15 Interesting Teas and Teabags

Amazon
Amazon / Amazon

There are plenty of fancy tea infusers on the market, but what about fun tea bags or just unusual tea in general? There’s a whole world of interesting tea flavors and packaging on the internet to explore. Here are some interesting ideas and designs people have come up with to push the limits of what tea can be.

1. NOVEL TEA

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A hot cup of tea and a good book are an obvious match, so it makes sense to combine them into delightful teabags that sport quotes from literary greats like Alice Hoffman and Mark Twain. Each pack comes with 25 English breakfast teabags with quotes from writers about books and tea. You can grab a pack on Amazon.

2. FISH TEABAG

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Taipei-based creative agency Charm Villa created adorable fish-shaped teabags that turn your mug into a fishbowl. When you plunk one of the tea-filled fish into water, the body swells and unfolds. When you pull the string, it looks like the fish is actually swimming. You can buy one on Amazon, but unfortunately, they cost a lot more here in the U.S. than they do in Taiwan.

3. VARIOUS SHAPES

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If you like the idea of fun-shaped teabags but aren’t a fan of the price, consider getting a pack from TeaHeritage. The French Etsy store creates adorable shaped teabags that resemble everything from bunnies to airplanes. Some even come with matching tags; for example, the star teabag comes with a glittery Saturn tag. 

4. FLOWERING PACKAGING

German designer Andrej Krahne came up with flowering teabags that open when they get wet. Each bag is connected to a paper flower or leaf that’s folded up. When the teabag is put in the mug, the paper tag stays afloat and slowly opens like a real flower.

5. ORIGAMI TEA BAGS

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Washington tea seller Dovely makes beautiful teabags that look like origami birds. They sell these special teabags in packs of 16 or individually with a card. You can buy them on Etsy.

6. MAPLE BACON TEA

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Yes, there truly is bacon-flavored everything. This bacon maple chai offers bacon lovers yet another way to enjoy their favorite meaty flavor. The tea comes from Tattle Tea, who sells the loose leaves in packages of five ounces.

7. TEA WITH A BUILT IN FILTER 

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Sugart sells tea in special long sleeves. Thanks to built-in filters, you can dunk the whole thing right into your mug. They offer a whole range of flavors, like fruit berry, peppermint, and chamomile.

8. JAPANESE CULTURE-INSPIRED TAGS

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Tea tags are great for helping you fish out the teabag when it’s finished soaking. But they don't always stay put. Japanese company Yamasu Sugimoto Shoten created teabags with special tags shaped like ninjas, samurai, sumo wrestlers, and other figures from Japanese history and culture. Thanks to their unique shape, they can hang on to the side of your mug until you're ready to fish the teabag out.

9. WINE-INSPIRED ICED TEA

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Not interested in bacon or vegetable-flavored tea? You might like this more sensible flavor option: wine. Sonoma makes a series of wine-inspired iced tea flavors perfect for teetotaling oenophiles. The collection has three flavors: cabernet, chardonnay, and rosé.

10. CELEBRITIES

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These tea bags make it look like famous people from history are lounging in your mug. From Elvis to Queen Elizabeth, there’s someone for everyone. Donkey Products sells individual bags as well as groups of related people (like Christmas characters and comedians). Each pack comes with five amusing teabags.

11. CHANGING TEABAG DESIGNS

Malaysian tea company BOH wanted to remind its customers about the calming qualities of chamomile tea. Instead of creating a traditional commercial, they created a new kind of teabag to get the message across. The new line of teabags features a series of threatening or hostile designs printed in edible tea ink. When submerged in hot water, the ink fades into the cup, leaving a more pleasing, calm image. We can’t find a place to buy this wonderful publicity stunt, but we enjoy the concept all the same.

12. DOLPHIN BLUE TEA 

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After a successful crowdsourcing campaign, Japan now gets to enjoy dolphin-shaped teabags that create bright blue or yellow tea. Adorably, the tea tags are shaped like anchors to complete the nautical theme.

13. SAVORY TEA

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Most teas come in sweet or spiced flavors, but you can also get teas that taste like a salad. Numi Organic has a line of savory tea flavors inspired by produce you can find in a garden. Their garden sampler pack includes six different vegetable-inspired flavors. Some options include carrot curry, spinach chive, and broccoli cilantro. The description calls the drink “not quite a soup, but more than a tea.” You can try it yourself on Amazon.

14. TEA FOR TWO

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Designer Tom Chludil

has a friendly idea on how we should share our tea. He created a mock-up for a teabag that can be split in half and enjoyed by two friends. The legs are the teabags while the arms are filled with sugar. One side is written in English while the other side is written in Czech.

15. POLAROID TEA TAGS

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If you’re not satisfied with any of these offerings, you can take matters into your own hands and create your own interesting teabags. Here’s an idea for DIY tea tags that look like Polaroid pictures. Quirky camera accessory store Photojojo has the tutorial right here.

BONUS: FISHERMAN TEA HOLDER

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Now that you have the perfect tea bag picked out, you just need the right holder to keep the string in place. Might we suggest these adorable fishermen who will fish out your teabag? The sets come with four fishermen wielding little fishing rods around which you can wrap your teabags.