How to check the quality of any teabags you buy

Simple open a teabag onto a tea towel and investigate its content.

I have found little white spheres (I believe it to be flavour enhancers of some sort), and very little yellow cylinders that I have tried to rub between my fingers, to try to ascertain what it was but it was rock solid.

It was a tea from a quite popular, and not so cheap brand, but I had to throw it all in the bin because I could not feed that to my family any longer.

I realised that we had been drinking flavoured tea, which means not tea at all, all these years from that brand. I felt betrayed, robbed and silly. Now, I only buy tea leaves from reputable brands, or we grow the leaves ourselves. Now we know what we are drinking!