What are tea bags. The History of the Invention of the Tea Bag The Invention of Tea Bags for Children

The technological evolution of tea began in the 19th century, when the British commissioned tea factories and tea production became machine-made. This led to the rapid development of new ways of turning the tea leaf into a raw material for making a drink.

Remember, in James Cameron's movie Titanic, Captain Smith brews a tea bag in a mug? It's most likely a scriptwriter's mistake. The prototype of tea in a bag, of course, was at the beginning of the 20th century, but it appeared on the market much later than the wreck of the Titanic.

The first significant change occurred with tea in 1904, and it had nothing to do with factories - tea bags appeared in the USA. And this curiosity of the beginning of the century is now gradually replacing the classic loose tea and is produced exclusively on automated lines. 77% of the tea consumed in Europe is tea bags. And in conservative England - the trendsetter of tea fashion - tea bags are consumed by 93% of the population.

It all started like this: In 1904, the American businessman Thomas Sullivan first proposed an unusual way of drinking tea. He began to send out batches of different types of tea in silk bags to his customers. Each of the bags contained the amount of tea leaves needed to brew one mug of tea. The purpose of the mailings was by no means a desire to simplify the tea ceremony. These were the probes! That is, customers could compare different varieties of tea without buying large batches, and then make a choice.

A few years later, during the First World War, the tea company in Dresden Teekanne (Teapot) adopted this idea, modified it, and began to organize supplies to the army in the form of bags of gauze. The soldiers called these bags "tea bombs", due to the fact that, if desired, they could quickly drink a cup of tea at any time.

Indebted to its appearance by such an accident, "tea in bags" was first made by hand. Only by 1929 did the first factory bags appear.

In the twenties, the American engineer Fay Osborne, who served in a company that produced different grades of paper, became interested in brewing tea without a teapot. He thought he might try to find a variety that would be cheaper than silk, gauze, or gauze, and would not have any taste of its own. One day he drew attention to the unusual thin, soft, but strong paper in which some varieties of cigars were packed. After learning that this type of paper was made in Japan by hand from some exotic fiber, in 1926 he decided to make the same paper. He tried different varieties of tropical wood, jute, sisal, cotton and even fibers from pineapple leaves. Nothing worked. Finally, he stumbled upon the so-called manila hemp, or, in short, manila, from which sea ropes are twisted (in fact, this plant has nothing to do with hemp, it is a relative of the banana). The result was promising.

In 1929-31, Osborne tested various chemistries that would make manila paper more porous for the same strength. Having found the right method, he spent several more years converting his laboratory process, which made single sheets, into a large machine that produced whole rolls of paper.

In the meantime, cloth pouches with tea leaves have already gained a foothold in the American market. They were made from gauze, and the figure speaks of the scale: in the thirties, more than seven million meters of gauze were consumed annually for tea in the United States. By the spring of 1934, Osborne had set up production of manila fiber tea paper on a large machine. Already in 1935, his paper was also used for packing meat, silverware and electrical products. By the end of the thirties, paper bags were already successfully competing with gauze.

But with the outbreak of World War II, beckoning became a strategic raw material (it grows only in the Philippines), and the US authorities not only forbade spending it on tea bags, but also requisitioned Osborne's stocks for the needs of the fleet. The inventor did not give up, he organized the “washing” of decommissioned manila ropes from dirt and oil, and since this raw material was not enough, he introduced viscose additives into his paper. Continuing research, in 1942 he received a new, very thin, but strong enough paper without manila fiber, and two years later he found a way to "glue" the edges of the bags by hot pressing instead of stitching with threads. These two achievements opened the way for tea bags to the table.

In the late 1950s, the first two-chamber tea bag closed with metal staples, which was patented by Teekanne, saw the light of day. The novelty made it possible to speed up the process of tea brewing even more. However, according to other sources, in 1952, the company of tea king Thomas Lipton (some mistakenly attribute the authorship of tea bags to him) created and patented double tea bags. Although it may be that the Teekanne belonged to Lipton by that time.

Over time, the assortment of tea bags has been replenished with new forms; bags appeared in the form of a pyramid, square and round without a thread, which are especially loved by the inhabitants of England. And not only staples began to be used for fastening, the bag also began to be thermally sealed.

Today, tea bags occupy a leading position in the tea market. Which is not surprising, because in such a convenient guise you can find many types of tea. And after spending just a few minutes to prepare, you can enjoy the wonderful taste and aroma of black, green, fruit or herbal tea.

There is a strong opinion that tea bags- This is a waste of the main production of tea. Like instant coffee, tea bags are bought by lazy people who do not understand what's what. There are many excuses, one of which is that you have to pay with taste for convenience and speed. Manufacturers, on the other hand, claim that tea in bags is simply smaller and its quality is not, almost worse than large-leaved tea.

And here are a few more stories of ordinary things: for example, and here

As the latest technologies develop, there is a need to create more and more new products that present us with a huge variety of convenience foods, which give rise to disputes between people about their usefulness and safety. Standing apart among such benefits of civilization is the discovery, which is already a little over a hundred years old. This invention turned over thousands of years of tradition, but managed not to affect not only the properties of the product itself, but also the attitude towards it. So the opening is the tea bag.

The history of the tea bag

It all started with a coincidence. Push for making a tea bag was the flooding of the hold of the ship of the American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan, in which bags of tea were stored. “Well, we drank some tea…”, Thomas was upset. In vain he was upset - they still bought tea from him right in wet bags, and even said thank you. So Mr. Sullivan came up with the idea to establish the production of tea bags. But there are some sources that claim that first tea bag sold not by Thomas Sullivan, but by a certain John Horniman in order to stop the reuse of tea leaves once and for all.

But let's continue talking about Sullivan's invention. Until 1904, tea was shipped in large tins. Thomas Sullivan first proposed an unusual way of drinking tea. He began sending out batches of different varieties of tea in silk bags to his customers. Each bag contained as many tea leaves as needed to brew one mug of tea. In this way, customers were given the opportunity to compare different varieties of tea without buying large batches, and then make a choice.

Gauze bags - "tea bombs"

During the First World War, Teekanne took the idea of ​​the "silk pouch" as a basis, modifying it: it organized supplies to the army in the form of gauze bags. Among the soldiers, such bags were called "tea bombs": if you wish, you could quickly drink a cup of tea at any time.

Tea paper and bag making

Before 1929 tea bags are made by hand. In the twenties of the last century, engineer Fay Osborne, who served in a company for the production of different grades of paper, became interested in the question brewing tea without a teapot. The idea came to him that he could try to find a variety that would be cheaper than silk, gauze or gas and would not have any taste of its own. One day, an unusual thin, soft, but strong paper caught his eye, in which some varieties of cigars were packed. After learning that this type of paper was made in Japan by hand from some exotic fiber, in 1926 he decided to make the same paper.

American engineer Fay Osborne tried different varieties of tropical wood, jute, sisal, cotton and even fibers from pineapple leaves. There was no result. In the end, he discovered the so-called manila hemp, or, in short, manila, from which sea ropes are twisted (in fact, this plant has nothing to do with hemp, it is a relative of the banana). The result was promising.

In 1929-31, Osborne tested various chemistries that would make manila paper more porous for the same strength. Having found the right method, he spent several more years converting his laboratory process, which made single sheets, into a large machine that produced whole rolls of paper. By the spring of 1934, Osborne had established making tea paper from manila fiber in a big car. Already in 1935, his paper was also used for packaging meat, silverware and electrical products. By the end of the thirties paper bags have already successfully competed with gauze.

The Second World War made adjustments to the actions of the inventor: beckoning became a strategic raw material and the US authorities not only forbade spending it on tea bags, but also requisitioned Osborne's stocks for the needs of the fleet. In 1942, continuing his research, he invented a new, very thin, but strong enough paper without manila fiber, and two years later he found a way to "glue" the edges of the bags by hot pressing instead of stitching with thread, which paved the way for tea bags to the table.

Perforated tea bags

The British were very skeptical about the invention of the Americans: they did not like that the Americans brewed tea in slightly warm water, and not in boiling water, and the bag often fell into the cup and gave more taste than the tea dust itself in the bag. Joseph Tetley Company, the UK's largest tea manufacturer, spent nearly 10 years getting the British to embrace the invention. Everything changed in 1964 when perforated tea bags. Today, Tetley sells 200 million tea bags a week.

Tea bag yesterday and today

In 1950, the same Teekanne company proposed to pack tea leaves in special two-chamber bags made of the finest filter paper. This greatly improved the taste of the tea and tea bags began to become widespread and gradually gained popularity in all countries, reaching the CIS countries in the 90s of the last century. In 1938, the American company Dexter patented the filter paper, which is still in use today. Well, the tea bag itself was patented only in 1952 by a successful tea manufacturer named Lipton.

Benefits of tea bags

The most important benefits of tea bags over regular tea lies in the fact that the smallest particles of tea leaves obtained during processing are placed in bags. As a rule, these are the edges of the leaf, in which the highest concentration of nutrients and aroma. This disproves the notion that tea bags are of poor quality. Today tea bags can be seen in any country in the world, even in China, even if only in hotels for Europeans. The Chinese themselves still do not deny themselves the pleasure of enjoying the tea ceremony.

Currently tea bags gradually replaces classic loose tea and is produced exclusively on automated lines. 77% of the tea consumed in Europe is tea bags. And in conservative England - the trendsetter of tea fashion - tea bags are consumed by 93% of the population.

Sourced from p-i-f.livejournal.com

The technological evolution of tea began in the 19th century, when the British commissioned tea factories and tea production became machine-made. This led to the rapid development of new ways of turning the tea leaf into a raw material for making a drink.

Remember, in the movie "Titanic" - James Cameron, Captain Smith brews a tea bag in a mug? It's most likely a scriptwriter's mistake. The prototype of tea in a bag, of course, was at the beginning of the 20th century, but it appeared on the market much later than the wreck of the Titanic.

The first significant change occurred with tea in 1904, and it had nothing to do with factories - tea bags appeared in the USA. And this curiosity of the beginning of the century is now gradually replacing the classic loose tea and is produced exclusively on automated lines. 77% of the tea consumed in Europe is tea bags. And in conservative England - the trendsetter of tea fashion - tea bags are consumed by 93% of the population.

It all started like this: In 1904, the American businessman Thomas Sullivan first proposed an unusual way of drinking tea. He began to send out batches of different types of tea in silk bags to his customers. Each of the bags contained the amount of tea leaves needed to brew one mug of tea. The purpose of the mailings was by no means a desire to simplify the tea ceremony. These were the probes! That is, customers could compare different varieties of tea without buying large batches, and then make a choice.

A few years later, during the First World War, the tea company in Dresden Teekanne (Teapot) adopted this idea, modified it, and began to organize supplies to the army in the form of bags of gauze. The soldiers called these bags "tea bombs", due to the fact that, if desired, they could quickly drink a cup of tea at any time.

Indebted to its appearance by such an accident, "tea in bags" was first made by hand. Only by 1929 did the first factory bags appear.

In the twenties, the American engineer Fay Osborne, who served in a company that produced different grades of paper, became interested in brewing tea without a teapot. He thought that he could try to find a brand that would be cheaper than silk, gauze or gas and would not have any taste of its own. One day he noticed an unusual thin, soft, but strong paper in which some varieties of cigars were packed. After learning that this type of paper was made in Japan by hand from some exotic fiber, in 1926 he decided to make the same paper. He tried different varieties of tropical wood, jute, sisal, cotton and even fibers from pineapple leaves. Nothing worked. Finally, he stumbled upon the so-called manila hemp, or, in short, manila, from which sea ropes are twisted (in fact, this plant has nothing to do with hemp, it is a relative of the banana). The result was promising.

In 1929-31, Osborne tested various chemistries that would make manila paper more porous for the same strength. Having found the right method, he spent several more years converting his laboratory process, which made single sheets, into a large machine that produced whole rolls of paper.

In the meantime, cloth pouches with tea leaves have already gained a foothold in the American market. They were made from gauze, and the figure speaks of the scale: in the thirties, more than seven million meters of gauze were consumed annually for tea in the United States. By the spring of 1934, Osborne had set up production of manila fiber tea paper on a large machine. Already in 1935, his paper was also used for packing meat, silverware and electrical products. By the end of the thirties, paper bags were already successfully competing with gauze.

But with the outbreak of World War II, beckoning became a strategic raw material (it grows only in the Philippines), and the US authorities not only forbade spending it on tea bags, but also requisitioned Osborne's stocks for the needs of the fleet. The inventor did not give up, he arranged the “washing” of decommissioned manila ropes from dirt and oil, and since this raw material was not enough, he added viscose additives to his paper. Continuing research, in 1942 he received a new, very thin, but strong enough paper without manila fiber, and two years later he found a way to “glue” the edges of the bags by hot pressing instead of stitching with threads. These two achievements opened the way for tea bags to the table.

In the late 1950s, the first two-chamber tea bag closed with metal staples, which was patented by Teekanne, saw the light of day. The novelty made it possible to speed up the process of tea brewing even more. However, according to other sources, in 1952, the company of tea king Thomas Lipton (some mistakenly attribute the authorship of tea bags to him) created and patented double tea bags. Although it may be that the Teekanne belonged to Lipton by that time.

Over time, the assortment of tea bags was replenished with new shapes - there appeared bags in the form of a pyramid, square and round without a thread, which are especially loved by the inhabitants of England. And not only staples began to be used for fastening, the bag also began to be thermally sealed.

Today, tea bags occupy a leading position in the tea market. Which is not surprising, because in such a convenient guise you can find many types of tea. And after spending just a few minutes to prepare, you can enjoy the wonderful taste and aroma of black, green, fruit or herbal tea.

There is a strong opinion that tea bags- This is a waste of the main production of tea. Like instant coffee, tea bags are bought by lazy people who do not understand what's what. There are many excuses, one of which is that you have to pay with taste for convenience and speed. Manufacturers, on the other hand, claim that tea in bags is simply smaller and its quality is not, almost worse than large-leaved tea.

And here are a few more stories of ordinary things: for example, and here

About 100 years ago, the history of the tea bag began. Initially, tea was packed in metal cans (we can still see them on store shelves). They protected tea from sunlight, moisture and air, which could harm it.

However, Thomas Sullivan, a businessman from New York, in 1904 decided to change the packaging, and he packaged his goods in silk bags. The customers, quite embarrassed by the new packaging, drop it into a cup without opening the bag... And to their surprise, the tea is brewed! After 15 years, factory production of tea bags and its sale in stores were established.

But don't think that this is where the tea bag story ends, no, it's only just beginning. The material and shape of the bag itself will change more than once. Over time, expensive silk will be replaced with gauze, which, however, will give the tea a somewhat unpleasant aftertaste. That is why work will continue on the invention of a suitable material for tea bags.

And finally, the material was found, it was a special paper invented by the American engineer Fey Osborne, who works at a paper mill. Initially, the basis of this paper was manila hemp, and then viscose, which has a porous structure that perfectly passed water and did not lose its strength.

The method of packaging bags has also changed, because previously they were sewn together with a thread, but now, when a special thin paper was invented, hot pressing began to be used. At the same time, the taste of tea in bags has become more saturated and strong, not like ordinary leaf tea.

Due to this fact, fears began to arise that the bags contained not natural tea, but simply waste - fine tea dust, due to which rapid brewing occurs. In fact, tea bags differ from leaf tea only in the degree of crushing of the leaf. Tea bags are used to pack a special type of tea (fannings). It is smaller in size than traditional loose leaf tea, which is used for teapots.

The smaller the leaf size, the faster the tea is brewed, since it is easier for small tea leaves to part with their contents. In this case, the drink turns out to be stronger and more saturated.

Every day, tea from bags is becoming more and more firmly established in our lives. The frantic rhythm of the cities leaves no time for a modern person for long gatherings at the samovar and for meditation during the tea ceremony. What are bags, who invented them and do they contain real tea?

What the story is about

Tea bags were created by accident, like most useful discoveries. Thomas Sullivan, who lived at the beginning of the 20th century, decided that it was more economical to use small packages of tea, which was previously sold only in large metal cans.

Using silk bags filled with some tea leaves, Sullivan created the first semblance of modern tea bags. New York restaurateurs who bought this tea were pleasantly surprised by the invention. After all, tea could now be brewed in a bag and not use a strainer. Of course, over time, expensive silk was abandoned in favor of ordinary cheap gauze. But the bags didn't get worse. And during the First World War, they were already being used with might and main.

Not all historians agree that Sullivan was the discoverer of tea bags. Shortly before this, in 1901, Elena Molokhovets, a classic of culinary literature, wrote about the method of making tea for a large family. In it, she advised to boil water in a small samovar, and lower the tea tied in a cloth into it. It is recommended to tie the fabric with a ribbon, which is fixed on the samovar.

Officially, the invention was registered by Adolf Ralbold, an engineer from Dresden. He invented the packing machine in 1929. At first, she produced only 25 bags per minute, but after 20 years she managed to improve it to 160 bags per minute.

For packaging, gauze was used, later it was replaced with paper obtained from manila hemp. Over the years, and it was replaced by filtered paper.

The double-chamber bag appeared only in 1950. Teekanne received a patent for this invention. The infusion began to turn out faster.

In the 1970s, bagged tea took the lead, displacing brick tea, which made the drink cloudy and unattractive.

Tea bags in the modern world

No matter how strange it may sound, the UK, famous for its tea, ranks first in the consumption of tea bags among European countries. This is 96%. Tea in bags is served not only in public places, but also brewed at home.

In our country, tea bags did not take root for a long time. At the beginning of the 20th century, the share of such tea on the market was only 9%. And only in 2015, bags overtook loose tea.

Modern bag, what is it?

This is the dose of tea intended for one-time brewing. It is placed in a bag of filtered paper, closed with a bracket or tied with a thread. Glue is not used so as not to spoil the taste and aroma of the drink. There are bags, usually, these are cheap varieties, sealed on all sides and without a thread by which you can pull out the bag.

In Europe, rectangular bags are more common. There are two-chamber and one-chamber. Many manufacturers have recently begun to produce tea in pyramids. A patent for them was issued in 1996. According to marketers, tea is better brewed in them. For me, it's worse. Although, if the tea is bad, it will not be brewed in a bag of any shape.

In England, they use round bags without a thread, they are designed to "lie" on the bottom of the cup. They also produce large-volume tea bags for making tea in a teapot.

Interestingly, tea paper bags are sold without filling. You can independently put your favorite tea in them, drag it with a thread and use it.

Composition of packaging paper

What is filter paper made from? The composition of natural wood fiber, it is harmless. It also contains abaca fiber and thermoplastic fiber (about 20%). The paper does not soak in water, does not emit impurities, is absolutely harmless, and does not affect the taste of tea.

When buying tea in mesh bags, which some manufacturers have begun to produce, you need to remember that such a mesh will not be able to filter out fine dust. Tea in it should be large-leaf.

Tea bags are sold in cardboard boxes. To preserve the aroma of tea, many manufacturers use double packaging, placing each bag in foil or paper packaging.

Are there any tea bags?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to talk about the high quality of tea produced in bags. This is not an elite tea with tips, but most often production waste, category D tea raw materials. It may contain dust and twigs. There can be no talk of a special tea aroma, aftertaste.

But it is not all that bad. Fortunately, not all manufacturers put one tea dust in bags. Many keep the brand, trying to please the buyer with a quality product.

Look at the photo:

Here are 4 types of tea from different manufacturers, two are made in Russia, two in Europe. Price category - 40-60 rubles for 25 bags.

1 - black tea with apple and rose hips.

3 - black Ceylon tea.

4 - green tea with cloudberries.

As you can see, there is no dust anywhere. This is a tea, only quite heavily crushed. In the first sample, you can see fruit additives. Green tea is flavored, so there are no additives in it. All presented teas retained their aroma, the infusion is rich.

This means that even among the tea bags you can find inexpensive and quite decent taste.

Tea bag accessories

The birth of tea bags led to the emergence of special accessories. These are coasters for tea bags of 2 types: for used bags and for new ones. They are produced from porcelain, ceramics, glass, and even plastic.