When you indulge in a cup of your favorite tea, the last thing you want to think about is that you’re gulping down microplastics. Unfortunately, tea bags are one of the biggest sources of microplastics. A study from 2019 found that steeping a single plastic teabag at brewing temperature releases about 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics into a single cup [1]. In other words, that daily cup of tea might be the largest source of microplastics in your day-to-day life. By now the harmful effects of plastic on your body and the environment are widely known. Plastic exposure over time has been linked to birth defects, cancer, endocrine disruption, impaired immunity and reproductive and developmental consequences [2].
Luckily, there are numerous plastic free tea bags to ensure you do not consume cups of billions of microplastics. Below is a list of the best plastic free tea bags currently on the market, and some tea bag-less options.
Firstly, before you even put a plastic free tea bag in your mug of hot water, you should make sure you filter that water for contaminants, and yes, even microplastics which exist in tap, well, and bottled water. Check out the best way to filter microplastics.
Best Plastic Free Tea Bag Brands
- Traditional Medicinals
- Yorkshire Teas
- Twinings
- PG Tips
- Abel & Cole
- Clipper
- Lipton
- Pukka
- Qi Tea
- Brew Tea Company
- Numi Teas
- Tea Pigs
- Higher Living Teas
- We Are Tea
- Sainsbury’s
- Eteaket
- Republic of Tea
- Waitrose Tea
- Hampstead Tea
- Teatulia
- Nature’s Cuppa Organic
- Tielka
- Stash
- Yogi Tea
- NEMI Tea
Loose Leaf Tea
Besides seeking out plastic free tea bags, a way to avoid the tea bag all together is to buy loose leaf tea and use a strainer to steep your cup. In any grocery or health food store there is a wide variety of loose leaf teas available. Just grab a stainless steel strainer, and you’re all set. Additionally, you also could use a french press as a tea strainer or use a tea pot with a built-in strainer. This option also just greatly reduces your waste in general, as you’re not producing any tea bag waste at all.
Tea Crystals
Finally, another great bag-less option, especially convenient for on-the-go tea is tea crystals. The best two brands on the market for these convenient and very easy teas are Tea Drops and Pique Tea. Simply drop the crystals into a cup of hot water, stir to dissolve and enjoy your bagless, no-strainer-required cup of tea.
- Tea Drops: Organic, fair-trade whole tea leaves are pressed into fun shapes. Their dessert collection and boba teas are especially tasty.
- Pique Tea: Triple toxin screened for pesticides, heavy metals and toxic mold, Pique Teas extract the bioactive compounds in teas at cold-to-low temperatures for up to 8 hours and form convenient crystals. The Hibiscus Beauty Elixir is an especially delicious and beneficial tea.
In conclusion, there are so many plastic free tea bag brands and brewing methods that make avoiding plastic tea bags a breeze. Certainly, these simple swaps will greatly benefit your health for years to come.
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