This pretty no-bone china mug is from Welsh artist Greta Loves Mabel. Did you know that bone china mugs really are made from skeletons and bones, and not always as a by-product of the meat industry? Some animals are killed, just to make mugs. So switch instead to this pretty mug instead, with one of Sally-Anne’s illustrations.
What’s even better is that Sally-Anne donates a portion of proceeds to her favourite animal charities. So instead of harming animals, this mug helps animals instead!
How to Make Loose Tea
This infuser globe for loose tea makes it easy to brew a nice cup of tea, with loose leaves. The larger globe size means the tea leaves have more room to breathe, for better flavour. Instead of cramming tea leaves into a smaller standard infuser, use this for a better cup of tea.
You can use as little or as much tea as you want, to suit your tastes. It’s also big enough to use in a teapot. Just add loose leaf tea into the infuser, place in a mug and fill with freshly boiled water. Leave to brew the required time, remove and enjoy. Stainless steel. Gentle hand wash. Not for microwave or dishwasher.
NHS advises no more than 2 cups of tea for pregnancy/nursing, and avoid strong teas (lemongrass, hibiscus, liquorice). Liquorice tea should also be avoided for heart, blood pressure or liver issues. Do not drive or operate machinery for at least several hours after drinking teas to help you sleep.
This tea infuser for loose tea is the perfect gift for anyone who likes a nice cuppa. It allows the tea leaves to move freely, so you get more flavour out of your blend. It has collapsible handles to fit any cup and most teapots, so you can now enjoy a nice cup of tea the traditional way, without any tea bags.
To use, just add loose tea into the infuser, then place the infuser into your mug. Fill the mug with freshly boiled water, then place the lid over the infuser to capture the heat and aroma. Leave to brew for the required time, then remove the infuser and place in the upside down lid, to avoid spills. Made from stainless steel. Gentle hand wash. Not suitable for microwave or dishwasher.
Bird & Blend Loose Leaf Tea Glass Infuser Mug is ideal to enjoy the perfect cup of tea anywhere. The large infuser gives room for the tea leaves to expand and properly infuse. And this gives you more flavour in each cup. And the lid doubles up as a convenient saucer. Made from borosilicate glass. Dishwasher safe.
This loose leaf tea starter kit includes all you need to indulge in a pot of indulgent tea. You’ll find a glass teapot with an inbuilt filter, a tea scoop and 50g of your chosen blend of Hoogly Tea. Choose from any of their teas including black, green, white, herbal infusions or rooibos (including sweet flavours like Danish pastry and ginger biscuits).
Switch to Reusable Tea Bags
This Set of Reusable Tea Bags makes an ideal alternative to tea bags. It includes an organic cotton grocery bag with 4 tea bags made from cotton and bamboo. Handmade in England, they are simple to use. Just add 1/2 teaspoon of your favourite organic loose tea to one of the bags, and place in hot water. After use, just empty the tea leaves into the compost bin (or throw away, they won’t do any harm). Then rinse the tea bag and use again. You can wash the bags by hand or in your washing machine (place inside the grocery bag, so they don’t get lost.
NHS advises no more than 2 cups of tea for pregnancy/nursing, and avoid strong teas (lemongrass, hibiscus, liquorice). Liquorice tea should also be avoided for heart, blood pressure or liver issues. Do not drive or operate machinery for at least several hours after drinking teas to help you sleep.
This Organic Cotton Reusable Tea Bag is ideal to replace plastic commercial tea bags. Many tea bags are not biodegradable and use a lot more energy and resources. This bag is made from certified organic cotton, and the unbleached organic cotton string is long enough to use with mugs or a teapot.
After use, you can wash the tea bag and use it again. You can also use it to replace disposable filters. To use, just add loose tea and enjoy a fresh cuppa. Then rinse or wash and enjoy again and again. After use, turn the bag inside out and compost the tea leaves. Soak in cold water to help prevent stains, and then hand wash in your sink with a little biodegradable washing up liquid, then a quick rinse under the tap. Line dry. For a deeper clean, soak the tea bag for a few hours in vinegar and water (apple cider vinegar or white vinegar – 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water). If you are using milk, hand wash after each use. If drinking black, rinse and reuse 1 to 2 times (same day) and then hand-wash.
These reusable cotton tea bags are made from organic cotton muslin. Sold in a set of 2 to biodegrade, just add loose leaf, pull the cords to close the bag, place in a mug and add freshly drawn boiled water.
Self Fill Unbleached Paper Teabags are ideal, if you prefer a tea bag. These are sold in packs of 50. Just use and wash and reuse, to avoid the use of disposable tea bags.
Clipper Fair Trade Organic Teas
Clipper was the world’s first Fair Trade tea company, and has an extensive range of teas, all in sustainable packaging. Everything can be composted from the paper and card to the unbleached paper tea bags.
NHS advises no more than 2 cups of tea for pregnancy/nursing, and avoid strong teas (lemongrass, hibiscus, liquorice). Liquorice tea should also be avoided for heart, blood pressure or liver issues. Do not drive or operate machinery for at least several hours after drinking teas to help you sleep.
The range includes:
- English Breakfast Tea
- Organic Assam Tea
- Green Tea with Lemon & Echinacea
- White Tea with Peppermint
- Lemon & Ginger Tea
- Fennel Tea
- Chamomile Tea
- Nettle Tea
- Earl Grey
- Organic Decaff
Eco Cork & Ceramic Teapot is the perfect size for two people. It pours well and has a beautiful design that is easy to clean, to keep tea warm with the insulating cork. In cream, pink, matt black, aqua or storm grey. The parts sit well together and come apart for ease of cleaning. The ceramic is dishwasher-friendly, hand-wash the cork. Made in Portugal.
Cork requires no trees to be chopped down, and its use helps to protect Mediterranean forests (and wildlife) by keeping the forests in use, otherwise someone would likely chop them down. The bark is just stripped from the tree, every 9 years.
Teas (that tastes like apple strudel)
Hoogly Tea is a Danish-inspired brand that makes teas that taste like your favourite desserts: Apple Strudel Green Tea contains cinnamon, cloves, apple pieces, calendula petals, sunflower petals and natural flavourings. There is also a Danish Pastry Tea with rooibos tea and cinnamon, cocoa nibs/shells. Avoid too much tea (caffeine) for pregnancy/nursing.
Gourmet Teas from Leftover Cacao Shells
Tea in the Moment is a unique brand that blends tea with the outer shells of cacao (a by-product of the chocolate making process), to produce teas that taste like dark chocolate. In many blends including Rose Cacao (similar to Turkish Delight) and Chocolate Orange. Avoid these teas for pregnancy/nursing.
Grow Your Own Herbal Tea
Grow Your Own Herbal Tea Seed Kit contains seeds to grow your own peppermint, chamomile and lemon balm tea. All illustrated, designed and ethically produced by hand in Somerset, the kit is plastic-free and peat-free to protect native wildlife habitats. With easy instructions, the herbs can be grown indoors all year long, when placed in a bright position. See toxic plants to avoid near pets. The kit contains:
- 9 wood pulp pots with coir compost pellets
- 3 reclaimed oak markers (Scottish whisky barrels)
- 3 packs of seeds
- 3 A5 illustrated prints with instructions
A Gin (that’s really tea)
Earl Grey Gin is for anyone who wants a stronger cup of tea! Distilled with organic loose leaf tea, it’s small batch distilled in Cambridgeshire and won a ‘best gin’ award at the World Spirits competition. Enriched with organic loose-leaf Assam Earl Grey Tea, it’s distilled in copper pot stills, with the finest botanicals. Made with local sugar beet along with bergamot oil, Seville orange zest, English juniper, English rose petals, angelica root, coriander and bay leaf.
For gin and vodka, avoid quinine water (and grapefruit slices) if pregnancy or breastfeeding or for certain medical conditions and avoid rhubarb tonic waters for stomach/kidney issues.
Organic Fair Trade Tea (from Sri Lanka)
English Tea Shop sells organic and Fair Trade tea from Sri Lanka, all in plastic-free packaging.
NHS advises no more than 2 cups of tea for pregnancy/nursing, and avoid strong teas (lemongrass, hibiscus, liquorice). Liquorice tea should also be avoided for heart, blood pressure or liver issues. Do not drive or operate machinery for at least several hours after drinking teas to help you sleep.
Even if biodegradable, never leave tag bag strings etc out for birds to make their nests, as they can choke or strangle. Birds have been making nests for thousands of years, without our help.
The range includes:
- English Breakfast Tea
- Pure & Fresh Peppermint
- Earl Grey for an English breakfast
- Blueberry & Elderflower Tea
- Happy Me Tea is an invigorating blend of marigold petals, organic apples, lemongrass and orange peel, spiced with organic ginger, cardamom fruit, coriander fruit and cinnamon.
- Sleepy Me Tea is made with organic lavender, hop and valerian root, blended with organic lemon balm and chamomile.
- Comfort Me Tea is a chamomile tea with spearmint, ginger and vanilla along with added herbs of basil, marjoram and amalaki.
- Shape Me Tea is made with organic ginseng (can interfere with some medications) and acai berry, with organic ginger and cinnamon.
Teas (that help refugees)
Nemi Teas (London) offers whole leaf organic tea blends, in biodegradable packaging. These Fair Trade teas provide employment to refugees, to give them local work experience and job readiness skills, to enter the workforce and integrate into broader society.
NHS advises no more than 2 cups of tea for pregnancy/nursing, and avoid strong teas (lemongrass, hibiscus, liquorice). Liquorice tea should also be avoided for heart, blood pressure or liver issues. Do not drive or operate machinery for at least several hours after drinking teas to help you sleep.
Also available as loose tea, the flavours include:
- English Breakfast Tea
- Peppermint
- Earl Grey
- Green Tea
- Cardamom Chai
- Spicy Chai
T.E.A. is a company that could only be founded in England – alcohol enriched with tea! This gin has won ‘the Oscars’ for gin in San Francisco, and the company also makes other drinks, all distilled with high quality loose leaf tea and botanicals.
Tonic waters contain quinine, so avoid serving them if pregnant or you have an abnormal heart rhythm, kidney or liver disease or low blood sugar.
Small-batch distilled in bespoke copper stills in the heart of the Cambridgeshire countryside, only 120 bottles are made at a time, using the finest sugar beet from surrounding farms. This gives a natural sweetness and velvet taste, perfect for gin and vodka. The range includes:
- Earl Grey Gin is made with organic loose leaf Assam Earl Grey Tea, with a hint of bergamot and juniper, serve with tonic and fresh lemon peel.
- Earl Grey Vodka contains a delicate hint of citrusy bergamot. Perfect on the rocks or as a martini with lemon zest twist.
- Jasmine Gin has a juniper twist. Or try their Jasmine Vodka.
All four have won awards, the other three spirits winning bronze medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the Earl Grey Gin winning Double Gold.
