The Invention of the Tea Bag

In this modern age, we take the tea bag much for granted. But in terms of human history it hasn't been around that long. 

According to Chrystal, Britain averages 130 000 tonnes of tea a year, and 96% of that is from tea bags. Brits down 165 million cups per day. That's a lot of lifting! According to The True History of Tea, the tea bag has changed the way of tea around the world. It is "a potent symbol of our harried times." Indeed. What a better symbol than a quick dunk of a tea bag into hot water to make quick brew! It's even faster than that other hot beverage. 

So where did these tea bags originate?

"In 1908, New York global tea and coffee merchant Thomas Sullivan began sending samples of tea out in small silken bags." (Chrystal) Recipients of the samples mistakenly thought these worked like the metal infusers they were used to using and they simply dunked them into their hot water to sample the teas. 

But there is some controversy here. A. V. Smith of London, according to The True History of Tea, was issued a patent for a tea bag in 1896, 22 years before Sullivan is credited with this marvelous invention. Sullivan received complaints from customers about the silken bags and later changed them to gauze to make infusing easier. The invention was evolving. 

Along came Tetley. 

But was it 1935, according to The True History of Tea, or 1953, as Tea: A Very British Beverage outlines? It seems an important distinction, since one is pre-WWII and one is post WWII. For this we go to the InterWeb. According to tetleyusa.com, the launch of the Tetley Tea bag was 1953. Post WWII. 

You see, WWII delayed mass production of the tea bag. People were distracted with other things, like winning the war, feeding soldiers, rations, and other such endeavours. Tea bags weren't so important. 

The Lipton Flo Thru Tea Bag came on the scene in 1952, with its magnificent 4 sides instead of 2, allowing water to infuse more tea, more quickly. 

Bagged teas can be found in any grocery store today. 

If you want to see how tea bags are produced, you can watch it here. 

Some things to think about: What is IN your tea bag??
How much money goes into the packaging of the tea bag?
Would you rather the money go into your tea? 

That is for a future post. 

Happy Steeping!

Works Cited:

Tea: A Very British Beverage

The True History of Tea

Time.com

tetleyusa.com