Tea Dust ? Or Taste Buds ?

[modeller]

I have normally bought loose tea leaves instead of tea bags as I can judge the quality and quantity of tea to use, but recently all the loose tea seems like dust with a weird taste. I have taken it back to the shops and received a refund but that doesn't get me a good cup of tea.

I have tested the dry leaves by pouring them through a sieve and half of it goes straight through as tea-dust. I have then made tea from each half and its the dust half that gives the funny taste.

I remember when tea bags first came out they contained a lot of dust which I was told was deliberate because it diffused easier through the tea bag.

However loose tea used to be pretty dust free but it appears not any more. It could be my taste buds have changed . Has any one noticed any change
in the past year ? I should mention I have tried various brands without much success.

[EcclesCake]

Where do you buy your loose tea, if it is a branded one which brand? For every day tea I use Twinings loose leaf and can't say I've noticed a drop off in quality.

[modeller]

I have bought most of the brands, currently I'm using Lyons red label. The best I have tried is Yorkshire. The worst was also the dearest CO-OP fair trade.
I havn't tried Twinings so I must give it a try. I didn't know they did a loose one. Thanks