Tea's Got a Brand New Bag

Serious tea drinkers have always known that the perfect cup comes from loose leaves. Traditional tea bags may offer tidiness and convenience, but the taste is often lacking. The thickness of the bag means the tea inside must be ground until it is little more than dust, and when wet, the bag collapses onto itself, preventing the water from circulating through the leaves enough for a proper brew. But as interest in tea-drinking rises--U.S. tea sales have quadrupled in the past 10 years and are expected to grow from $6 billion in 2005 to $10 billion by 2010--tea-steeping innovations combining the best of both worlds (the flavor of leaf tea and the ease of a bag) are coming onto the market, changing the look and taste of a tea break.