Back in England for the summer from Moscow and wondering where to find half decent, and preferably extremely good Chinese tea which I can find in every supermarket over there. Even Waitrose can only rise to an overly perfumed Lapsang Soushong. Any ideas?

Michael Maltby, sidmouth, UK

Several good reasons for buying loose, it is far more economical, the discovery of unknown teas, the unfurling leaves, yes absolutely the ceremony, but especially when shared amongst a group of like minded souls. Real solace at work by simple magic know what I mean ?

Terry Conway, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex

I find that tea bags stain the cups , mugs , what does this?. dos it do that to your stomach?. I now only taks loose tea.

jim, donegal, ireland

I'm a Yank. I never drank tea 'til I tried the coffee in England. In time I grew to like tea & even drink back here in the good old U.S. of A. Don't care for the teabags though.

A.B., Huntington, USA

So sad most Brits only know tea as that abomination of liquid oozed from teabag of dust. People say they dislike tea - that's not tea its bitter poison. Let me make you real tea. Supermarkets will not give u the option much longer- look at the shrinking shelf space. Anyone want to join my campaign?

J Knight, London, United Kingdom

This is a lot of pretentious nonsense. What's wrong with tea bag tea is that it tastes thin and bitty - I don't know why. It may be the flavour of the bag, or it may be because the leaves are so small.

Also, with proper tea, you choose how much you put in the pot and it mashes better.

Dru Brooke-Taylor, Bristol,

living in japan i drink green tea. the better ones come loose and in the super market just next to the loose teas are the empty tea bags to put the leaves in!. mug size and teapot size. i just wish they sold them in england when i lived there.

nolan, okazaki, japan

Agree. I am an avid tea drinker and the way I do it is to pour a bit of lose tea at the bottom of the cup and the hot water on top of it. After a while, most of the tea will fall to the bottom - specially if you stir it . It yields a delicious flavour and you can - and should! - use that tea again.

Inés, Oxford, UK

David Mickelson, Vancouver, Washington, United States, you are right, there are exellent tea bags and there is horibble loose tea. You should look at the size of the leaves, the bigger, the better. Small, crushed or powdery tea leaves are horrible (to my humble opinion)

Delphine Verhaeghe, Largs,

"porcelain will not produce as soft a tea as Chinese clay, which is porous and allows the tea to breathe". If the tea needs to 'breathe' it can use its surface in contact with the air not through microscopic pores in the container. Same with opening red wine for a short time before use, pointless.

William Garrett, Harrow,

Tea Bags = lazy = instant = sandwiches at your desk = a total failure & a capitulation to the concept that lunch etc... = time, that could be sold, being lost.

As for mugs. The very name describes the people who use them.

MR M STANISTREET, NERAC, FRANCE 47

I am a tea drinker who sometimes also enjoy a good cup of coffee.
I only drink tea from a pot because I find that the material of the tea bags leave it's own taste to the brew.
Maybe it is just my imagination.

Torun Chakrabarty, Hong Kong, China

I'm a dedicated loose tea brewer and always will be. Bang on when you say that most of the enjoyment is with the ceremony. Guests always tell me they can tell the difference with loose versus bagged, and I've converted several of them. Bags will never cross my threshold as long as I'm around. Cheers

Rick, Montreal,

I am English and have always hated hot tea.
It didn't matter if it was made from a teabag or loose.

However I have found that Iced Tea with lemon is good on a hot summer afternoon.

P. Brooks, Palm Bay, Florida USA

I am also an American who loves drinking tea. I picked up the habit in England. But I've always wondered what is inherently inferior about tea bags? They are not all low quality tea--you can spend a bit more and get high quality tea that happens to be in a bag for convenience.

David Mickelson, Vancouver, Washington, United States

I'm a big tea drinker and I love the way the British and other countries has preserved the traditions of tea drinking. I would love for America to adopt the idea of Garden Parties so we can work tea into the occasion.

Richard, Calumet City, USA