Being Green

International Tea Day is celebrated on 21 May. But did you know that most tea bags contain up to 25% of plastic. Many brands use a non-biodegradable plastic called polypropylene in the heat-sealing process and to help keep the bag in shape when it’s immersed in hot liquid. A recent study by Canadian researchers found that steeping a tea bag in boiling water releases billions of microparticles of plastic into your cup. To find out how to brew an eco-friendly cuppa, Glynis Crook spoke to Mingwei Tsai, the owner of Nigiro Tea Merchants and tea café.