Tea Mesh Materials and What Your Teabag Is Made Of
A teabag looks like the simplest part of making a cup of tea, but the material around the leaves has a real effect on the drink — how freely water moves through the blend, whether delicate ingredients stay properly contained, and what should happen to the bag once the last sip is gone. For anyone who chooses tea with care, the packaging deserves the same attention as what's inside.
We get asked fairly often what our own teabags are actually made from, so this piece does two things. First, it explains how the main teabag materials on the market differ, because the terms are used loosely. Then it sets out exactly what we use — the mesh, the outer packaging — and why we've left staples, string, and tags out altogether.
Why tea mesh materials matter in the cup
Tea needs space and moving water. When hot water reaches a bag, it carries flavour from leaves, petals, spices and fruit pieces into the cup. A tightly packed bag or an overly dense material slows it down, while a more open mesh allows water to circulate properly.
This is one reason pyramid-shaped bags suit larger-cut herbal blends so well. Whole peppermint leaves, chamomile flowers, lemongrass pieces and chunky fruit ingredients need more room than the fine particles found in a traditional flat teabag. A well-chosen mesh lets these ingredients unfurl rather than sit in a compact bundle.
Material also affects the practical side of brewing. A bag needs to stay intact in boiling water, avoid splitting at the seams and leave the cup free of loose fragments. Meeting those ordinary expectations while moving away from conventional plastic requires a considered choice of material — which is where many teabags differ more than their packaging lets on.
The main materials used for teabags
Paper filter material
Traditional teabags are often made from a paper-like filter material, commonly made from plant fibres such as abaca (also known as Manila hemp), wood pulp, or other cellulose fibres. It's light, economical, and well-suited to finely cut tea.
It's worth looking beyond the appearance, though. Some paper teabags are heat-sealed using a small amount of plastic, often polypropylene, which means a bag described simply as "paper" may not be suitable for a home compost bin even though most of it is fibre-based.
Nylon and PET mesh
The translucent, silky-looking mesh used in some pyramid bags is often nylon or PET, a polyester plastic. It's strong, stable in hot water, and gives large leaf pieces plenty of room. The trade-off is straightforward: nylon and PET are conventional plastics. They aren't biodegradable or compostable, and a used bag usually can't go into household recycling because it's small, damp, and filled with tea leaves.
PLA mesh
PLA stands for polylactic acid, a material made from plant-derived sugars rather than petroleum. It can be spun into a fine, non-woven mesh that works well for pyramid teabags, allowing water to flow through the blend properly, and it's increasingly used as an alternative to plastic mesh.
PLA is often described as compostable, but the conditions matter. Some PLA materials are designed for industrial composting, where heat, moisture and processing are carefully controlled — a typical garden compost heap may not reach those conditions, and not every council collects compostable packaging in food waste. Plant-derived, biodegradable and compostable are related but not interchangeable ideas, and we think a tea company should be precise about which one applies.
Cellulose-based mesh
Some teabags use mesh made from cellulose-based materials, sometimes marketed as biodegradable filter mesh. Cellulose comes from plant matter and can provide a soft, fabric-like feel while securely holding loose ingredients. As with PLA, the whole construction of the bag — thread, adhesive, tag, ink, any heat-sealing element — affects how it should actually be disposed of.
What are our own teabags made from
Our teabag mesh is a biodegradable, plant-derived PLA non-woven mesh, made from sugar cane grown in Thailand — not a conventional petroleum-based plastic like nylon or PET. It's the same category of material described above, and we've chosen it specifically because it allows larger-cut herbal ingredients to move properly in the water without relying on plastic mesh.
We don't use staples, string or tags on our teabags. That's a deliberate choice, not an oversight, and it's worth explaining why.
Why do we leave out staples, string and tags
A stapled tag is a familiar sight on a teabag, but it introduces a small metal component to something that's otherwise entirely plant-based — and metal staples cause a handful of genuine, practical problems. They're small enough to come loose and end up in a cup or a mouth without anyone noticing, which is a real concern for anyone making tea for children. They don't break down with the rest of the bag, so a stapled teabag can't simply go into a compost bin as a single item — the staple has to be picked out first, and if it's missed, it rusts in the compost and can turn up as a sharp fragment later, in a garden bed or a pot. Multiply that by a landfill's worth of teabags, and it adds up to a genuinely unnecessary source of metal waste.
Leaving staples out means the whole bag — mesh, stitched seam and all — can be treated as a single material rather than a mixed one that needs to be separated first. String and a printed tag add the same kind of complication for very little practical benefit on a bag that's brewed and then thrown away, so we've left those out too.
For more on what "biodegradable" does and doesn't guarantee once packaging leaves the kitchen, we've written about it in more detail in our article " Are plastics biodegradable? The honest answer.
Our outer packaging
The mesh is only part of the picture. Our outer tea packaging is 100% paper, with a food-safe, water-based lacquer applied to make it heat-sealable — so there's no plastic film involved in sealing the pack. Our smaller sizes are designed to fit through a standard letterbox, which matters more than it might sound: it means a delivery doesn't require someone to be home to receive it.
We go into the broader reasoning behind packaging choices like this — what claims like "plastic-free" and "compostable" actually commit us to — and why plastic-free, compostable packaging matters.
Mesh shape is not just a design choice
A flat, rectangular teabag is efficient and familiar. It works particularly well for smaller leaf grades and finely cut blends, where the contents don't need much room to expand, and it uses less material than a larger pyramid bag.
Pyramid mesh bags earn their shape with loose, visually varied ingredients. The extra volume helps large leaves and botanical pieces move around properly in the water, which suits aromatic, whole-ingredient blends particularly well — our Organic Herbal Chai and whole-leaf peppermint are both good examples of blends that need that room.
Neither format is automatically better. A compact bag can make an excellent brew when its contents suit it; a roomier mesh bag is the better choice for larger-cut ingredients. If you're weighing up format more generally, our piece on tea bags vs loose leaf covers that decision from a different angle.
How to read packaging claims with care
The wording on a box is a helpful starting point, but it shouldn't be the final word. "Plastic-free" may refer only to the outer wrap, not the teabag itself. "Plant-based" doesn't always mean suitable for home composting. "Compostable" may refer to industrial facilities that aren't available in every council area.
When you're comparing tea mesh materials, look for a clear description of the bag itself and direct guidance on what to do with it afterwards — paper, conventional plastic mesh, PLA, or cellulose-based material — and whether that means home composting, industrial composting, or general waste. Packaging is part of the product, especially for something as routine as tea, and it's reasonable to expect a little transparency rather than a single bold claim.
Getting the best from a mesh teabag
The material plays one part, but brewing habits matter too. Use freshly drawn water and give the bag enough room in the mug. With larger herbal ingredients, a gentle stir after pouring helps water reach every part of the blend, and covering the cup for a few minutes keeps the fragrance from drifting away before you get to enjoy it.
Follow the brewing guidance on the pack, as leaf size and ingredients vary — a delicate floral blend needs a different approach from a full-bodied spiced chai. Avoid squeezing the bag too hard at the end, as it can force fine particles into the cup and alter the texture of the finished brew.
The best tea packaging isn't the one with the boldest claim on the front. It's the one that suits the blend, makes a good cup, and tells you plainly what it's made from and where it belongs once the kettle's gone quiet.
Frequently asked questions
What is your teabag mesh actually made from?
A biodegradable, plant-derived PLA non-woven mesh, made from sugar cane grown in Thailand. It isn't paper, and it isn't a conventional plastic like nylon or PET — it's a plant-based material designed to break down rather than persist.
Do your teabags contain any plastic?
No conventional, petroleum-based plastic. Our mesh is PLA, a bioplastic made from plant sugars rather than fossil fuels, and it behaves differently from nylon or PET mesh in how it breaks down.
Why don't your teabags have staples, string or tags?
Mainly for safety and simplicity. A metal staple can come loose and end up somewhere it shouldn't — a real concern when children help make tea — and it doesn't break down with the rest of the bag, so it has to be removed before composting, or it can turn up later as a rusted fragment. Leaving staples, string and tags out means the whole bag is one material, brewed and disposed of as a single item.
Can I compost your teabags at home?
Our mesh is plant-derived and designed to break down rather than persist like conventional plastic, but we're not yet publishing a specific home-composting timeframe — we want that figure confirmed against our supplier's data sheet rather than estimated. Until then, the safest approach is to follow your local council's guidance on compostable packaging. We'll update this page with a confirmed timeframe as soon as we have one.
What is your outer tea packaging made from?
100% paper, with a food-safe, water-based lacquer applied to make it heat-sealable — no plastic film. Our smaller pack sizes are designed to fit through a standard letterbox.
Why choose a mesh teabag over a traditional flat paper one?
Mostly down to what's inside. Whole leaves, flowers, and larger-cut ingredients need room to move in the water, which a roomier mesh bag provides. A flat paper bag works well for finer, more finely cut tea, but can crowd larger ingredients. Neither is better in general — it depends on the blend.
