You may have recently read an article about the adverse aspects of plastic particles in so called ‘silken or silk’ tea bags.

As far back as 2013 we raised our concern about these bags and the false claims being made by some tea companies about the materials used as well as the unfounded claim that they produce a better cup of tea.

A blog by me on our web site on 7 Nov 2013 and 6 May 2015 raised our concerns and these can be read on our website following the links above which will take you to our Stories of Tea.

Apart from the plastic particle aspects, these plastic or silken bags do not readily break down (despite claims of being bio degradable)  like the traditional paper tea bags which Elmstock use.   

We do produce a black and green tea bio degradable pyramid tea bag for one of our customers who wanted it and we do offer it to people who want it.

However these sales constitute less than 0.02% of our sales and we plan to discontinue the sale of these items in light of the controversy, after discussion with our customer.

We take this opportunity to remind drinkers of good tea that using leaf tea is the best way to enjoy this healthy and pleasant beverage.

If you do not want to use a teapot, use a stainless steel infuser (costs about $10). Toss the infused leaves into your plants-they will love you for it.

By using an infuser you not only get the real flavor of good tea but can also control the strength of the tea.

Also contrary to common perception using leaf tea is generally cheaper per serve than using teabgs!

However, we concede that some customers such as hotels, offices and cafes may require the use of tea bags because of the nature of their operations.

We reiterate that Elmstock tea bags that use the traditional paper tea bags do not have the plastic contamination referred to.

Elmstock tea bags sales constitute 42% of the company’s turnover and leaf teas 58%. This is in contrast to the national sales of over 90% tea bags and 10% leaf tea.

We hope you will continue to enjoy the experience of drinking good tea.