Eco-Friendly Tea & Zero Waste Tea Preparation

Did you know that many tea bags and their packaging contain plastic? This post will consider how to remove plastic from your tea routines and, additionally, how to reduce the waste generated from tea consumption.

How can you decrease your environmental impact when drinking tea?

1. Only use reusable tea vessels. If you’re at home, you can use cups and mugs you already own to drink tea from. If you like drinking tea out and about, invest in a reusable to-go mug. Switching to a reusable to-go mug, and bringing it with you, can make a huge impact on your tea-associated waste.
2. Switch to organic, fair trade tea. Switching to organic, fair trade tea will protect the soil, air, and water of tea farmed areas, while protecting tea growers from pesticide exposure and ensuring adequate wages.
3. Incorporate local tea. Tea leaves are traditionally grown in Asian countries, which means green, black, and white teas most likely travel many miles to get to you. Herbs for tea can be grown all over the world; you may have more luck finding a local herbal tea. For example, echinacea is a MN native plant and one of my favorite teas to drink!
4. Switch to reusable tea-making supplies. For example, you could brew tea using a reusable infuser or a French Press.
5. Compost your tea leaves. Whether at home, through your city or county, or at a community space, composting tea is great for the environment and awesome for soil.

Tea Bags vs. Loose Leaf

Tea bags can be made out of a wide variety of materials — ranging from plastic to paper to cornstarch. And, sometimes tea bags include plastic to preserve freshness, even if the main tea bag component is plant based. If tea bags are the best option for you, I recommend brands that tout 100% compostable tea bags. This will reduce your plastic use and reduce your exposure to microplastics from drinking tea.

As more resources are needed to produce and package tea bags, loose leaf tea is a better option when it comes to resource use, waste, and mitigating plastic. When possible, use loose leaf tea to reduce your impact!

Reusable Infusers

If you already use loose leaf, or want to start incorporating loose leaf tea into your life, I highly recommend trying out reusable infusers! I have found very fine stainless steel infusers to be the most versatile (infusers that aren’t as fine lead to sentiment in the bottom of your tea). That said, some people really like using French Presses or reusable cloth infusers for tea. See what works for you!

Reusable To-Go Mugs

If you often take tea to-go, consider purchasing a to-go mug for tea. Here are some tips in to select a to-go mug.

• Consider a mug with a built in infuser. This can be incredibly convenient if you want to throw your loose leaf tea into the infuser before going out the door or if you keep a stash of loose leaf at your work/school. Just a note, most to-go mugs I’ve seen with infusers are glass. If glass is a big no-no for you, try to find a to-go mug with a bamboo outer layer.
• Select a cup size that makes sense. For example, if you want to put the mug in a cupholder, make sure you get a cup that will fit (typically tall/narrow mugs fit, but it’s always good to measure and check before purchasing). Additionally, if you drink larger amounts of tea in one go, consider getting a larger sized mug. Many to-go brands offer 12oz mugs (or smaller), which may not be practical if you often drink more tea in a setting.
• Select a lid that suits your needs. Consider if you want a lid that closes or a leak proof lid. If you drink iced tea, consider a lid compatible with a reusable straw. For example, Klean Kanteen has multiple lid options per cup. This means you can purchase 1 cup, but have 2+ lids. You can reduce consumption by buying something that is innately versatile!
• Get something dishwasher safe. Even if you don’t have a dishwasher right now, you could have one in the future. Dishwashers are more convenient, and use less water, than hand washing. Please note if you purchase a mug with a bamboo outer layer, it will not be dishwasher safe.
• Find something that keeps your drinks hot/cold. Many to-go mug brands market specific hours that a drink should maintain temperature. If this is important to you, consider one of the mugs that boast 8+ hours. If this is less important to you, 4+ hours should be just fine.
• Avoid plastic, where you can. Many tea to-go mugs include a metal or a bamboo lid. That said, some of those will include plastic components. If you can’t find a lid without plastic, that’s okay. You should be able to avoid plastic for the infuser and the other components, however.
• Get a design you like and will like for a long time. If you have loved yellow for 15 years, that’s a good bet. I find catchy sayings and specific animals to be more “trendy”, so these are usually good to avoid. You may be tempted to personalize your mug, but keep in mind that your initials or your company logo may not be so appealing to someone else, if you decide to give away or donate your mug someday.

Do I need a separate to-go mug for tea?

If you are an occasional tea drinker, or you are just getting started, I recommend using whatever to-go mug you already have for tea. If, after time, you realize purchasing something with an inbuilt infuser would be valuable, consider it. I personally have found my other to-go mugs linger coffee taste, so I prefer a separate tea mug. My partner thinks this is unnecessary, but I think his taste buds are weak. ;)

Are there any organic tea brands you recommend?

Loose Leaf

One company I regularly buy loose leaf from is Mountain Rose Herbs. So far, I haven’t loved all of their herbal teas, but I have enjoyed their Classic Chai, Genmaicha, Ceylon (Black) Tea, Earl Grey, Honeybush, and Mint Tea. I love buying from Mountain Rose Herbs because they’re so transparent about sourcing; you can easily find fair trade, organic, and wild harvested ingredients listed on their products.

I’m generally looking to expand the loose leaf tea brands I use — there are some tea bag flavors I would really like to replace, so I am actively searching for alternatives. I wish I had more brands to recommend here!

Tea Bag Brands I Like

• Traditional Medicinals. In particular, I’m quite attached to their Echinacea Plus tea. Their tea bags are 100% compostable, but unfortunately the tea bag wrapper is coated with plastic and must be thrown in the trash. At the moment, I try to drink their tea sparingly because 1) they don’t sell loose leaf and 2) I want to mitigate my plastic purchases.
• Pukka. Their tea bags are believed to be compostable (they’re undergoing testing for that), but unfortunately the tea bag wrapper is coated with plastic. That said, the tea bag wrapper can be recycled. Like above, I try to mitigate my consumption of this tea due to the plastic wrapping and because they don’t offer loose leaf.
• Clipper. Their tea bags are compostable, but unfortunately the tea bag wrapper is coated with plastic. That said, the tea bag wrapper can be recycled. Like above, I try to mitigate my consumption of this tea due to the plastic wrapping and because they don’t offer loose leaf. Also, I have personally lost my Clipper sourcing (I haven’t been able to find it in a shop near me for years), but you may be able to find it near you.

How can you reduce plastic when purchasing loose leaf tea?

1. Buy tea from bulk bins at grocery or zero-waste shops; bring a clean, reusable container with you. Depending on where you live, this might not be an option for you. Where I live, the co-op and the zero-waste store near me, both sell loose leaf in bulk.
2. Buy tea from a local tea shop; bring a clean, reusable container with you. Not all tea shops will sell you unpackaged loose leaf, but you’d probably be surprised how many do. This is also an awesome option for sampling different teas.
3. Purchase loose leaf in compostable packaging. For example, Arbor Teas has backyard compostable packaging for their loose leaf.

What tea tools do you use, Emily?

• 1 teaspoon infuser
• 2 Yoassi infusers
• 1 ForLife teapot, with infuser
• 1 glass to-go mug, with infuser
• 1 electric kettle, with tea temperature settings

Generally I’ve found it’s pretty hard to find sustainably made tea tools. Tea pots, kettles, and mugs can absolutely be found secondhand or handmade. But I haven’t had any luck finding sustainable brands that produce infusers or airtight tea storage. I’m hopeful we’ll see more options in the future, but for now, the best option is reusable (even with unknown production and sourcing information).

I’m not a huge fan of the mesh spoon infuser I have, but I do use it for larger tea leaves. I absolutely LOVE the Yoassi infusers, but unfortunately they’re mainly purchasable from Walmart and Amazon. My ForLife teapot is amazing — my partner got it years ago and I would like to thrift one more (maybe a bigger version). I purchased the to-go mug in 2014, from China. The to-go mug was a very intentional purchase, I considered options for a couple months while I was living in China and spent time observing what I saw locals use for tea transportation. I truly think I selected this one well! Finally, I LOVE my electric kettle. Although it’s designed for tea, I find it helpful when I’m brewing Chemex coffee as well (the best way to brew Chemex is at 205 degrees). I thought it was a little “extra” when I bought it, but it has been a very practical purchase for me personally.

Like this post?
Check out: Eco-Friendly Coffee & Zero Waste Coffee Preparation.

None of the links in this post are affiliate links; I have received no incentive to include brands or companies in this post.