So, it appears all the "premium" teas are starting to come in plastic tea bags. In fact, at starbucks that is the only way to get a cup of tea. Seems like putting a plastic tea bag in boiling water is a horrible idea to me, but I am not a scientist. So I wanted to get some more professional opinion. I realize not all plastics melt at this temperature, but as far as I thought it starts to release hazardous chemicals at high and low temperatures.

Unless a tea bag is stapled together, it already contains plastic, as it has been heated for the bag to stay together. There are tons of complaints to Lipton about the nylon not being biodegradable. They seem to be moving backwards in their care of the environment, not to mention the fact, that, yes, burned plastic is toxic because of the hydrogen cyanide!

They are hypocrites claiming that they can be recycled, but I would ask how many people are really going to rinse the teabag out and recycle it after using it. On their website, they claim to save plenty from environmental waste. In reality, the machine to make the nylon tea bag is cheaper.

The toxicity to your body by being heated, is highly debated. It is safer and better tasting just to use loose leaves in a teapot.

I think this is not fully known. Personally, I'm skeptical because the companies selling these products are certainly not funding the research to make them safer. But it's also probably not going to be the most hazardous thing you're exposed to in your daily life, and in the big scheme of things, it's probably not worth worrying about. Is your drinking water contaminant free? Do you breathe in car exhaust and air pollution outdoors? Are you exposed to the UV radiation from the sun?

The point is, your body is bombarded with a bunch of nasty stuff every day, and you're still living and breathing just fine... it's probably not worth worrying about.

I personally think it's best to drink loose tea for a variety of reasons, and this is what I'd recommend. But I mainly do it for flavor and quality, and sustainability, not because I'm afraid of contamination with weird chemicals.

Thank you very much for the responses, I realize that our bodies are exposed to other chemicals on daily basis, but that is something we cannot really control. On the other hand, the kind of tea we drink is something within grasp and I'd rather know that I am doing something good for my body when drinking tea, rather than thinking that I am putting more chemicals into it (just a mental thing perhaps). I hope that there is some kind of regulation that is being enforced upon tea manufacturers who use these plastics to insure safety. Agreeably, loose leaf tea is much better anyway, just wish it was available in stores without having to go to a specialty shop. Thanks again.

As an update, I actually have researched this topic a bit more, and put together an article specifically about nylon tea bags (http://ratetea.net/topic/nylon-tea-bags/30/). I don't know about other synthetic tea bag materials, but you may find this useful. I think most synthetic tea bags are nylon. I found basically the same thing that I found in my initial response, however, although now I have a couple sources on the topic.

The main concern I found is not so much about health, but environmental impact: nylon tea bags are not biodegradable, unlike paper or silk tea bags.

Thank you for the article, summarizes the topic very well.