A Modern Take on the Tea Bag - New Shapes and Styles Make For a Better Brewing Experience

Have you noticed a change in the shape and style of your tea bag recently? Gone are the single or double chamber rectangular tea bag of old, stapled closed, with a string and paper tag. Today there are square cushions or pillows, round pods, foil tubes, and transparent gauze pyramids.

Tea bags are undoubtedly the preferred method of tea brewing, with 98% in the U.S., 96% in the U.K., and a large number worldwide using a tea bag to prepare their morning cuppa tea.

It used to be that most bagged tea was made from lower quality blends of CTC (cut-tear-curl) teas, with the consideration more for price than quality. But today more and more companies are packaging their specialty and gourmet teas in tea bags.

When packaging tea there's a lot to take into consideration to meet the demands of and satisfy the consumer. Thought has to be put into not only the shape and style of the tea bag, but also the types of material used, and the production process itself.



Decisions need to be made on the type of bag-should they go with the old standby single or double chamber paper bag with string and tag, or go with a round pod, square, or rectangular paper cushion, and no string and tag? Or maybe go with the popular pyramid shape that's currently so popular?

Should the tea bag be made from cotton muslin, gauze, non-biodegradable nylon, or from silk or cornstarch "soilon?" And how should it be closed-should it be stapled, glued, sewn with cotton thread, or sealed with ultrasound?

There are undoubtedly a large number of choices available, with new ones coming on the market all the time. It goes without saying that companies need to be on the pulse of the consumer to properly choose which way to go. They need to know what's in demand, and try to figure out if it has staying power or will become the next fad by the same time next year.

One example is the perforated foil tube, Tstix, billed as "the new-fashioned way to enjoy tea." La Piccola disagrees, telling potential customers instead that, "Pods produce an infusion far superior to that of any tea bag." But are these non-traditional styles of tea bag really better, or are they only meeting the mass-market demand for consumers who really aren't sure what tea should even taste like, just buying them because of the marketing hype and convenience factor.

When the first transparent gauze bags came out a few years ago, consumers reacted with excitement because the material allowed them to see the tea as it brewed. Today many tea companies are choosing this format.

Charles Cain of Adagio Teas explains why his company chose this style, "We put 100% of our loose tea collection (210 teas) into pyramid bags. At its heart, Adagio is a loose tea company, but we believe one of the best ways to grow the market is to first introduce the casual customer to better tea through tea bags."

Adagio believes they are more likely to get their customers to try loose tea, if they have first had a great drinking experience with their bagged teas.

Nick Gandon of Reginald Ames of London agrees. They purchased a new Fuso pyramid bag machine to pack their client's teas because they wanted to be at the cutting edge of the market that has taken a strong interest in the pyramid. Says Gandon, "The pyramid bag looks great and combines the essence of high quality loose leaf tea with the ease of a tea bag-the perfect recipe." He goes on to say, "There are always fads in every industry, tea included, but the pyramid is far more than that. It's here to stay and it will grow fantastically."

It appears he's right, as more and more tea companies are using the pyramid gauze bag to package their specialty and gourmet teas.

Ajay Kichlu, marketing director of Chamong Tee Exports of India, also agrees that pyramid bags are the way of the future, and has also invested in a Fuso machine to produce the pyramid bags. Says Kichlu, "pyramid bags give better liquor because they are larger leaf... and are also staple-free and glue-free."

There will always be products that come and go as fads, and those with staying power. It looks like the transparent gauze pyramid tea bags are the latter, and will be around for awhile. It's also possible that by providing a better tea experience with a better tea bag, might eventually lead to consumers opting to try their hand at brewing loose leaf teas, further improve their ultimate tea drinking experience. Darlene Freiberg is a freelance copywriter, author, and web publisher, with an avid interest in TEA. For more information or to learn more about tea, visit http://www.theteadetective.com And to learn more about tea bags and the different types and styles available, visit: http://www.theteadetective.com/TeaBagShapesAndStyles.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darlene_Freiberg Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7477464