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Introduction
Teapigs is a tea company I came across as a gift from my family. I hadn’t heard of the Teapigs before but I did find the name rather intriguing. I was told Teapigs was a high quality tea company and I should try them. I was gifted flavors Chai Masala, Apple Cinnamon, and Green Tea Hibiscus.
The Teapigs design was the common millennial minimalism that I love so much so I was instantly drawn in. However, every company is going this direction so just having a cute design and buzzwords isn’t enough to gain my future business. Let’s take a deep dive into Tea Pigs and see are they worth your business!
Teapigs Liquorice and Peppermint Tea on Amazon
Who is Teapigs?
The name is really what stuck out to me and I love quirky names. Everyone puts so much emphasis on business names having to be serious or representative of the brand in some fancy way. According to the Teapigs FAQ, they simply got their name to be memorable and that’s it. They do mention that they tend to “pig out” on great tea so the name does have some relation to the company.
The company was founded by tea enthusiasts Louise Cheadle and Nick Kilby in 2006. They were funded by a company called “Tata Consumer Products”. According to Tata’s website, the goal of Teapigs was to get British people drinking higher quality tea… I guess Earl Grey and PG Tips just wasn’t slapping enough.
Teapigs Plastic-Free Tea Temples
There’s a million billion tea companies out there so why does Teapigs stand out? The reason I was very interested in their tea was due to their plastic-free “tea temple” which is the name given to their pyramid shaped tea bags. Teapigs’ tea pyramids are made from plant-based corn starch so you can steep it as you normally would and enjoy high quality, guilt-free tea. Even the plastic looking bag in the box that holds the tea pyramids is made from wood pulp so there’s absolutely no plastic in a Teapigs’ product. Huge win for anyone looking to continue living a plastic avoidant lifestyle.
Why are Plastic-Free Teabags Important?
The average tea bag has contains billions of microplastic particles. When I do drink tea it will either be loose leaf or I break open the tea bag and empty it into my french press. Water heated to boiling will break down the plastics in tea bags and will deliver billions of microplastics into your cellular make-up. Imagine drinking a lifetime’s worth of this. And believe me I’ve had my fair share, so this is all about doing the best we can while moving forward.
Where is the Tea Sourced From?
Unfortunately, Teapigs does not disclose their sources of tea which does concern me a bit. The only thing Teapigs mentions about their source is they work with estates in countries Rwanda, Taiwan, China and India. I reached out to ask more about the estates just to see if they will give anymore information. When I search for a product, I like to know the estates and/or cooperatives from which the product is sourced. A company like Raaka Chocolate discloses the cooperative they work with for their cacao, and I wish Teapigs would do the same, given their transparency in everything else.
Does Teapigs Tea Taste Good?
The tea is much better than the typical grocery store product. Teapigs doesn’t go into how they process their tea, so I can’t comment on their roast profile. The three flavors I’ve had weren’t bursting with flavor but were balanced and smooth. Many standard box store teas can be artificially too strong or lack flavor all together—especially green teas in my experience. What I like about Teapigs is how aromatic it is as I brew it and how the flavor matches the scent. I do, however, brew my tea like I do my coffee which is in 250ml of hot water (Shhh but I also just leave the bag in the mug so it’s extra strong).
Is Teapigs Good Quality?
You’ll notice that many box store teas are almost ground into a fine dust, giving them a powdery texture and a disaster when the nylon (microplastic) bags break open. Teapigs’ tea is very coarse and almost loose leaf textured where you can visibly see every piece of the tea leaf. The tea temples allow a greater distribution of flavor by having a larger surface area for water to access each tea leaf. This creates a much stronger and desirable tea flavor, making the drinking experience more enjoyable over dusty box store tea.
Teapigs Conclusion
All in all, Teapigs has been a refreshing experience for retail tea. Teapigs is plastic-free and is committed to a sustainable business model. They engage in humanitarian work in Rwanda, put great effort into sourcing ethically harvested tea, and have a huge variety of flavors for every preference. I can definitely recommend Teapigs as a good quality tea and a mostly transparent company about their business practices. Plus, their branding is a 10 out of 10. Go grab a bag, you won’t regret it.