"Green" tea packaging!
October 16, 2018 7:34 AM Subscribe
What brands of tea have completely "green" packaging?
What brands of tea have completely "green" packaging? I can recycle cardboard, but many tea bags come in foil or plastic packets that aren't recyclable. Additionally, a lot of brands use 1-2 staples to close the tea bag. The only brand I have identified is Celestial Seasonings. Bonus points if it is a budget brand that I can buy in bulk online with many interesting flavors!
If it helps, this is for my desk at work. I generally save all the teabags in my lunch container and compost them at home. I use loose leaf tea at home, but it's too finicky and I drink too much tea to do this at work. I'm also not interested in reusable teabags that I fill myself with loose leaf tea.
What brands of tea have completely "green" packaging? I can recycle cardboard, but many tea bags come in foil or plastic packets that aren't recyclable. Additionally, a lot of brands use 1-2 staples to close the tea bag. The only brand I have identified is Celestial Seasonings. Bonus points if it is a budget brand that I can buy in bulk online with many interesting flavors!
If it helps, this is for my desk at work. I generally save all the teabags in my lunch container and compost them at home. I use loose leaf tea at home, but it's too finicky and I drink too much tea to do this at work. I'm also not interested in reusable teabags that I fill myself with loose leaf tea.
Thanks for this question! There are generic equivalents of some of the Celestial Seasonings teas that mimic the packaging style as well as flavor.
One thing to watch out for is that some tea bags are made of nylon, like the otherwise very good Japanese green tea that comes in the 100-bag box at Costco.
posted by asperity at 8:40 AM on October 16, 2018
One thing to watch out for is that some tea bags are made of nylon, like the otherwise very good Japanese green tea that comes in the 100-bag box at Costco.
posted by asperity at 8:40 AM on October 16, 2018
Best answer: Harney & Sons mentions on their website that their tea is made in silk bags, but I can't find any detailed information. None of their tea bags appear to have any staples. You can buy them in tins.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 8:45 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 8:45 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
What about loose tea with an old fashioned tea strainer? That's what I'm moving towards. It's way less fussy than those reusable bags, with no plastic or nylon-infused bags. You just dump the tea from the strainer.
posted by answergrape at 8:51 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by answergrape at 8:51 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
We have been composting grocery-store-brand teabags with strings, paper tags, and sometimes staples in our compost heap for years with no visible signs of problems. We do have the second least-best-practice compost heap in the nation (after my mother's) so ymmv, but it works for us.
posted by spamloaf at 9:05 AM on October 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by spamloaf at 9:05 AM on October 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Arbor Teas loose leaf packaging is compostable. They also sell compostable tea bags that you can use with the loose leaf tea, if like me, you not always up for using a strainer. I like to prepack single servings of loose leaf tea in the tea bags to bring to the office, etc.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:23 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:23 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Harney "silken" bags unfortunately are made of nylon; I think all pyramid-style bags are. The crimped string-free style also uses plastic so you definitely want to look at products specifically labeled as biodegradable.
posted by veery at 9:24 AM on October 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by veery at 9:24 AM on October 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Choice tea bag protecters are recyclable paper.
posted by chaiminda at 9:43 AM on October 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by chaiminda at 9:43 AM on October 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Republic of Tea is worth a look (no strings/staples, recycleable tin, plenty of interesting flavor options). And, it looks like on their website you can order "refills"--quantities of teabags without the metal tin.
posted by msbubbaclees at 9:55 AM on October 16, 2018
posted by msbubbaclees at 9:55 AM on October 16, 2018
Response by poster: This is great--please keep any other answers coming. I'm making those with specific product recommendations as "best," but I appreciate the tips and suggestions from other folks as well!
posted by lucy.jakobs at 10:36 AM on October 16, 2018
posted by lucy.jakobs at 10:36 AM on October 16, 2018
I put my loose leaf tea in these tea satchels. They are compostable and biodegradable. Just scoop it in and it works like a tea bag. I put my tea into glass hinge lid jars. (My husband uses a french press at work for his loose leaf and it's fine for him and he uses the bags the tea comes in or a tea tin.)
posted by Crystalinne at 11:01 AM on October 16, 2018
posted by Crystalinne at 11:01 AM on October 16, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pipeski at 7:41 AM on October 16, 2018 [3 favorites]