TWEET: Nylon versus corn-based PLA – Which tea sachet material will become the fiber of choice?

In April 2013 The Atlantic published a story entitled “Are Tea Bags Turning Us Plastic?” examining the materials used in the increasingly popular “silken” tea sachets and pouches. It raised questions about the safety of these products for consumers.

I first looked at this topic back in 2009 when I examined a wide variety of packaging materials for tea bags as well as for loose and ready-to-drink teas for Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. At that time Helsinki, Finland-based Ahlstrom had recently started promoting a new filter material made of PLA (polylactic acid.) It was appealing for making tea bags because it would keep its shape, while also allowing tea drinkers to see what was inside. It was considered an improvement on the other “silken” products on the market which were made of nylon.

Very few of the companies using “silken” or “mesh” materials in their pouch construction had been communicating that the “silk” was actually nylon. Nylon had been used as a synthetic replacement for silk since World War II. In recent decades, however, consumers have become increasingly attuned to concerns about plastics in food packaging. In a product like a tea bag, which is then immersed in hot water, the worries reached a higher level for some tea drinkers. Nylon is also produced from petroleum which raised environmental concerns for people focusing on being more green in their purchasing. PLA offered an alternative.

PLA was considered a more environmentally-friendly option because it is made from cornstarch instead of petroleum products. Corn is converted into an industrial resin that can be shaped into a mesh form. These products were first introduced in the 1980s but they were far too expensive for regular use. Years of fine-tuning improved the process so instead of costing $200/pound to manufacture, it now costs less than $1/pound. The other advantage commonly cited is that PLA bags are biodegradable and compostable. However, PLA has its own challenges.

Because corn is the primary ingredient of the process and much of the corn supply is genetically modified, PLA loses some of its standing as a more environmentally friendly option. Further research into its compostability raises a few other flags. PLA pouches and sacs will not biodegrade in your backyard compost heap. They can only be broken down in industrial and municipal composting facilities. Since most consumers do not have access to these programs, most PLA tea packaging will end up in a landfill, just like the nylon sacs.

Because of their physically attractive qualities and their association with luxury tea products, it is unlikely that the nylon or the PLA tea pouches and sachets are going away soon. It does seem likely, however, that customers will be asking more questions about their safety and the impact of their use and savvy tea companies should be sure to be equipped with those answers.

— Katrina Ávila Munichiello

©Mystic Media 2013

LinkedIn: In an effort to reduce the use of petroleum-based nylons, some companies have turned to corn-based PLA (polylactic acid) for their tea sachets and pouches. But are they really better for the environment and for our health?

TWEET: What you think you know about caffeine in tea might be all wrong.

When the Wrigley Company pulled its Alert Energy Caffeine Gum from the market two weeks after launch, it was in no small part due to a newly announced investigation by the Food & Drug Administration into caffeine in our nation’s foods and beverages. Consumers are increasingly conscious of their caffeine intake and they will expect tea sellers to be able to communicate clearly about how much caffeine is really in their cups. The good news is that more research is being done to give us those answers. The bad news is that we’re seeing that clarity may be a harder standard than we’d expected.

There are many myths about caffeine in tea that continue to be perpetuated. You cannot “decaffeinate” your tea by throwing out the first 30 second steep. Black tea does not necessarily have more caffeine than green tea. White tea is not low in caffeine. If a tea is promoted as “caffeine-free,” it is an herbal; Camellia sinensis will always yield some caffeine.

Research commissioned by Camellia Sinensis Tea House in Montreal and published in Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties (Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, and Jasmin Desharnais – Firefly Books, 2011) examined the caffeine content of more than thirty teas, steeped as one would for drinking. The studies bore out the belief that matcha had the most caffeine, since the entire leaf is consumed. But after that, all bets were off. Five of the seven teas with the most caffeine were green teas, but so were five of the seven teas with the least caffeine. Few broad statements could be made about caffeine by type.

Because there is such variability within categories, it is useful to consider these factors which affect caffeine quantity. Chinese teas (Camellia sinensis sinensis) have less caffeine than Indian teas which are typically Camellia sinensis assamica. Shade grown teas tend to have higher caffeine levels, as do teas plucked during hotter seasons. Steeping style also makes a difference. Teas that steep for shorter times or in cooler water yield lower caffeine contents.

It may not be easy to assess how much caffeine is really in your cup, but you can at least make sure that you’re drinking good tea.

— Katrina Ávila Munichiello

©Mystic Media 2013

LinkedIn: How does caffeine affect your tea drinking choices?