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Comment by davidhyde | Hacker News Reader

To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives. The problem is not a lack of alternatives but that people aren’t aware (or don’t care) that they are made of plastic. I mean, it looks like paper. It’s a good thing that they are using this seaweed but it’s not a “solved problem” until the negative PR cost to these companies is higher that the cost of using non plastic alternatives. I just don’t understand why more companies are not using this in their marketing campaigns. … It’s almost as if there there really is no competition at all. It’s almost as if most brands are owned by the same company. Unilever ;)

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> why more companies are not using this in their marketing campaigns

It might be an effect of the basic premise of teabags.

Customers caring enough about waste, eco behaviors etc. already have a decent alternative: loose leafs. Compared to other infusion beverages, the jump from teabags to loose leafs isn’t that big, which makes it harder to mark a clear big eco conscious claim on teabags.

Arguably there has been more traction on biodegradable nespresso pods for instance.

Aren't teabags just thin paper, cotton strng, and a printed piece of paper on the other side? ...so biodegradable in a very easy way already, even if you just throw them on the ground somewhere?

Some teabags either are plastic (which is generally fairly obvious) or contain plastic elements for re-enforcement or sealing (which is often not obvious) - these ones mostly just look like paper.

I remember those 'levitating tea bag' experiments (empty up a tea bag, open it up as an open ended cylinder, light the bottom part on fire, and it flies up), and I never smelled anything plasticky.... there are either really miniscule ammounts, or they just don't use plastics here.

> really minuscule amounts

That’s just as bad: “ Microplastics: Premium teabags leak billions of particles - study” - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940

How can I be absolutely sure that my tea bags do not have plastic in them?

That's so gross. I like buying a lot of tea from Asia and small companies. I'm not that big of a fan of loose leaf just because it's less convenient to brew.

The answer is, and while it might be taken as rude: just learn how to brew and enjoy tea.

Tea bags have nothing to do with tea. It's that simple.

Having said that, the plastic tea bags usually have better "tea" in them.

> Tea bags have nothing to do with tea

Seems like a stretch to make this argument...

I’m baffled as to how

Absolutely sure? Culturing your own tea at home.

As long as your climate is correct and you have a temperate garden, is not a difficult plant to grow or harvest.

do you have any articles on this?

Nope, just experience

I don't have any articles. But I can give you my experience.

Disclaimer: I am utterly useless with plants and green fingers and all that.

I have in my garden Morocan Mint (Mentha spicata) and Lemongrass(Cymbopogon citratus). They are meant for much warmer climates but provided you have a wind barrier and above freezing temperatures these plants grow like weeds.

You can also grow them indoors. They are generally forgiving and make for great decaffeinated fresh tea.

Mentha spicata benefits from lots of water and you can consider a root barrier to keep it in place (or use big pots). They tend to overcome other plants in moist soil

You could enjoy also the infusion made from skins of wild rose hips. Really easy to found in the Northern hemisphere. Discard the seeds or cook the fruit entire and filter the liquid apart. Will obtain a sweet and clear infusion rich in vitamin C in a nice red tone. Good for the cold days of winter.

And there is also the Australian bush tea made from Leptospermum leaves that a lot of people culture yet in their gardens for the long lasting flowering season. I remember it dark and bitter.

Thank you for the tips!

True, but as with many things like this, if you want to grow enough for a few cups of tea a day, every day, you are going to need a fairly large garden - a somewhere to dry and store a few months supply of tea, if you want it year round.

None of that is a good reason not to grow a few plants and try it, if you live somewhere warm enough.

I would highly recommend getting one of these [0] and buying loose tea. It does an excellent job filtering and gives you almost the same convenience as tea bags, with the added benefit of higher quality and cheaper tea if you buy it loose.

[0] https://www.finum.com/portfolio/brewing-basket-m/

I’ve been using those myself for a couple years now. Never going back to drinking tea dust again; whole leaves yield a lot less tannin. And for a pot of iced tea, it takes less time to fill a filter paper than it does to open three or four teabag packages.

They're also great for making coffee - there will be a bit of powder left in the bottom of your mug but zero grit, they last for decades, and are super easy to clean.

I've bought like 5, and converted a couple dozen people from other nasty plastic or perforated-metal filters. Super highly recommended.

Still contains plastic, and plastic exposed to hot water you drink. Why not just use paper tea bags? They’re not expensive, easy to use, and feel nice.

You can get them in stainless steel too, e.g. https://www.paperandtea.com/products/p-t-infuser

Looks like OXO makes a fully stainless+silicone version: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GF4WYGT/

The filter looks a lot coarser on that one though, fwiw

yeah, and perforated metal tea filters are all dramatically worse in my experience. truly awful flow rates, you don't get very good brews.

Thanks for the feedback, you two! Know of any that are all-metal, but not perforated?

They're not even difficult to buy. In the UK most supermarkets will stock at least one variety where the bag is fully biodegradable. Sainsbury's, Aldi, Waitrose own brands are too I believe.

What about the plastic encasing the fine metal mesh? I would hate to be sipping plastic brewed tea if it is leeching from the boiling water…

Never noticed any taste and I'm rather particular about those things. Mine has lasted well over 20 years now and is still as good as new. They're terribly neat and easy to rinse. The lid is nicely designed because it doubles as a coaster.

Cut the tea out of a bag and take a lighter to it. You'll know.

> To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives.

That's funny - I think plastic teabags are the premium option. Cheaper (and the majority of) tea bags are paper. They are sealed with a plastic glue - but they're trying to move away from that. A fully plastic tea bag is definitely an unusual product and almost certainly some kind of premium design.

For example https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/brew-news/our-use-of-plastic

That was 2018, this is now: https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/our-packaging

You’re correct though, you can consider the 25% plastic in the bag as a “glue” but plastic is plastic and polypropylene takes hundreds of years to break down.

Plastic mesh tea bags release tons of microplastics into your drink: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940

Isn’t that exactly what I said? ‘Premium tea bags’.

Hmm, I used to compost my tea bags many years ago when I had a compost bin. It never occurred to me that it might not be paper; they broke down completely enough that I couldn't tell.

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