Easy Ways to Clean Up Your Dirty Tea Routine

Drinking tea is an everyday ritual for you. You love the convenience of tea and all of the cute little trinkets that go along with an indulgent afternoon tea respite. 

But do you ever think about how your tea routine may be harming the world? Do you ever think about sustainable tea habits?

Tea seems like such a small thing. But, tea affects the world more than you might imagine. As the planet swiftly approaches catastrophic temperature levels, you want to know that your teabag or teacup isn’t adding to the issues.

Extreme heat, rising sea levels, declining biodiversity, melting arctic sea ice, and at-risk coral reefs are only a few problems we face with global warming. Finding a sustainable solution for tea drinkers starts with you. When you shift to a sustainable tea routine, you make a bigger impact than you could ever imagine.

What Does Sustainable Mean in the Tea Industry?

Not all teas, teabags, and teapots are created equal. Every teabag that you throw away has a long-term effect on the planet. Where does your tea come from and how is it made?

The global tea industry is enormous. Tea growers, tea blenders, tea packers, tea shippers, and tea sellers can leave harmful carbon footprints behind them. You can fight for sustainable tea by purchasing teas from ethical tea companies. 

Do your research and question your purchases. What materials are used to make the tea packaging and teabags you use? Most teabags and canisters are harmful to the planet. 

Did you know that a great portion of porcelain teaware is made with glazes that have toxic chemicals that leech into your tea? It’s not unlikely that your teaware is steeping toxins while steeping your tea leaves. 
The good news is there are superior teaware alternatives that are chemical-free and environmentally friendly. These borosilicate glass teapots are examples of premium, affordable, and sustainable teaware that support your health and wellness.

Why Biodegradable Isn’t Enough

Teabags are a huge problem when it comes to tea and the environment. Most teabags are marketed with the word “biodegradable”. But, “biodegradable” is a subjective marketing term that has no real value or measurable definition. 

Almost everything that we touch is technically biodegradable. The word “biodegradable” is the concept that an item will break down into the earth over a certain amount of time, but that timeline isn’t set in stone. Everything, even harmful plastics and materials, eventually breaks down and returns to the world over time, even if it’s hundreds of years. 

Biodegradable isn’t enough when it comes to your tea. Biodegradable teabags still have a big negative impact on the environment. If you want to help the world with your sustainable tea routine, seek out compostable teabags, instead.

What Makes A Teabag Compostable?

Compostable teabags break down after a reasonably short time compared to biodegradable materials. Compostable teabags can be put right into your compost container at home. 

These sustainable teas will turn into an organic material called humus. Humus can be used in your garden to add extra vitamins and nutrients to the soil and plants. 

All compostable teabags and containers are biodegradable. But, not all biodegradable teabags and containers are compostable. These are not interchangeable words. 

Biodegradable products are a bad choice for your daily tea routine. Compostable tea products are an excellent option for a much cleaner tea routine.

4 Sustainable Tea Changes You Can Make Right Now

Change in the tea industry starts with tea drinkers like you. If you don’t purchase teas, cups, and teaware, tea companies will collapse. 

It’s up to you to choose to shift your tea practices. It may sound like a burden, but trust us, this doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, we have four easy ways you can upgrade to a sustainable tea routine, today!

1. Switch to Chemical-Free Teaware

Do you really know how safe your adorable tea mug or teapot is? Most people aren’t aware that they drink small amounts of lead and cadmium every day from their cute little teacups. If your teaware is painted or glazed, chances are you’re drinking toxic tea.

The good news is there are affordable tea options that solve all of these problems for you. Teapots, teacups, mugs, kettles, and accessories made with borosilicate glass are the best kinds of teaware you can use for your new tea routine. 

Not only is borosilicate glass strong and temperature resistant, but it’s healthy and chemical-free. It also makes your tea taste pure and it’s easy to clean. 

There’s no doubt about it. Borosilicate glass teaware is leading the way for sustainable tea.

2. Get Personal with Your Tea Supplier

So much happens to your tea before you conveniently plop it into your teacup or teapot. Your tea is grown, harvested, dried, oxidized, flavored, packaged, shipped, and sold to you. Your tea moves through a lot of hands before it gets to your teacup. 

If you’re serious about improving your tea practices, take the tea supply chain into account too. 

Is your tea single-origin sourced and are farmers and growers paid fair wages? Do a little research to find out who your tea company works with. Find out how they source their tea and where they grow their teas. 

Choosing a sustainable tea is about more than just checking that your tea is organic or naturally flavored. Sustainability is about more than just chemical-free teas. It’s also about the long-term effects our tea harvesting has on the planet.

3. Use Compostable Teabags

Are your teabags compostable or biodegradable? Remember, there’s a huge difference between these two terms. 

Biodegradable teabags still harm the environment. To top it off, most teabags also steep a healthy dose of billions of microplastics in every cup, so be careful! If you insist on using teabags, look for ethical tea companies that make compostable teabags. 

These compostable teabags are made from a silk-like corn-based material. They can be thrown away or placed directly into your home compost bin. These beautiful and functional tea sachets are made with whole-leaf sustainable teas sourced from single-origin farms. 

Most conventional teabags are made with over-processed tea dust which isn’t even made from the same kind of tea as their loose-leaf counterparts. The compostable tea sachets above leave ample room for full tea leaves to unfold for a hearty steep, and decadent flavor that’s just as good as loose-leaf tea.

4. Commit to Compostable Packaging

Loose-leaf tea canisters, individual teabag packages, and teaware packaging should also be considered when creating your sustainable tea practice. Packaging, boxes, and wrappers can sit in dumpyards for many years. Seek out tea companies that are doing their best to reduce their carbon footprint with their manufacturing and packaging. 

New and innovative compostable packaging and recyclable canisters are what you need to look for. Consider purchasing teabags that are wrapped in compostable paper. And if you purchase loose-leaf teas make sure the canisters are either compostable, recyclable, or reusable.

Teabloom Is Leading the Way in Sustainability

There are so few tea companies that analyze every aspect of their impact on the environment. There are even fewer who go the extra mile to make sure they are contributing to the planet. Teabloom is leading the way with ethical teaware made with planet-positive impact.

Teabloom offers the largest selection of borosilicate glass teaware. They are strong advocates for worldwide well-being. They believe in cultivating a clean and toxic-free tea routine and they believe that starts with borosilicate glass. 

This incredibly sustainable tea material is strong and makes tea taste better than you’ve ever tasted before. Teabloom also provides tea enthusiasts with a wide variety of premium USDA Certified Organic loose-leaf teas. Their teabag sachets are 100% compostable and their packaging materials are compostable, recyclable, and reusable. 

Start your clean tea journey with Teabloom. The small changes you make have lasting effects for years to come. Explore the collection, today.

www.teabloom.com