Reading post content into a hidden field..?

I have created a custom post type titled “Tea” it is the default post layout. The value of “32” is entered into the WYSIWYG editor.

I am looking through the data and I’d like to echo the_content(); into an hidden field. Which then creates a number counter based on the value of that field.

At the moment I am just getting the value of “0”

My code for it is as follows :

<div class="tea-count">
                    <?php
                        $args = array( 'post_type' => 'tea');
                        $loop = new WP_Query( $args );
                        while ( $loop->have_posts() ) : $loop->the_post();
                    echo '
                    <div id="counter">
                        <input type="text" name="counter-value" value="the_content();" />
                    </div>';
                    ?>
                    <?php endwhile; ?>
                </div>

How do I get the value of 32, rather than 0?

That amount will change dependant on what the user inputs into the WYSIWYG editor.