Drink Tea & Help the Environment

Do you love drinking tea but also wish you could help the environment? Well now you can do both and one tea company in particular is leading the way in becoming eco friendly with their clean and simple tea packaging.

Two Leaves and a Bud chose early on to source not only certified organic tea, but to also use a plant-based material for their tea sachets. But why is this important?

Most tea bags today vary with each brand, but did you know that the the majority contain plastic? Tea bags or sachets can come in different forms, but they often contain a plastic like Polypropylene or Nylon which helps the tea bag from losing its shape and breaking apart. So is this so bad?

Well plastic in general is non renewable and non-biodegradable. Plastic tea bags should be disposed of in a general waste bin, which means they end up in landfills or are incinerated. This actually accounts for around 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. One thing that I love about Two Leaves tea sachets is that they are instead made from PLA, polylactic acid.

What is PLA?

PLA is derived from dextrose, which is a type of sugar found in corn, sugarcane, or sugar beet pulp. It is fermented and condensed using heat to form a plastic-like material.

Why is it important?

PLA is non toxic and is made from plant based renewable resources. It is also produced using 65% less energy than petroleum based plastics. Two Leaves notes that it is commercially compostable and under the right conditions, backyard compostable as well.

Also, for me personally, I'd much rather be drinking something that doesn't contain plastic or has the opportunity for mico-plastic particles to seep into, which is what some tea bags have been known to do. One study conducted at McGill University in Montreal found that a 'single plastic teabag at brewing temperature released about 11.6 billion microplastic and 3.1 billion nanoplastic particles into the water. These levels were thousands of times higher than those reported previously in other food. Although there are no known health risks yet associated with it, I still feel more at ease knowing what my teabag is made from.

Benefits of Composting

1. Reduces landfill, cutting down emissions. Organic waste that decomposes in a landfill takes up to 3 times longer to breakdown and releases more methane gas.

2. Gives back to the environment, enriches the soil with nutrients, promoting healthy plant growth.

So this could be a wonderful cycle to repeat especially in the world of tea. Composting our tea sachets can help enrich the soil, the soil used to grow plants including the tea plant, without the need for fertilizers and chemicals, which would then produce organic teas for us to drink. So next time you buy some tea, it would be a great opportunity to look out for certified organic products, eco friendly packaging or both and you will be in turn doing your part to help the environment and keep the tea world thriving into the future.

Two Leaves and a Bud

With all this in mind, I was super excited to try the Black Tea Sampler from Two Leaves & a Bud which was a mix of their Mountain High Chai, English Breakfast and Earl Grey tea, all of which are plant based and compostable. This is a great little box if you want to try out some of their best organic black teas. I was really impressed with all of them.

The Earl Grey is perfectly balanced and has such a fragrant, floral, beautiful flavour which packs a punch inside the little tea sachet. The Mountain High Chai is what you'd expect from a really good chai, with flavours of cinnamon, cardamon, ginger and even rose petals. I really enjoyed it with a little honey and some oat milk. The English Breakfast is bold and strong with a hint of sweetness to it. It could easily become my go-to morning cuppa.

One thing that I love about these particular tea sachets is that they all have such a bold, strong, flavour, something you don't always find with other brands of teabags. I've mentioned this before on my blog and Instagram that I prefer loose leaf tea for the quality and flavour, but with these tea sachets, you still get all the flavour and deliciousness in a convenient sachet. You can tell that a lot of thought, love and care went into sourcing these teas, ensuring they are not only organic but taste amazing and are not just so called tea 'fannings' or 'dust'.

I love that this tea company is really trying to make a difference even with something as small as a tea bag or tea sachet. Even small changes can make a big difference. I can't wait to see what Two Leaves & a Bud has in store for the future!