Best Tea Without Microplastics
Given that tea bags are subjected to high temperatures during the brewing process, it is concerning that certain branded teas are offered in tea bags made from allegedly ‘food grade’ polymers, such as nylon.
Tea bag plastics, which can take hundreds of years to decompose in nature, may fragment into particles that range in size from 1 µm to 5 mm.
In December, researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain published a new study in the journal Chemosphere showing that individual tea bags steeped in boiling water can release micro- and nanoplastic particles, which are then ingested by the drinker. And it's not just a few particles here or there. The researchers found that the bags can release particles in the billions.
When you drink tea frequently, you are continually dosing themselves with billions of plastic particles, some of which may be tiny enough to enter human cells.
"polypropylene releases approximately 1.2 billion particles per milliliter, with an average size of 136.7 nanometres; cellulose releases about 135 million particles per milliliter, with an average size of 244 nanometres; while nylon-6 releases 8.18 million particles per milliliter, with an average size of 138.4 nanometres."
Tea bags have also been found to containfluorine compounds, arsenic, radium salt, aluminum, copper, lead, mercury, cadmium, barium, nitrates, and many more. Even more concerning, PFAS, known as the forever chemical, has been found in tea bags - the study found 90% of the samples contained detectable levels of PFAS. This was as shocking to me as hearing that PFAS is in our microwave popcorn.
How Can I Avoid Microplastics in Tea Bags?
The good news that the dangers are mostly in the tea bag and not the tea. So, if you have bags in your home, you can empty them into a metal (not plastic!) tea canister and let it steep. Based on the study’s findings, bags made from polypropylene released the most.
Below is a list of tea bags that as of 2024 contained plastic and don’t.
Brands with tea bags that don’t contain plastic:
Traditional Medicinals
Pukka
Numi Teas
Republic of Tea
Stash
Yogi Tea
Brands with tea bags do contain plastic:
Tazo
Teavana (Starbucks)
Celestial Seasonings
Mighty Leaf Teas (now’s owned by Peet’s)
But frankly companies change their packaging all of the time, so the best option is to try loose leaf tea. There are a couple of ways to deal with loose leaf tea. You can get a tea ball infuser, get fillable filter bags and make your own tea bags, use a french press like for coffee, or brew a pot and use a strainer. As cute as they may be avoid the silicon infusers as they will slowly break down and release chemicals into your hot water.
You can also check out some on the go tea mugs. Of course, the other option is to go all out and let the tea brew at the bottom of your cup and then read your tea leaves when you are finished.
