid that you forget about the tea itself.
A beautifully presented pyramid filled with boring tea is still boring tea.
Loose leaves in an expensive teapot do not automatically make them good.
Open the tea and smell it.
Look at the leaves.
Brew it properly.
Then taste it.
Does it have depth? Aroma? A distinctive flavour? Does it make you want another sip?
At Jeeves & Jericho, we believe tea should have character, whatever format it happens to come in.
Because your customer probably will not leave talking about the shape of the bag or the type of infuser you used.
They will remember whether you made them a brilliant cup of tea.
And that is the whole point.