Sep 8th, '05, 13:24

Tea bag question

by sallyreese » Sep 8th, '05, 13:24

Hello!

I was planning on making tea bags for holiday gifts, using the loose tea and the paper tea bags, do they seal shut so no tea can fall out, and is there still room for the teabag to sit on the edge of the cup? Thanks for your help!

Sep 9th, '05, 01:09
Posts: 7
Joined: Aug 22nd, '05, 00:42
Location: Ames, Iowa
Contact: spautz

by spautz » Sep 9th, '05, 01:09

The tea bags don't seal shut -- not on their own, at least. I've had some success using a twist-tie, although a ribbon would probably have the same effect without being ugly. =P The twist-tie did reduce the bag's volume, but there was still plenty of room for two teaspoons' worth of leaves to unfurl and whatnot, and the tea came out nicely. (The bag tore when I tried to do a second infusion, though... but the metal end of the twist-tie was probably to blame.)

The bag is pretty wide, but I haven't had much luck flopping it over the edge of my cup. I've only tried it that way once, and it wasn't a great experience: The leaf-laden end of the bag wanted to pull the open end into the mug. I had to hold onto the open end of the bag to keep it from slipping into the water.

A rubber band stretched around the lip of the cup might work well -- it'd keep the bag in place and prevent the leaves from falling out -- but I've never tried it. A teapot with a lid would also probably work well, but I haven't tried that either. I don't suppose either of those is useful if the bags are gifts, though.

The bag itself is about 3"x5", with another 2" of paper at the opening. (It looks like this 2" was designed to fold down into the bag, but this doesn't really work.) Although I'm not a huge fan of them myself, the price can't be beat: $3 for 100 bags is almost too good to pass up, especially compared to the price of the RealiTea bags. =P If you're planning to place an order soon, I'd recommend tacking them on, even if only to experiment with.

Sep 9th, '05, 14:11

by sallyreese » Sep 9th, '05, 14:11

Thanks for the input! I think I'll pass on that for now...

So then, how do people use these for traveling? How do they keep the tea leaves from falling out when carrying them in a handbag or suitcase? I suppose like you said, twist ties? Or do they carry the loose tea separately and then fill the bags right before using?!

Oct 31st, '05, 18:49

Teabag holiday gifts

by EEMoorern@juno.com » Oct 31st, '05, 18:49

I recently made teabag favors for my daughters sweet 16 b'day party. I put the required amount of tea in the teabag, folded the top down & sewed 4-5 running stitches through the top with 3 strands of embroidery thread. I left about 2-3" hanging off of the side and attached a business card with the following:
"Samantha Grace's
Sweet 16th birthday
October 29th, 2005"
and then added the directions for the amount of tea I put in the bag. I hole punched a hole in the side of the business card. Then I separated the end of the embroidery thread & slipped the business card onto it & tied the end to hold the business card. They came out adorable. I used strawberry tea.

Hope this helps!

Erin M. :)

User avatar
Nov 7th, '05, 12:04
Posts: 113
Joined: Oct 12th, '05, 11:05
Location: Floating In a Teacup
Contact: Madam Potts

Traveling with tea

by Madam Potts » Nov 7th, '05, 12:04

I find that traveling with tea is one of the things that can make the idea of traveling arduous (or the idea of coming home a welcomed one). I find that either carrying the small tins with your own bags (like the ones they sell 100/$3) are good, and then, if it means having the tea versus not having tea, then one should never snub the ever-convenient tea bag.
Madam Potts

Custom Tea Blends and other Mad Ideas...
www.madpotsoftea.com

User avatar
Nov 7th, '05, 21:49
Posts: 402
Joined: Jun 15th, '05, 21:35
Location: Norristown, PA
Contact: jogrebe

by jogrebe » Nov 7th, '05, 21:49

Check a few local tea shops they make iron shut tea bags, which I've used before with good results. Just be careful to iron shut as little as possible on the top to ensure there is enough room for the tea to properly expand during brewing.

John Grebe

+ Post Reply