Editing Tea (section)

== Packaging ==

=== Tea bags ===

{{Main|Tea bag}}

[[File:Tea bags.jpg|thumb|Tea bags]]

In 1907, American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan began distributing samples of his tea in small bags of silk with a drawstring. Consumers noticed they could simply leave the tea in the bag and reuse it with fresh tea. However, the potential of this distribution and packaging method would not be fully realised until later. During World War II, tea was rationed in the United Kingdom. In 1953, after [[Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II|rationing in the UK]] ended, [[Yorkshire]]-based tea manufacturer [[Tetley]] launched the tea bag in the UK, and it was an immediate success.

The "pyramid tea bag" (or sachet), introduced by Lipton<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lipton.com/en_en/jane-1,180.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430040636/http://www.lipton.com/en_en/jane-1%2C180.aspx |archive-date=30 April 2011 |title=Lipton Institute of Tea – Interview of Steve, Tea technology manager, Chapter: A Culture of Innovation |publisher=Lipton |year=2008 |access-date=26 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and PG Tips/Scottish Blend in 1996,<ref>{{cite web |title=PG Tips – About Us |url=http://www.pgtips.co.uk/aboutus/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070120162321/http://www.pgtips.co.uk/aboutus/|archive-date=20 January 2007 |access-date=17 February 2009 |work=pgtips.co.uk}}</ref> attempts to address one of the connoisseurs' arguments against paper tea bags by way of its three-dimensional [[tetrahedron]] shape, which allows more room for tea leaves to expand while steeping.<ref>{{Cite web|date=22 October 2011|title=Change brewing for reshaped tea market|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/change-brewing-for-reshaped-tea-market-1320676.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/change-brewing-for-reshaped-tea-market-1320676.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=17 February 2021|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref> However, some types of pyramid tea bags have been criticised as being environmentally unfriendly, since their synthetic material is not as biodegradable as loose tea leaves and paper tea bags.<ref>{{cite news |title=Most UK teabags not fully {{sic|biodeg|radeable|nolink=y}}, research reveals |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=4 May 2012 |first=Rebecca |last=Smithers |date=2 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204105012/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable |archive-date=4 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Loose tea ===

[[File:English Westminster Tea.jpg|thumb|A blend of loose-leaf black teas]]

The tea leaves are packaged loosely in a canister, paper bag, or other container such as a [[tea chest]]. Some whole teas, such as rolled [[gunpowder tea]] leaves, which resist crumbling, are vacuum-packed for freshness in [[BoPET|aluminised packaging]] for storage and retail. The loose tea is individually measured for use, allowing for flexibility and flavour control at the expense of convenience. Strainers, [[Infuser|tea balls]], tea presses, filtered teapots, and infusion bags prevent loose leaves from floating in the tea and over-brewing. A traditional method uses a three-piece lidded teacup called a [[gaiwan]], the lid of which is tilted to decant the tea into a different cup for consumption.

=== Compressed tea ===

[[File:Xiaguan Te Ji Tuo Cha 2004.jpg|thumb|Sheng (raw) [[pu-erh]] ''[[tuo cha]]'', a type of compressed aged raw pu-erh]]
[[Tea brick]]s or compressed tea are produced for convenience in transport, storage, and ageing. It can usually be stored longer without spoilage than loose leaf tea. Compressed tea is prepared by loosening leaves from the cake using a small knife, and steeping the extracted pieces in water. During the Tang dynasty, as described by Lu Yu, compressed tea was ground into a powder, combined with hot water, and ladled into bowls, resulting in a "frothy" mixture.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=50}} In the [[Song dynasty]], the tea powder would instead be whisked with hot water in the bowl. Although no longer practiced in China today, the whisking method of preparing powdered tea was transmitted to Japan by [[Zen]] [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monks, and is still used to prepare [[matcha]] in the [[Japanese tea ceremony]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=62}} Chinese [[Pu'er tea|pu-erh]] is often distributed in the form, as other teas may sometimes be.

Compressed tea was the most popular form of tea in China during the Tang dynasty.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=48}} By the beginning of the Ming dynasty, it had been displaced by loose-leaf tea.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=110}} It remains popular, however, in the Himalayan countries and Mongolian steppes. In Mongolia, tea bricks were ubiquitous enough to be used as a form of currency. Among Himalayan peoples, compressed tea is consumed by combining it with [[yak butter]] and salt to produce [[butter tea]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=124–36}}

=== Instant tea ===

{{main|Instant tea}}

"Instant tea", similar to [[Freeze drying|freeze-dried]] [[instant coffee]] and an alternative to brewed tea, can be consumed either hot or cold. Instant tea was developed in the 1930s, with [[Nestlé]] introducing the first commercial product in 1946, while Redi-Tea debuted instant [[iced tea]] in 1953. Additives such as [[Masala chai|chai]], vanilla, honey or fruit, are popular, as is [[powdered milk]].

During the Second World War British and Canadian soldiers were issued an instant tea in their composite ration ("compo"<!--abbrev. of composite ration-->) packs. These blocks of instant tea, powdered milk, and sugar were not always well received. As Royal Canadian Artillery Gunner, George C Blackburn observed:

{{blockquote|But, unquestionably, the feature of Compo rations destined to be remembered beyond all others is Compo tea...Directions say to "sprinkle powder on heated water and bring to the boil, stirring well, three heaped teaspoons to one pint of water."

Every possible variation in the preparation of this tea was tried, but...it always ended up the same way. While still too hot to drink, it is a good-looking cup of strong tea. Even when it becomes just cool enough to be sipped gingerly, it is still a good-tasting cup of tea, if you like your tea strong and sweet. But let it cool enough to be quaffed and enjoyed, and your lips will be coated with a sticky scum that forms across the surface, which if left undisturbed will become a leathery membrane that can be wound around your finger and flipped away...<ref>{{cite book |last=Blackburn |first=George |title=The Guns of Normandy: A Soldier's Eye View, France 1944 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kL0hdkLlovgC&pg=PT93 |isbn=978-1-55199-462-8 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424075208/https://books.google.com/books?id=kL0hdkLlovgC&pg=PT93 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

=== Bottled and canned tea ===

{{main|Canned tea}}

Canned tea is sold prepared and ready to drink. It was introduced in 1981 in Japan. The first bottled tea was introduced by an Indonesian tea company, PT. Sinar Sosro in 1969 with the brand name Teh Botol Sosro (or Sosro bottled tea).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sosro.com/in/tehbotol-sosro |title=PT. Sinar Sosro |access-date=29 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080750/http://www.sosro.com/in/tehbotol-sosro |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1983, Swiss-based Bischofszell Food Ltd. was the first company to bottle iced tea on an industrial scale.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bina.ch/cms/geschichte/?L=1 |title=Bischofszell Food Ltd |publisher=Bina.ch |access-date=25 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000057/http://www.bina.ch/cms/geschichte/?L=1 |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref>