Why Eisa Tea Co. Will Never Use Tea Bags

Lately, we’ve noticed a lot of videos going around saying tea bags ‘aren’t that bad’ and that the media has been overhyping the problem. Our opinion is clearly quite controversial, but we believe that this is wrong. Very wrong. Tea bags suck.

At Eisa Tea Co., we believe tea should be honest. Honest in flavour, honest in sourcing, and honest in presentation. That’s why we’ve made the conscious decision to sell only loose leaf tea, no tea bags. Not even the so-called ‘eco-friendly’ ones.

Why? Because when it comes to plastics in tea bags, there’s more going on than most brands admit. And as that conversation grows, we think it’s important to cut through the spin and share what’s really happening.

The Plastic Most People Don’t Know They’re Brewing: PLA

A lot of modern tea bags — the ‘silky’, ‘mesh’, or ‘plant-based’ ones — are made from PLA: polylactic acid. It’s a bioplastic that comes from crops like corn, cassava, or sugarcane instead of petroleum.

Sounds pretty good, right? But here’s the thing: PLA is still plastic. It looks and feels like nylon, functions like plastic, and behaves like plastic when disposed of because it is plastic.

For more context, the process of making PLA goes like this:

1. Starches are extracted from the plant

2. The starches are fermented into lactic acid

3. This acid is chemically transformed into a polymer, a plastic resin

4. The resin is spun into mesh fibres, used to produce modern tea bag sachets

   
   

Is PLA Safer Than Traditional Plastic?

PLA does avoid fossil fuels in production, but that doesn’t make it biodegradable in the way most people assume. To actually break down, it needs:

• Temperatures exceeding 55°C (130°F)

• High humidity

• A steady supply of active microbes, typically only present in commercial composting facilities

Very few councils in the UK—or anywhere else, for that matter—are equipped with facilities that meet these requirements. Most PLA products end up in general waste, where they persist in the environment like any other synthetic polymer.

In landfills or oceans, PLA behaves much like standard plastic: it resists decomposition, breaks into smaller particles, and can contribute to long-term pollution. Turtles eat it, and turtles die.

And we love turtles.

Loose Leaf: The Cleaner, Simpler, Better Choice

At Eisa Tea Co., we believe the best cup of tea is also the most minimal: tea and water, full stop.

But going plastic-free is only one part of our story; we also care deeply about where our tea comes from and who grows it.

Most tea workers worldwide are women, yet they’re often underpaid and overlooked. That’s why we work directly with small, family-run farms across China, Japan, and India — many of them led by women — to make sure farmers are treated fairly and their voices are heard.

Our teas are:

• 100% pesticide-free and plastic-free (duh)

• single-origin and handcrafted

• grown by people we know and trust

• part of a movement that supports women in tea

And through our Empowerment Fund, 5% of profits go back into education, mentorship, and financial support for women in tea farming communities.

We believe tea should be something that connects, nurtures, and empowers, not exploits. That’s why you won’t see tea bags from us — not now, not later. For us, honesty will always matter more than convenience.

When you choose Eisa Tea Co., you’re choosing more than great flavour. You’re choosing transparency, sustainability, and fairness, from garden to cup. And we love that for you <3