Calling All Tea Drinkers!

Today, this article came out talking about a study showing how microplastics are leaching into our tea, due to plastic-based tea bags or the plastic used to seal tea bags. This applies even to paper-based teabags. Now, according to this article, there is little or no known risks to ingesting microplastics, as most of it just washes out of our bodies. However, it also states that there needs to be more studies done on it to make certain that's the case. Now, I don't know about you, but even if there is not a lot of known risk to drinking plastics, I'd rather not, if I don't have to.

There are plastic-free tea bags available, but they tend to be hard to find and very expensive. I can't really justify that expense. I'm also trying to find more environmentally-friendly options for tea and was already looking into this when this news story came my way. The obvious best choice for less packaging and no plastics, is of course, loose tea leaves. Many grocery stores sell loose teas in bulk in a multitude of flavors that you can buy in as large or small a quantity as you like. I highly recommend switching to loose tea. It's not only the most environmentally-friendly option, but it's the most affordable one too. It's a win-win for tea drinkers.

Well, if you're going to switch to loose tea leaves, you're going to need at least one accessory you may or may not own yet: a tea steeper. They come in every shape, size, and in many different materials, but I only use one kind:

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I have a silver one that has a mesh-style bulb. It's all metal, which is important to me. There are plastic tea steepers, but that just puts you right back in to the plastic issue. There are silicon ones, and I don't know much about silicon, it might be perfectly harmless, but I do know it doesn't come from a garden. I prefer metal because it holds up better, lasts longer, and has less of a chance of leaching stuff into my tea that isn't tea. You want something with small holes, or mesh, to keep even the smallest pieces from getting into the water. This is the perfect style. There is another metal one I have tried that you might think is a good option, but I do not recommend it. That is this one:

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It's metal and mesh, so it should be perfect, right? Wrong! See how the sides come together and there is a little clip that holds them? That clip comes undone and will spill tea leaves into your water. I have ruined a few cups of tea with these before. I do not recommend!

There is one more accessory you will need, that you may not already have: a tea bag holder. This might seem like an unnecessary item, but your steeper will continue to drain liquid when you've finished and you will damage surfaces without putting it on something that will contain it. These are super cheap and most are machine washable, so you can just throw it in your dishwasher with the rest of your dishes.

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So, now you're all set for loose tea leaves, you're ready to go! But what to do I do with all my boxes of tea bags? You are probably asking yourself this right now. I contemplated this for a bit today and came up with what I think is an ingenious idea. Take the tea steeper, cut the teabag open, and pour the tea into the steeper! Use up your old tea, so you don't waste it, and then switch to loose leaf tea. You can compost the tea leaves when you finish with it.

I, of course, am not telling you what to do, but I would imagine that you, like me, have some concerns about the idea of drinking microplastics in your tea. I think it's very important to be informed, so if tea is an important part of your life, you might want to look into this and decide if this is something that bothers you, or not. The good news is, there are easy fixes to this issue!