Usually they’re paper, but misguided companies have been pushing plastic. I guess some consultants somewhere think the plastic format looks like it should cost more. Personally, to me the plastic format looks like a hazard, so I avoid it.
Some research has found that plastic teabags robustly dose the tea drinker with not only microplastics but also nanoplastics:
I think fancy pyramid-shaped teabags are often nylon (ie plastic) and less often silk (eg I think teapigs might use silk). More old-school flat bags are generally some sort of papery stuff, although that could be bleached with something nasty.
If you worry about plastic and sundry chemicals in drinks you're better off just making loose tea. You get a better cup of tea and you know that tea is all that's in it. (other than anything that was already in the water to start with)
If Starbucks itself isn’t clearly explaining why its Teavana teabags are safer than other plastic teabags, then the consumer is better off assuming that they’re not.
Premium brands advertise what makes their products premium, so that they can charge more or increase sales. They don’t do it for free out of the goodness of their hearts.
Sure. All I'm saying is I don't know enough about the chemistry to know whether this type of biodegradable affects whether there is microplastic residue in the drink.
Paper manufacturing is not devoid of chemicals, it needs bleaching to be white and all the machines to put it in its final shape use mineral oils that find way into the final product. But maybe the quality of the tea itself dwarves the things you find in teabags.
Bleached paper is probably not a threat to testicles, but it's taking a toll on the environment they're living in. And it's for a frivolous reason: having snow white paper.
Some research has found that plastic teabags robustly dose the tea drinker with not only microplastics but also nanoplastics:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940