The story about how teabags were invented

Tea lovers are known to enjoy a cup of tea year-round, it’s a staple drink that is loved by many around the world. Making tea is a tedious process as it involves the use of many utensils like pots, strainers, loose tea leaves, and spoons.

With the invention of the Tea Bag, the brewing process became simplified, but what led to the invention of tea bags?

Thomas Sullivan, the son of a tea merchant, created the tea bag in the 1900s and planned to send out free tea samples to his prospective clients. At that time, tea was a luxury item and was sold in tin boxes. But since free samples in small quantities had to be sent, Thomas devised a plan to cut costs and sent tea samples packed in small silk pouches.

The customers were confused about how to use the pouches and directly used them to make tea by putting them in a cup and pouring hot water on it. Surprisingly, they found this process of making tea much easier and this led to them placing more orders for tea pouches with Thomas. After this, Thomas started selling tea bags which gave a major boost to his business.

Although Sullivan may have created the ‘tea bag,’ he wasn’t the first person to come up with the idea.

The two women submitted an application to patent their invention, a ‘tea leaf holder’ in the year 1901. After two years, on March 24, 1903, their application was accepted and the patent was granted. The tea leaf holder was made using mesh and made the job of brewing tea and cleaning much easier, as it facilitated the process of making tea directly in a cup.

With time, the concept of the teabag went through a lot of changes and became what it is today, a simple tea bag made of food-grade fabric.