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I guess it's not possible to design a tea bag that's not made out of plastic but that can also survive the boiling hot temperatures?
by changoplatanero 3y ago
I guess it's not possible to design a tea bag that's not made out of plastic but that can also survive the boiling hot temperatures?
- forgotmypw17 3y agoIt's definitely possible, many tea bags do not contain plastics, and are instead made of cotton, hemp, or other non-hazardous materials.
- hammock 3y agoMost tea bags are made of Manila Hemp (a banana plant). Many have a heat-sealable thermoplastic such as PVC or polypropylene on the inner tea bag surface as well, that you never feel or hear about
- forgotmypw17 3y agoThere are some survey reports on this out there that I have seen. It is common for more expensive teas, and ones labeled "organic" to be plant fibers only, but there are exceptions. If you want to figure it out on your own, you can take an empty teabag, briefly set it on fire and blow it out, then smell the smoke. Personally, I usually pour the contents into my cup or tea pot and throw out the teabag. https://www.google.com/search?q=which+tea+bags+contain+plastic https://www.google.com/search?q=which+tea+bags+contain+plast...
- permo-w 3y agoare tea bags even necessary? people managed drinking tea before plastic was invented
- mrob 3y agoEnvironmental cost of using and washing a teapot is likely higher than that of using a teabag and brewing directly in the cup.
- speed_spread 3y agoIf you're washing your teapot, you're doing it wrong. A light rinse is enough. Over time a patina will build up on the inner walls of the pot, some say this makes the tea better.
- prophesi 3y agoI haven't reached this level yet, but I know people that have yixing clay teapots that are dedicated exclusively to a certain type of tea. The brew they get from their aged pu'erh tea gets better over time in that teapot with use.
- permo-w 3y agothat seems extremely unlikely
- mrob 3y agoI just weighed an empty teabag: 0.19g. I think it's highly likely that less than a gram of mass-produced paper has lower environmental cost than is needed to clean a whole teapot. You need hot water, and detergent, and the teapots are cleaned individually, so you have the overhead of heating intermittently used pipes etc. Teabags are a mature technology where production efficiency is highly optimized.
- tehjoker 3y agowhy do you need hot water?
- mrob 3y agoBecause it's far more effective at cleaning than cold water.
- lost_tourist 3y agobut tea doesn't really even need detergent? a scrub and rinse for the pot is fine.
- erikcw 3y agoPerhaps as a profit center to the tea industry. Most tea bags contain the grades of tea that can't be sold in the more expensive loose leaf form. Basically leaf fragments and dust. That material would otherwise be a waste product.
- talbo888 3y agoIt's also a benefit to the consumer in the option of cheaper tea - you can still have choose to pay more for loose leaf.
- lost_tourist 3y agoAre cars even needed? people walked before. Is any modern convenience needed? We can probably live in tents and use a bow and arrow to get our meals.
- Etheryte 3y agoTea bags used to be made of fabrics such as cotton, silk, etc, it's not like we don't know how to make them without plastic.
- endisneigh 3y agobelieve it or not but it's OK to consume the tea leaves and drink slightly bitter tea ;). if you accept this the solution is just not to have tea bags at all. brew with the leaves and drink immediately, and if you forget, enjoy your bitterer tea!
- hammock 3y agoI eat kiwi skins too. The amount of pesticides used to grow them though means it's probably not the best idea
- dylan604 3y agowow, my mouth just reacted in a not pleasant way just from reading that.
- ljf 3y agoI LOVE kiwi with the skin on. I rub the fruit against my jeans or a tea towel first, then just eat like a pear. Really adds to the whole flavour (like how eating a pealed apple is nice, but a whole apple can be better.
- squeaky-clean 3y agoYou can also get a re-usable metal mesh infuser.
- rockinghigh 3y agoYou can also use a stainless steel infuser.
- morsch 3y agoPlastic tea bags are rare in Germany, although they are getting more popular. Tea bags are usually paper, apparently made from this plant: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abac%C3%A1 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abac%C3%A1
- nom 3y agoOh interesting, didn't know that! Interesting fiber. I always wondered why tee bags are so robust when wet. They feel so different too. Also TIL: Manila hemp.. Manila envelope.. jupp, they were also made from that fiber up until some time ago.
- ComputerGuru 3y agoNo, that's very possible. The problem is our obsession with making everything single-serve and disposable. I think this is what you are looking for: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stainless+steel+tea+infuser+ball https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stainless+steel+tea+infuser+ball
- silisili 3y agoYou can even get them built in to a nice little pot. I had this one for a while https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LZSA84J https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LZSA84J
- wilg 3y agoIt's an obsession with convenience, which doesn't have to mean single-serve or disposable. Loose leaf tea is slightly less convenient. It's very hard to argue with people to give up convenience, but if you can figure out how to make loose-leaf tea easier than bags I think people will do it. Also, there are some cost and shelf life concerns: https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/a-steep-dilemma-tea-bags-vs-loose-leaf https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/a-steep-dilemma-tea-ba... Also, apparently here's some stats about loose-leaf vs bagged tea: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1093592/preference-for-tea-bags-or-loose-tea-in-the-us https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1093592/preference-for-te...
- kube-system 3y agoI rarely see plastic tea bags here in the US (outside of Starbucks). Most use filter paper.
- HyprMusic 3y agoIt's the same in the UK but those filter paper looking ones actually used to contain small amounts of plastic. I believe most have transitioned away now... or, at least, the only brand that matters if you're British has transitioned[0] [0] https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/brew-news/plastic-in-tea-bags---progress-report https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/brew-news/plastic-in-tea-bags...
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- guyzero 3y agoCheaper tea bags are made out of paper and they work just fine. Tetley, for instance.
- HyprMusic 3y agoSadly they still contain plastic to seal them: "We’ve worked hard to ensure that our tea bags are 99% bio degradable. However, as a result of the manufacturing process, Tetley tea bags do contain a very small amount of plastic to ensure the bags remain closed for you to enjoy your cup of tea." https://www.tetley.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions https://www.tetley.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions
- ptx 3y agoI just had a look at two of my non-Tetley teabags. They appear to be stitched closed with the end of the string. Why does it need plastic? Edit: The quote from the FAQ mentions the bags being biodegradable, and this page [1] about their "new biodegradable bags" shows a photo of bags without strings. So maybe it's just these stringless (and presumably cheaper to manufacture?) bags that contain plastic? The Twinings FAQ [2] doesn't mention plastic: "Our teabags are biodegradable, plant-based teabags and will break down within 6 months if placed into a local authority compost caddy, though it may not compost as quickly if left in garden compost (as typically these are not sufficiently hot)." [1] https://www.tetley.co.uk/sustainability/product-and-packaging https://www.tetley.co.uk/sustainability/product-and-packagin... [2] https://twinings.co.uk/pages/faqs https://twinings.co.uk/pages/faqs
- perilunar 3y agoSome teabags used to use a tiny metal staple for that (it also held the string on). Definitely do not need glue.
- eric-hu 3y agoA Gaiwan is one traditional Chinese way of making tea, but those words are literally “covered bowl”. If you don’t want to buy one, you could makeshift your own: brew loose leaf tea in a cup or bowl and pour it into your drinking cup using a small plate.
- hedora 3y agoOn a related note, today’s paper straws are apparently covered in PFAS, even though paper straws existed way before plastic was commonly used. I assume you could just coat the straw in food grade wax, but for some reason that’s not commonly done.
- dylan604 3y agoI can only imagine food grade wax being way more expensive than PFAS type chemicals. Probably easier to apply as well. Just thinking of all the "reasons" companies would state as to why they justify poisoning us all.
- jacquesm 3y agoPFAS will potentially put 3M out of business just like talcum powder did to J&J.
- WJW 3y agoJ&J still exists and will continue to exist though? They settled for some 9 billion, which is a lot but not enough to sink a company with a ~400 billion market cap.
- jacquesm 3y ago400 billion market cap companies do not usually have 400 billion in liquidity laying around. And after the first bankruptcy there may now well be a second: https://www.reuters.com/legal/jj-effort-resolve-talc-lawsuits-bankruptcy-fails-second-time-2023-07-28/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/jj-effort-resolve-talc-lawsuit...
- WJW 3y agoAs I understand it that link describes a plan to use the bankruptcy of a subsidiary (NOT the main company) as a way to resolve the court cases in one go. The subsidiary is funded with enough money to pay the expected settlements (with the parent company guaranteeing any shortfalls) and bankruptcy is used here as a legal tool rather than a "we are out of money" point. Matt Levine had a great section about this in his newsletter but I cannot find an un-paywalled link to that atm. It's the one from Jan 31 if you are subscribed. According to their latest annual report (https://www.investor.jnj.com/asm/2022-annual-report https://www.investor.jnj.com/asm/2022-annual-report, page 45), they had some 14.4 billion in "cash and cash equivalents" at the start of this year. Their net debt position was 16.1 billion on Jan 1 2023 (page 46 of the same report), up from 2.1 billion the year before due to an acquisition so there is likely quite some room to take on additional debt. Total net earnings for 2022 were just below 18 billion. Paying a 9 billion USD settlement will be painful for sure, but even double that would be just a single years' worth of profit. J&J is extremely likely to survive this problem IMO.
- joker_minmax 3y agoJust transfer your tea out of the plastic tea sachets into a cotton filter. Coffee filter or they make small ones for loose leaf tea.
- lost_tourist 3y agoI would choose a different brand if the tea bags came as plastic and send them a nasty letter. I've been lucky enough to never have encountered them I guess.
- joker_minmax 3y agoHonestly I find some of the "nicer/high end" or even organic brands of tea sometimes use the plastic sachet, this is because that allows you to see the product inside whereas the other ones hide the product. The only brands I run across with it lately are Harney and Sons, and a Russian tea brand Maiskiy, but most Maiskiy bags are paper. And Harney and Sons is a nice treat.
- adgjlsfhk1 3y agowhat you want here is loose leaf tea
- ricardobeat 3y agoWhat? Tea bags were made of cotton and paper decades before plastic came about. Plastic was likely introduced to lower costs and extend shelf life.