Extolled for its taste, as well as its health benefits, tea is more popular than ever. And, whether you prefer your tea black, green, red, white, hot or iced, loose or bagged, this primeval beverage of conspicuous consumption is also “greener” than ever.

photo credit: BotheredByBees

Taste Not Waste

The fundamental maxim of many tea purists that whole loose leaf tea trumps tea made with tea bags is hotly debated. Purists claim loose tea releases the full flavor and benefits by allowing the tea leaves to brew “unfettered” in the pot, whereas the traditional paper tea bag, filled with “tea dust,” or the dregs of the leaves, results in an inferior cuppa.

Recently, the flavor debate has taken on an added dimension with growing environmental concerns about the waste associated not only with tea bag use but also with tea packaging in general.

According to Culinate blogger Mark Douglas, “More than one million tons of excess waste could be eliminated each year by not having the following three items associated with an average tea bag: the paper wrapping around the individual bag, the string attached to the bag, and the little paper tab attached to the string.” Douglas learned that astounding fact in a 2006 “Tea Education” episode of The History Channel’s Modern Marvels series. As a prime example of waste prevention, the episode featured the tea company Celestial Seasonings, which manufactures its tea bags without strings, tags or individual wrapping, and consequently saves over 3.6 million pounds of waste each year.

If the potential for waste alone causes you to rethink your tea bag use, but nevertheless lament the loss of convenience the tea bag provides, take heart. Reusable stainless steel tea infusers like the Teastick and teapots with built-in infusers or plungers may be an option. Furthermore, Mighty Leaf Tea, Numi Organic Tea and Seattle-based Choice Organic Tea all offer something called a “T-sac filter,” made with chlorine free, unbleached filter paper from manila hemp, which, according to Choice Organic, is “an environmentally-safe and convenient alternative for perfectly brewing loose leaf teas or herbs.”

For diehard tea bag users, other green options exist. Besides using unbleached paper tea bags, reusing and recycling are key. In a novel approach, artists of the South African company Original T-bag Designs take used tea bags (with the leaves removed), dry and iron them and then paint the bags, transforming them into greeting cards, notepads, journals, ornaments, candles, coasters, trinket boxes, and tea light holders.

Old tea bags (sans the staples) make good compost too, providing nutrients and acidity to your fertilizer mix. The U.K. company Teabagbin markets a nifty way to collect your used tea bags for compost. Its self-proclaimed “stylish little container made from high grade steel or plastic sits happily next to the kettle and swallows up used teabags keeping your kitchen mess free,” and answers the proverbial question of “What do you do with yours? [tea bags that is]”

Traditional paper tea bags aside, the newest and hottest trend on the market is pyramid-shaped tea bags made from silk, muslin or nylon. The science behind these “gossamer mesh” objets d’art is that they allow the whole leaf tea leaves—not the “tea dust” usually stuffed into a compact paper tea bag—room to brew. Companies such as Tea Forte and even Lipton have developed their own versions of the triangular-shaped bags, thus bringing quality (though more expensive) tea to the masses.

Despite the hype, the nylon versions of these bags have come under fire from environmentalists who claim that they are not biodegradable. There are biodegradable corn fabric pyramid bags but questions of quality and environmental friendliness remain (some of the bags are apparently made from genetically modified corn).

Naysayers will rightly point out that all tea—bagged or loose—comes in containers that create unnecessary waste. However, companies such as Republic of Tea sell their tea in recyclable tin canisters. Los Angeles-based eco-chic designer Dana Morgan of Green Carpet Event suggests another way to reuse old tea tins: as vases. And, in October 2006, the specialty tea and coffee shop Oxalis in Bath, England, urged customers to bring their own bag or container from home in order to reduce waste. As an added incentive, customers who brought their own containers received a discount of 15 pence (about 25 U.S. cents) per 100g of tea.

Sustainability, Fair Trade and Organic

Cups of tea are also greener as a result of sustainability initiatives across the globe. For those who like a little sugar in their tea, 2007 saw the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) launch a project to use waste from the East African sugar industry to generate electricity across the tea-producing region.

In an effort to replenish the resources it uses in packaging, tea company Good Earth donates a portion of its profits to tree-planting projects sponsored by American Forests, a nonprofit conservation organization. Tea giant Lipton has pledged that its Yellow Label tea bags on the European market will be certified by the Rainforest Alliance by 2010 and on the global market by 2015. And in May 2008, British tea company PG-Tips announced its partnership with Rainforest Alliance, unveiling a plan to supply 1,200 McDonald’s outlets with tea certified by the environmental nonprofit.

Moreover, the popularity of Fair Trade Certified and organic tea products has skyrocketed in recent years. Launched in 1997, the Fair Trade movement promotes free trade and “the use of sustainable farming methods that are safer for humans and the environment.” There are now a wide variety of brands that the environmentally friendly consumer can choose from, thereby making saving the environment and enjoying your afternoon cuppa mutually inclusive.

For more on tea and the environment, see

Boughton, Ian. “Cuppas with a Conscience.” Caterer & Hotelkeeper 198. 4527 (15-21 May 2008): 50-1.

Budgar, Laurie. “Has new tricks.”Natural Foods Merchandiser 27.12 (Dec.2006):22-3.

“Making a difference.” Bath Chronicle (26 Oct. 2006): 14.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Its-All-in-the-Tea-Bag—How-to-Be-Environmentally-Responsible-with-Your-Tea-Bags&id=202998

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1568610/Nylon-teabags-set-to-let-the-flavour-flood-out.html

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/the-tea-bag-basks-in-its-moment-to-simmer/