Have you ever wondered what kind of impact tea has on the environment? That largely depends on the behavior of the tea drinker, according to tea technologist and longtime tea industry consultant Nigel Melican of Teacraft, Ltd. who recently did an in-depth study on the carbon footprint of tea. .

Investigating the carbon impact of tea from the Asian tea plantation to the American teapot (and landfill), Melican sought to find out whether tea is an environmental “saint or sinner” when we measure its carbon footprint against a set of criteria. . He found that several variables in the tea drinker’s own domain have a huge impact on the end result, and it seems worth sharing since we’re on this planet together.

“If the tea is made right, if we look at the supply chain right, if we make some adjustments, we can make the tea carbon neutral,” Melican said. “Some tea in some countries could become carbon negative. That’s quite a lot for a product that goes from where it’s grown, ten thousand miles [away]to the consumer…” said Melican.

In his research, Melican found that the carbon footprint of tea (measured by the number of grams of carbon dioxide per cup) can vary greatly from over 200g CO2 per cup to -6g CO2 per cup, depending on how the tea is grown, processed and shipped. , packaged, processed and discarded. On average, loose tea drunk in a tea room contains about 20g of CO2 per cup. For reference, the carbon footprint of a glass of beer is 374g, a can of Coke is 129g, and a cup of cow’s milk is around 225g. As such, loose tea is a much better environmental option than either of these.

But this is where the tea drinker comes in. First, the selection of tea made by a tea consumer plays a very important role from the very beginning. . Melican found that tea in tea bags does, in fact, have ten times the carbon footprint of loose tea (all other variables being equal). I will repeat it backwards. loose tea has a tenth the carbon footprint of tea in tea bags. Choosing a loose tea over a tea bag means you (and the environment) are not burdened with a host of carbon-intensive packaging materials, like the nylon or paper tea bag and its string, the box and the plastic wrap around the box. This is perhaps the best PR for loose tea I have come across (although drinking loose tea speaks for itself).

Recycling or reusing tea (as well as its packaging) also improves your carbon footprint. Loose tea often comes in minimal, recyclable or reusable packaging, and this benefits the planet simply because the packaging is often reused and not disposed of in landfills. Composting tea instead of throwing it away will also benefit the earth. If you don’t have a garden, offer your used tea leaves to friends and neighbors who do (they’ll thank you and so will the land).

In addition, the consumer can reuse the tea leaves, improving their carbon footprint. Steeped tea leaves can be used to fertilize houseplants or gardens, to clean the house or for skin care. A tea drinker can also reuse tea and tea leaves for cooking, cleaning, and odor reduction in the home (leave loose tea in a bowl or cup to absorb odors in a room, like baking soda).

The way a tea drinker heats the water for tea also has an impact. According to Melican, “Gas is better as there is only one conversion loss from burning the fossil fuel to produce thermal energy to raise the temperature of the water in the kettle. With electricity, you get five separate losses: 1. Converting the fossil fuel into steam, 2. steam into electricity, 3. network losses along the wires (voltage drop), 4. transformer losses as the voltage goes up and down, and 5. heating the water in the kettle”.

Melican said that when he set out to do the study for presentation at the 2009 World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, he had no idea what he would find. “I was very happy to discover that, in fact, tea is a saint.” Melican said.

Finally, Mr. Melican would like to see mandatory carbon footprint labeling on all food products, a law that is being considered in England and that consumers in the US and around the world can apply to their representatives. Meanwhile, he drinks his loose tea guiltlessly and with abandon.