Packaging is one of the most important and challenging areas of sustainability for Tea Total.

Wherever practical, we seek to reduce first, reuse second and recycle responsibly. We dispatch orders in repurposed cardboard boxes sourced from local businesses, giving existing packaging a second life.

Our packaging must protect our tea from light, moisture and air to preserve its freshness, flavour, quality and shelf life. We therefore assess packaging not only by the material from which it is made, but also by its ability to protect the product and the realistic end-of-life options available within New Zealand.

Our approach is to consider the whole lifecycle of packaging, balancing product protection, food safety, material use and end-of-life recovery.

Tea Pouches: Our current stand-up tea pouches use soft plastic with a foil barrier to protect the tea and maintain product quality.

These pouches can be recycled through New Zealand's Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme or returned to our concept store at 19F Triton Drive, Rosedale for recycling.

Click here for a list of stores that accept soft plastics.

We would like to transition to packaging with an improved environmental outcome and continue to investigate alternatives, including compostable options. However, we have not yet identified an alternative that provides the level of product protection and quality required for our tea.

Colour Coding our Collections

Tea Total products feature coloured labels, these allow easy identification of product variety.

Orange labels: Classic unflavoured black teas
Green labels: Green and white teas
Blue labels: Flavoured black teas and Earl Greys
Pink labels: Fruit tisanes
Red labels: Herbal tisanes

Pyramid Tea Bags

The shape and size of our Pyramid tea bags let us offer you the same quality of tea we offer in loose-leaf, unlike many tea bags that use a lesser grade as it’s easy to disguise in tea bags.

Our all-natural tea bags are made from non-GMO, renewable sugarcane, making them safe, plastic-free, and eco-friendly. They’re sealed with heat (not glue), contain no harmful chemicals, and are completely safe for brewing. The bags are biodegradable and break down in commercial composting facilities.

Tins

Any of our teas can be purchased in a Tea Total tin. Tins are great for everyday use protecting the tea from becoming stale because of light, moist and air. Tins can be easily refilled and we sell them without tea and with the label of your choice, so if you need a new label please let us know.

Sample Bags

Our sample bags are individually hand-labelled, hand-filled and hand-sealed. They contain two full tea scoops of tea which is enough for two tea cups or a medium size teapot.

Retail Pouches

Containing up to 100 grams of tea, each bag is resealable to lock in freshness. They are a great option to refill your Tea Total Tins.
The pouches feature a product viewing window at the bottom of the bag, and a list of ingredients on the back.
Some teas are sold in weights other than 100 grams.  These are noted under the product information.

Wholesale Bags

They contain up to 500 grams of tea or the equivalent volume (ie 250 grams of Peppermint). Each bag is resealable to lock in freshness. We recommend filling a smaller container such as the Tea Total tins for everyday use, keeping the bulk of tea fresher to last longer.
They are 15% to 25% cheaper than buying the same amount of tea in pouches.