Tea bags have long and firmly entered our lives. They are convenient, easy to use, and most importantly, they can significantly save time on brewing tea. However, despite its widespread use, tea bags continue to be considered a low quality drink.

In fact, the tea leaf for such purposes is only crushed more strongly, due to which it is brewed much faster. Here we are talking more about the quality of the tea itself, and it can be both good and bad, regardless of whether it is ordinary tea or teabags.

The tea bag itself has undergone many transformations over its more than a century of history. It is made from special filter paper, which consists of natural wood fiber, thermoplastic fiber and abaca fiber. Such paper does not emit any harmful substances and does not change the color and taste of tea.

There is information that the similarity of tea bags has long existed in China, as well as tea bags made of linen, which were made in Russia.

But be that as it may, tea bags became widespread in 1904 thanks to the American Thomas Sullivan. As a tea merchant, Thomas once decided to save on samples of his products sent to customers, and instead of packing servings of tea in traditional metal jars for that time, he packaged tea in hand-sewn silk bags.

Subsequently, buyers began to ask him to send tea in these bags, and not in jars. Then it turned out that such an increased interest in tea in bags was due to the fact that customers did not understand Thomas' ideas with original packaging and decided that tea should be brewed directly in silk bags. This method of brewing tea turned out to be quick, simple and convenient, which gave rise to increased consumer demand.

The popularity of tea bags grew, they were sold in shops and served in restaurants. And, of course, it soon became clear that silk is not the cheapest material for the manufacture of such a mass product. Since then, searches and experiments began with new raw materials for tea bags, so for some time they were made from gauze, then there was paper from manila hemp, later with the addition of viscose, and then filter paper appeared, from which tea bags are made, and according to this day.

As for the type of bag itself, it acquired its modern appearance in 1929. It was invented by Adolf Rabold, who later designed a packaging machine for the mass production of tea bags.

In the late 1950s, the first two-chamber tea bag closed with metal staples, which was patented by Teekanne, saw the light of day. The novelty made it possible to speed up the process of tea brewing even more.

Over time, the assortment of tea bags has been replenished with new forms; bags appeared in the form of a pyramid, square and round without a thread, which are especially loved by the inhabitants of England. And not only staples began to be used for fastening, the bag also began to be thermally sealed.

Today, tea bags occupy a leading position in the tea market. Which is not surprising, because in such a convenient guise you can find many types of tea. And after spending just a few minutes to prepare, you can enjoy the wonderful taste and aroma of black, green, fruit or herbal tea.

Like many ingenious things, the single tea bag was invented by accident. In 1904, Thomas Sullivan, the largest manufacturer at the time, decided that it was too expensive to send boxes of tea to potential buyers. In search of economical packaging, he came up with small bags. The recipients of the promotional items also accidentally brewed the drink directly in the pouch, admitting that it was very convenient and practical.

At first, the bags were sewn by hand from fine natural silk with a special weave of threads, providing quick access to water. Later expensive silk was replaced with gauze. The manufacturer, having learned about the new method of brewing, reduced the amount of tea to one serving. But initially this portion was designed not for one cup, but for a whole samovar or teapot.

Single tea bags became available to the mass consumer in 1929, when tea factories became interested in production. At the same time, they came up with a filling machine that produced only 35 bags per minute. Gauze was replaced with paper made from manila hemp fibers, and then they began to use better filter paper.

Tea bags became especially popular during the First World War. Even then, the well-known company Teekanne launched the production and delivery of tea bags to the front. The soldiers appreciated the novelty, so the company began to improve the technology.

Inside the package, especially small raw materials were poured - fannings. However, do not think that this is a waste from the production of other types of tea. The leaves are specially ground almost to dust to ensure quick brewing.

During the Second World War, Manila hemp was completely excluded from the production of single-use packaging. In order to save money, perforated paper without its own taste and smell was introduced.

In the late fifties of the last century, a two-chamber tea bag with a thread appeared on the market, allowing more water to pass through. This invention belongs to Teekanne. As a result, the tea brewed faster and became richer.

Today, the attitude towards tea bags is ambiguous. On the one hand, this method of brewing is very popular and convenient. On the other hand, people are drawn to traditional tea drinking, increasingly preferring teapots and even samovars.

Manufacturers do not want to lose such a profitable segment and improve technology. This is how transparent volumetric pyramids appeared, in which the contents are clearly visible. Instead of tea dust, there is a high-quality long leaf tea. For those who do not want to lose a drop of their favorite drink, there are squeeze bags.

Packed tea leaves are popular in trains, offices, public places, points fast food and wherever there are no conditions for a classic tea party.

Inventor Story by: Thomas Sullivan
The country: USA
Time of invention: 1904

Tea bags have long and firmly entered our lives. They are convenient, easy to use, and most importantly, they can significantly save time on brewing tea. However, despite its widespread use, tea bags continue to be considered a low quality drink.

In fact, the tea leaf for such purposes is only crushed more strongly, due to which it is brewed much faster. Here we are talking more about the quality of the tea itself, and it can be both good and bad, regardless of whether it is ordinary tea or teabags.

The tea bag itself has undergone many transformations over its more than a century of history and today is made of special filter paper, which consists of natural wood fiber, thermoplastic fiber and abaca fiber. This does not emit any harmful substances and does not change the color and taste of tea.

There is information that the similarity of tea bags has long existed in China, as well as tea bags made of linen, which were made in Russia.

But be that as it may, tea bags became widespread in 1904 thanks to the American Thomas Sullivan. As a tea merchant, Thomas once decided to save on samples of his products sent to customers, and instead of packing servings of tea in traditional metal jars for that time, he packaged tea in hand-sewn silk bags.

Subsequently, buyers began to ask him to send tea in these bags, and not in jars. Then it turned out that such an increased interest in tea in bags was due to the fact that customers did not understand Thomas' ideas with the original packaging and decided that tea should be brewed directly in silk bags. This method of brewing tea turned out to be quick, simple and convenient, which gave rise to increased consumer demand.

The popularity of tea bags grew, they were sold in shops and served in restaurants. And, of course, it soon became clear that silk is not the cheapest material for the manufacture of such a mass product. Since then, searches and experiments began with new raw materials for tea bags, so for some time they were made from gauze, then there was paper from manila hemp, later with the addition of viscose, and then filter paper appeared, from which tea bags are made, and according to this day.

As for the type of bag itself, it acquired its modern appearance in 1929. It was invented by Adolf Rabold, who later also designed a packaging machine for the mass production of tea bags.

In the late 1950s, the first two-chamber tea bag closed with metal staples, which was patented by Teekanne, saw the light of day. The novelty made it possible to speed up the process of tea brewing even more.

Candidate of Pharmaceutical Sciences Igor Sokolsky.

At the stream he scooped up fast-beating, murmuring water.
As it boils, I look - turquoise-green dust.
Only pity I can't have a cup delicious tea pour
And send far away - to a man in love with tea.
Bo Juyi (772-846). I'm making tea by a mountain stream

Tea preparation. Chinese engraving of the 18th century.

Photo by Yulia Berseneva.

For the harvest. High-grade teas are obtained from the so-called flushes - the tops of young shoots, consisting of two or three fresh leaves and a tender, unblown bud (tips). More "coarse" teas are made from mature leaves.

Tea bush at the time of flowering. Photo by Igor Konstantinov.

Pyramid bag made of the finest perforated nylon, through which evenly crushed tea leaves can be seen.

It would seem that nothing can change the generally accepted classic way brewing leaf tea, but a little more than a hundred years ago, an event occurred that introduced a completely new way of preparing this drink into the usual procedure for brewing this drink.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Americans, thanks to emigrants from the shores of foggy Albion, drank Indian and Ceylon black leaf tea with pleasure and a lot. They sold it in many shops in tin cans. The only thing that the Americans in a hurry did not like was the need to have a teapot and a spoon for pouring tea into it.

New York coffee and tea wholesaler Thomas Sullivan not only sold tea, but also thought about how best to advertise his product while reducing costs. In the end, he came up with the idea of ​​sending out samples of tea to potential buyers not in tin boxes, as usual, but in small silk bags. Each bag contained exactly as much tea as needed in order to prepare the infusion once and evaluate its taste. What Sullivan couldn't imagine was that his customers would plunge an entire bag of tea into boiling water without even thinking about opening it. When the merchant began to receive complaints that tea brewed in this way turns out to be liquid, instead of laughing at his unlucky compatriots, he realized that he had finally found his gold mine. Sullivan patented his method under the name "Tea leaf holder" in 1902. And yet, at that time, he could not even imagine that in his country in 100 years, about 95% of all tea sold would be tea bags.

The first tea bags were hand-sewn from silk muslin, a thin transparent fabric with a special weave that made it easily permeable to water. Later, a machine was invented for their manufacture, replacing manual labor. Very quickly, Sullivan became convinced that silk muslin was a very expensive material, and the use of tea waste with large quantity dust-like particles threatened to destroy the taste and smell of the resulting drink. An attempt to replace silk fabric with gauze was unsuccessful, since this material had large pores, its own unpleasant taste and smell.

The real mass production and distribution of tea bags dates back to the beginning of the fifties of the last century, when a special paper was created for making bags into which specially prepared crushed tea leaves were poured.

After numerous trials and errors, the fibers of a plant - a textile banana from the Banana family - began to be used as a material for the manufacture of such paper. Elastic, light, not subject to decay in either sea or fresh water, the fibers, better known as manila hemp, or abaca, were used to make ropes, ropes, fabrics, hats, bags, and from the waste of these industries they made paper for tea filters. -packages.

The plant for fiber production began to be grown in the Philippine Islands and Indonesia, as well as in some countries of Central America. In the future, bags were also made from viscose, which, without its own smell and taste, perfectly passes water, completely maintaining its strength. And the stitching and gluing of the bags was replaced by hot pressing of the edges.

Modern paper, from which filter bags are made, consists of natural wood fibers (65-75%), textile banana fibers (10%), thermoplastic fibers (15-23%). Such a composition quickly passes water, is chemically neutral, does not have its own taste and smell, and is glued together using a heat press.

A high-quality filter bag is supplied with a tea label attached to a cord, which indicates the company that produces the product. The most self-respecting firms, especially those that produce various flavored teas, put the filter bag in a paper envelope to help preserve the taste and aroma of the product.

Sachets are produced for all tastes, even taking into account the nature of people. So, some tea bags are equipped with a cord that allows stingy people to squeeze a few more drops of drink out of the filter bag. Specialists from the consumer goods company Unilever, which owns trademark Lipton created and patented a four-sided filter package that provides the fastest and maximum extraction of tea extractives by increasing the contact surface of finely ground tea leaves with water. The latest know-how of this company is pyramid bags made of the finest perforated nylon, examining which you can make sure that inside them is evenly crushed, which is called a tea leaf to a tea leaf. Having lowered such a bag into boiling water, at first you see the process of transition of extractive substances into water, and then you enjoy the beautiful color, tart taste and pleasant aroma of the infusion.

No matter how we feel about tea filter bags, the drink made with them has a richer taste and color than similar loose leaf tea. This happens because the bags are not filled with tea production waste, but tea is specially prepared for them.

The main difference between bagged tea and leaf tea is the degree of crushing of the leaf. The so-called fannings are packaged in tea bags, which are high-quality, finely chopped and dust-free tea leaves. The large contact surface of tea leaves with boiling water provides the effect of fast brewing and more complete extraction of extractives. The result is increased strength, rich color, tart taste and pleasant tea aroma.

A tea bag usually contains one, one and a half or two grams of tea - an amount sufficient to make one cup. It is better to brew tea from bags in a teapot, where you place as many bags as there are cups of water it holds. Pour the bags with boiling water, close the lid, stand for 3-5 minutes and pour into cups. If brewing directly in a cup, it is better to cover it with a saucer or rosette and let the drink brew.

Filter bags are usually sold in packs of 25, 50 and 100 pieces, while pyramid bags are sold in packs of 20 pieces in a cardboard box covered with shrink film. Bagged tea belongs to the medium-high price category: the packaging materials used for its manufacture "weight" its cost by at least half. Nevertheless, the share of such tea in the Russian market is growing and in 2011 it was already more than 50%.

Unfortunately, the production of tea bags provides an opportunity for unscrupulous manufacturers to use low-quality tea, tea production waste and low-quality cheap filter paper.

When choosing tea bags, it is best to focus on the reputation of the tea company and the price, remembering Russian proverbs: “Expensive, but cute, cheap, but rotten” and “That is cheap, what is not needed; and what you need is expensive.”

And in bags, and in pyramids, and in packs of loose tea, conscientious manufacturers put the same varieties of tea, but of different blends. Pyramid bags have enough space for the tea leaf to open, giving flavor and aroma to the drink. In the evening, with family or friends, you can afford the pleasure of brewing tea in a teapot according to all the rules. But bags or pyramids give us not only pleasure, but also convenience.

The technological evolution of tea began in the 19th century, when the British commissioned tea factories and tea production became machine-made. This led to the rapid development of new ways of turning the tea leaf into a raw material for making a drink.

Remember, in the movie "Titanic" - James Cameron, Captain Smith brews a tea bag in a mug? It's most likely a scriptwriter's mistake. The prototype of tea in a bag, of course, was at the beginning of the 20th century, but it appeared on the market much later than the wreck of the Titanic.

The first significant change occurred with tea in 1904, and it had nothing to do with factories - tea bags appeared in the USA. And this curiosity of the beginning of the century is now gradually replacing the classic loose tea and is produced exclusively on automated lines. 77% of the tea consumed in Europe is tea bags. And in conservative England - the trendsetter of tea fashion - tea bags are consumed by 93% of the population.

It all started like this: In 1904, the American businessman Thomas Sullivan first proposed an unusual way of drinking tea. He began to send out batches of different types of tea in silk bags to his customers. Each of the bags contained the amount of tea leaves needed to brew one mug of tea. The purpose of the mailings was by no means a desire to simplify the tea ceremony. These were the probes! That is, customers could compare different varieties of tea without buying large batches, and then make a choice.

A few years later, during the First World War, the tea firm in Dresden Teekanne (Teapot) adopted this idea, modified it, and began to organize supplies to the army in the form of bags of gauze. The soldiers called these bags "tea bombs", due to the fact that, if desired, they could quickly drink a cup of tea at any time.

Indebted to its appearance by such an accident, "tea in bags" was first made by hand. Only by 1929 did the first factory bags appear.

In the twenties, the American engineer Fay Osborne became interested in brewing tea without a teapot, who served in a company that produced different varieties paper. He thought that he could try to find a brand that would be cheaper than silk, gauze or gas and would not have any taste of its own. One day he noticed an unusual thin, soft, but strong paper in which some varieties of cigars were packed. After learning that this type of paper was made in Japan by hand from some exotic fiber, in 1926 he decided to make the same paper. He tried different varieties of tropical wood, jute, sisal, cotton and even fibers from pineapple leaves. Nothing worked. Finally, he stumbled upon the so-called manila hemp, or, in short, manila, from which sea ropes are twisted (in fact, this plant has nothing to do with hemp, it is a relative of the banana). The result was promising.

In 1929-31, Osborne experienced various chemical compositions, which would make the manila paper more porous for the same strength. Having found the right method, he spent several more years converting his laboratory process, which made single sheets, into a large machine that produced whole rolls of paper.

In the meantime, cloth pouches with tea leaves have already gained a foothold in the American market. They were made from gauze, and the figure speaks of the scale: in the thirties, more than seven million meters of gauze were consumed annually for tea in the United States. By the spring of 1934, Osborne had set up production of manila fiber tea paper on a large machine. Already in 1935, his paper was also used for packing meat, silverware and electrical products. By the end of the thirties paper bags already successfully competed with gauze.

But with the outbreak of World War II, beckoning became a strategic raw material (it grows only in the Philippines), and the US authorities not only forbade spending it on tea bags, but also requisitioned Osborne's stocks for the needs of the fleet. The inventor did not give up, he arranged the “washing” of decommissioned manila ropes from dirt and oil, and since this raw material was not enough, he added viscose additives to his paper. Continuing research, in 1942 he received a new, very thin, but strong enough paper without manila fiber, and two years later he found a way to “glue” the edges of the bags by hot pressing instead of stitching with threads. These two achievements opened the way for tea bags to the table.

In the late 1950s, the first two-chamber tea bag closed with metal staples, which was patented by Teekanne, saw the light of day. The novelty made it possible to speed up the process of tea brewing even more. However, according to other sources, in 1952, the company of tea king Thomas Lipton (some mistakenly attribute the authorship of tea bags to him) created and patented double tea bags. Although it may be that the Teekanne belonged to Lipton by that time.

Over time, the assortment of tea bags was replenished with new shapes - there appeared bags in the form of a pyramid, square and round without a thread, which are especially loved by the inhabitants of England. And not only staples began to be used for fastening, the bag also began to be thermally sealed.

Today, tea bags occupy a leading position in the tea market. Which is not surprising, because in such a convenient guise you can find many types of tea. And after spending just a few minutes to prepare, you can enjoy the wonderful taste and aroma of black, green, fruit or herbal tea.

There is a strong opinion that tea bags- This is a waste of the main production of tea. Like instant coffee, tea bags are bought by lazy people who do not understand what's what. There are many excuses, one of which is that you have to pay with taste for convenience and speed. Manufacturers, on the other hand, claim that tea in bags is simply smaller and its quality is not, almost worse than large-leaved tea.

And here are a few more stories of ordinary things: for example, and here