I'm not sure if this is a Britishism or not, and I'm going to check my privilege here, but I don't think teabags should be used more than once.
I know. Not exactly earth shattering. But bear with me.
I once worked in an office where there was a woman who would make herself a cup of tea in a mug every morning. I won't get into how much I think making a cup of tea in a mug is barbaric in and of itself, but this was in an office, so "camping rules" were in effect. The thing I found more horrific was that once she was done, milk, sugar and all, she would remove and "save" the teabag on a saucer next to the kettle.
For what, exactly?
I should note that this office was a global PR agency on Madison Avenue - hardly a place where frugality and the optimization of teabags was in any way required. In fact, drinks and snacks were the company's love language.
We were encouraged to indulge.
I can only speculate here, but I think she saved it with the thought that perhaps she'd make a second cup of tea later on and rather than start fresh with a new bag, she'd…re-use the already spent, milky, wet mess that had sat oozing away on the counter for a few hours.
I took umbrage with this for a number of reasons. First off, because people who re-use teabags are psychopaths. And while I could stop there, I won't because there's something disgusting about leaving a used teabag out at work, soggily providing us all with a sad window into your kitchen at home that takes depressing to another watery, flavourless, dishwater drinking level. Likely someone in a cardigan and sensible shoes, despite a Madison Avenue salary, was frugally here before you and wants you to both re-think tossing that used take-out container into the trash and to, oh, have a shitty day. What could be a more depressing sign that you are at work than someone else's used tea bag?
Unless maybe, your own used teabag?
The worst part was that on more than one occasion - and I'm being generous here - she would forget her lonely teabag and not brew that second cup, thereby leaving the bag alone to desiccate and depress everyone on the counter until housekeeping cleared it up after hours.
Heavy sigh.
I used to wonder more about her than I did about what the teabag said. Like, how much do you hate yourself to not let yourself have a fresh cup of tea with a new bag every time you have a cup of tea? And if you prefer a weaker brew, just pull the bag out a little sooner. Especially at work where not only are they free, but where creature comforts are less common, so anything to make the day a little better. No?
And then I got to thinking: does it even work a second time?
Would you not have to squeeze and poke and swirl and let it sit much longer - because brewing is not what's happening at that point - only to produce a watery weak shadow of its former self? A drink akin to a glass of water served in the same glass you just had orange juice in? Depression era tea?
Is your life not too short for that? Or shall we have a boiled potato for dinner and share a bathtub later as well?
Most teabags by their very nature start out at a disadvantage to loose leaf tea. They are the shavings and leftovers of cut tea leaves. Instead of tossing them, someone once had the brilliant idea to save and sell them. Eventually, the quality did improve, but ask any tea lover and very few will claim bag tea is in any way superior to loose leaf other than for convenience. And asking said teabag to deliver more than one decent cup of tea is like hoping that paper straw you're using will be good in another cold drink after this one.
You're kidding yourself.
The teabag is a life force in this world that mates with hot water just once before it dies. It's beautiful. Poetic. Let's accept that and allow that to be how we all live and understand what can be considered a drinkable cup of tea.
Shall we?
And, while I can appreciate frugality as much as the next guy, life is too short for a shitty second cup. You know? Go wild. Use a fresh bag every time. And, as you take that first comforting sip, think to yourself:
"I did this. I made tea. And I used a fresh bag. Because…I'm worth it."