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A tea bag, or the
compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...
teabag, is a small, porous, sealed bag or
packet Packet may refer to: * A small container or pouch ** Packet (container), a small single use container ** Cigarette packet ** Sugar packet * Network packet, a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-mode computer network * Packet radio, a form ...
, typically containing
tea leaves Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
or the leaves of other
herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
, which is immersed in water to steep and make an infusion. Originally used only for tea ('' Camellia sinensis''), they are now made with other
tisane Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain t ...
s ("herbal teas") as well. Tea bags are commonly made of
filter paper Filter paper is a semi-permeable paper barrier placed perpendicular to a liquid or air flow. It is used to separate fine solid particles from liquids or gases. The raw materials are different paper pulps. The pulp may be made from softwood, hardwo ...
or food-grade plastic, or occasionally of
silk cotton Silk-cotton tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Bombax ceiba'', native to the Asian tropics *''Ceiba pentandra'', native to the American tropics and west Africa *''Cochlospermum religiosum'', native to the Asian tropics { ...
or
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
. The tea bag performs the same function as a
tea infuser A tea infuser is a device in which loose, dried tea leaves are placed for steeping or brewing, in a mug or a teapot full of hot water; it is often called a teaball or tea maker, and sometimes a tea egg. The tea infuser gained popularity in the f ...
. Tea bags can be used multiple times until there is no extraction left. Some tea bags have an attached piece of string with a paper label at the top that assists in removing the bag, while also displaying the brand or variety of tea.


History

Tea bag patents date from 1903 when Roberta Lawson and Mary Molaren, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were granted US patent 723287 for a Tea Leaf Holder, which they had filed for in 1901. US patent 723287 was issued on MAR. 24, 1903 to R. G.LAWSON & M. McLAREN for a 'novel tea-holding pocket constructed of open-mesh woven fabric, inexpensively made of cotton thread'. The first modern tea bags were hand-sewn fabric bags. Appearing commercially around 1904, tea bags were successfully marketed in about 1908 by Thomas Sullivan, a tea and coffee importer from New York, who shipped his silk tea bags around the world. A popular legend states that this was accidental; the loose tea was intended to be removed from the bags by customers, but they found it easier to brew the tea with the tea leaves still enclosed in the porous bags. The first tea bag packing machine was invented in 1929 by
Adolf Rambold Adolf Rambold (5 October 1900 – 14 May 1996) was a German inventor and engineer. Life Rambold worked for the German company Teekanne since 1924. In 1929, he invented the tea bag packing machine called Pompadour. In 1949, being a co-owne ...
for the German company Teekanne. The heat-sealed paper fiber tea bag was patented in 1930 by William Hermanson. The now-common rectangular tea bag was not invented until 1944. Prior to that, tea bags resembled small sacks.


Production


Teas

A broad variety of teas as well as other
infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An inf ...
s like herbal teas, are available in tea bags. Typically, tea bags use
fannings In the tea industry, tea leaf grading is the process of evaluating products based on the quality and condition of the tea leaves themselves. The highest grades for Western and South Asian teas are referred to as "orange pekoe", and the lowe ...
, the left-overs after larger leaf pieces are gathered for sale as loose tea, but some companies sell teabags containing whole-leaf tea.


Shapes and material

Traditionally, tea bags have been square or rectangular in shape. They are usually made of
filter paper Filter paper is a semi-permeable paper barrier placed perpendicular to a liquid or air flow. It is used to separate fine solid particles from liquids or gases. The raw materials are different paper pulps. The pulp may be made from softwood, hardwo ...
, a blend of wood and vegetable fibers related to paper found in milk and
coffee filter A coffee filter is a filter used for brewing coffee. Filters made of paper (disposable), or cloth, plastic, and metal (reusable) are used. The filter allows the liquid coffee to flow through, but traps the coffee grounds. Paper filters remove o ...
s. The latter is
bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...
ed pulp abaca hemp, a
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
banana plant grown for its fiber, mostly in the Philippines and Colombia. Some bags have a heat-sealable
thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...
such as PVC or
polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...
as a component fiber on the inner tea bag surface, making them not fully biodegradable. Some newer paper tea bags are made in a circular shape. Tetrahedral tea bags were introduced by the PG Tips brand in 1997. They are typically made of
nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
,
soilon Soilon is a trademark registered by Yamanaka Industry, Japan, in 2011, for a mesh made from polylactic acid (PLA) polymer resin by lactic fermentation of glucose, derived from starch (such as corn starch), by an enzyme and polymerization. By ...
(
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...
mesh made from corn starch), or
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
. Nylon is non-
biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...
, so silk is preferred by
environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
s. PLA on the other hand is biodegradable, but is not compostable. Empty tea bags are also available for consumers to fill with tea leaves themselves. These are typically open-ended pouches with long flaps. The pouch is filled with an appropriate quantity of leaf tea and the flap is closed into the pouch to retain the tea. Such tea bags combine the ease of use of a commercially produced tea bag with the wider tea choice and better quality control of loose leaf tea.


Plastics

In 2017, Mike Armitage, a gardener in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, UK, found that tea bags left a plastic residue after being
compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
ed. He started a petition urging
Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
to remove plastic from bag production. In January 2018,
Co-op Food Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom. Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used " The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co- ...
announced that they were removing plastic from their own brand 99 tea bags in conjunction with their supplier
Typhoo Typhoo (sometimes stylized as Ty•Phoo) is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1903 by John Sumner Jr. of Birmingham, England. History In 1863, William Sumner published ''A Popular Treatise on Tea'' as a by-product ...
. In February 2018,
PG Tips PG Tips is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom manufactured by Ekaterra. Brand name In the 1930s, Brooke Bond launched PG Tips in the tea market in the United Kingdom under the name ''Pre-Gestee'' - a variant of the original name "Digestive Tea. ...
announced that their pyramid bags would now use
corn starch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or sou ...
adhesive in place of
polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...
.
Microplastics Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than in length, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Chemicals Agency. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a v ...
may be found in the tea meant for human consumption. A 2019 study showed that "steeping a single plastic teabag at brewing temperature (95 °C) releases approximately 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics into a single cup of the beverage". A 2021 study analyzed purportedly
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
tea bags and found that 15 of the 22 bags tested also contained
polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
,
polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
or
polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...
, which are known to shed microplastic fibers. Although cellulose is considered to be biodegradable, the plastic components are not and release microplastics to the environment when composted.


Tea bag-related activities

Decorative tea bags have become the basis for large collections and many collectors collect tea bags from around the world. Tea bag collector clubs are widely spread around the world and members consist of people interested in items related to teas. Online collector clubs often include catalogs of tea bags, as well as collection tracking tools. In addition, tea bag collectors often collect other tea-related items such as labels. These websites also provide forums for discussions and trade arrangements between collectors.
Teabag folding ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a fi ...
began in the Netherlands and is often credited to Tiny van der Plas. It is a form of
origami ) is the Japanese paper art, art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of pape ...
in which identical squares of patterned paper (cut from the front of tea bag wrappers) are folded, and then arranged in rosettes. These rosettes are usually used to decorate
gift card A gift card also known as gift certificate in North America, or gift voucher or gift token in the UK is a prepaid stored-value money card, usually issued by a retailer or bank, to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a parti ...
s and it has become a popular craft in both the US and UK since 2000.
Soil scientists Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former t ...
used standardized tea bags to measure the decomposition rate of organic materials in different soils.


See also

* 3-MCPD, a chemical compound that is carcinogenic, and can occur in some resin-reinforced tea bag materials *
Builder's tea Builder's tea, also known as a builder's brew or gaffer's tea, is a British English colloquial term for a strong cup of tea. It takes its name from the inexpensive tea commonly drunk by labourers taking a break. A builder's tea is typically brew ...
, refers to a basic method of preparing tea in a mug with tea bags *
Tea leaf grading In the tea industry, tea leaf grading is the process of evaluating products based on the quality and condition of the tea leaves themselves. The highest grades for Western and South Asian teas are referred to as "orange pekoe", and the lowest ...
*
Tea strainer A tea strainer is a type of strainer that is placed over or in a teacup to catch loose tea leaves. When tea is brewed in the traditional manner in a teapot, the tea leaves are not contained in teabags; rather, they are freely suspended in ...
, a small mesh utensil that can filter out stray tea leaves when whole-leaf tea is poured from a teapot *
Tetley Tetley is an English beverage manufacturer founded in 1837 in Yorkshire. It is the largest tea company in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the second largest in the United States by volume. Since 2000, Tetley has been a wholly owned subsidiar ...
, the British tea company that introduced tea bags in the United Kingdom in 1953


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tea Bag Products introduced in 1904 American inventions Bags German inventions Single-serve containers Tea