Yes, it’s true. The tea bag is 100 years old. Still favored by many for their convenience, the tea bag was invented in June 1908 quite by accident. Tea merchant Thomas Sullivan of New York City sent samples of tea leaves in small silk pouch-like purses to potential customers, meaning for the bags to be opened and the leaves brewed as usual. Several Americans, not quite sure what to do with the little bags, dunked them into hot water. And liked it. So was born the tea bag.
After complaints that the mesh of the silk was too fine, Mr. Sullivan developed gauze bags which later became the paper bags we know and (some) love. However, there were complaints about being served lukewarm water for the bags and distust of the short string and attached tag. In 1930 William Hermanson of Boston’s Technical Papers Corporation patented the heat-sealed paper fiber tea bag. Shortage of materials during WWII prevented mass production. In 1953, Tetley, the British tea producer, spotted the commercial potential (and convenience) of the tea bag and worked to perfect the tea bag. Finally, in 1964, the finely perforated tea bag was developed and sales soared.
In 1989 Tetley switched from the square tea bag to a round one and a few years later it introduced the drawstring tea bag. In 1996 Lipton and PG Tips introduced the pyramid-shaped tea bag. Some criticize the pyramid-shaped bag stating the nylon will not degrade in landfills. Others praise it because it allows for better expansion of the tea leaf. Whatever your personal taste in teas Mr. Sullivan’s tea bag is here to stay.
Tea at the Unicorn Wine Guild 