Tea facts
1.
” Tea bags were invented in 1908 in the United States by Thomas Sullivan. He created small silk bags to give samples of tea to his customers. Some of them thought that the bags were supposed to be put directly in the tea pot, like a metal infuser, rather than emptied out. Thus, the teabag was created by accident.
2.
Tea was introduced to England in 1662 when Charles II married Portugal’s Catherine of Braganze. Her dowry included chests of tea from the regions of Bombay and Tangier.
3.
You should always use fresh water when making tea. Water that has been boiled previously has lost oxygen which can make you tea taste flat.”
(credit: Teanswers.com)
4.
Of the 165m cups of tea made everyday in the UK 96% are teabags and most of those are made with polypropylene sealers
So, what’s your favourite brand doing about it?
Those that are already there get a big green tick, those that have made great strides get a smaller tick. Most brands realise that they need to do something about this – the plastic tide shows no sign of stopping! Being lead by the consumer brands are having to shape up to consumer’s ethical demands. Own label teas from the supermarkets, with the exception of Aldi and Waitrose, still have a little way to go.
The article below is from PG Tips’ website and illustrates what most of the big brands are considering. In the meantime if you carry on using teabags with plastic in them you can still recycle them in your food recycling waste collected by your local council. Better still, a move I am currently considering, is to go bag free and buy loose leaf, thus eliminating the whole tea bag issue!
Happy tea making everyone.
Credit: PG Tips
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