How To Avoid Toxins in Tea: 2025 Healthy Tea Guide

How To Avoid Toxins in Tea: 2025 Healthy Tea Guide
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It seems we can’t enjoy anything anymore, doesn’t it? From fish to dark chocolate, so many healthy foods are now under fire for being contaminated with everything from naturally-occurring heavy metals to industrial pollutants. Unfortunately, tea is no exception. Microplastics in tea bags, for instance, are something that’s worth worrying about. 

On the other hand, tea has many health benefits. Drinking tea may reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease, due to tea’s high antioxidant content. If you’re a coffee drinker, there’s good news: that’s a superfood, too. And here’s how to detox your morning brew.

After investigating tea, I have good and bad news. The bad news is that yes, there are toxins in tea, but the good news is there a plenty of clean tea brands to choose from. Let’s get into it.

Are Tea Bags Bad For You?

Unfortunately, sometimes. Indeed the, biggest source of toxins in tea is often the bags themselves (more on this below.) To get around this, choose powdered teas from brands who test for toxins, teas that come in unbleached paper bags without any glues, or loose leaf teas steeped in stainless steel or organic cotton. See the list below for 12 Good-Stuff approved brands.

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What Are the Sources of Toxins in Tea?

Unfortunately, there a bunch of ways that toxins end up in your morning cup of tea. What follows are the ones I am most worried about, and as I mentoned above, most of these are the bag rather than the tea itself.

  1. Paper tea bags can be a problem because of a chemical called epichlorohydrin, which is used to keep the bags from breaking. Epichlorohydrin will leach when exposed to hot water, and is a potential carcinogen and reproductive toxin. (Many paper coffee filters will also be treated with this chemical, by the way, which is why we recommend stainless steel filters.) Paper tea bags might also have plastic components, such as plastic linings or glues that hold the bags together.
  2. Those silky fancier tea bags (called satchets) pose a different risk, which is what has made the news in recent years. These bags are made of either rayon, thermoplastic, polypropylene, or, most commonly, polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is considered a safe plastic, with a high melting point. However, PET’s “glass transition” temperature (the temperature at which the material starts to break down) is less than 170 degrees–and boiling water is 212 degrees. So it’s really not surprising at all that the plastic in these bags leaches into the tea!
  3. Tea bags that are made of polylactic acid, which is derived from corn starch, should also be avoided. Polylactic acid (PLA) is still a plastic of sorts that lacks any safety studies. It’s also not a sustainable option: PLA only biodegrades under specific conditions, such as industrial composting.
  4. Bioplastic tea bags–whether made from sugar cane or potatoes–may be better than regular old plastic made from petroleum, but it may not be. There are enough brands offering 100% plastic-free tea options that I would avoid bioplastics when possible, especially since these are items we directly ingest. Brands using bioplastic tea bags (PLA and otherwise) include Rishi, Tea Pigs, and The Tea Spot.
  5. There is also the issue of toxins in the tea itself, with reports showing unsafe pesticide levels in tea that’s imported from China. Heavy metals from contaminated soil (including lead, aluminum, arsenic, and cadmium) may be present in both organic and conventional teas. Although the lead levels are below the action level for public drinking water, steeping tea for less time will not allow the transfer of heavy metals and is thus a good safety precaution.
  6. If you brew your tea in unfiltered water, that can introduce additional toxins. So, get a water filter.

My Favorite Tea Kettle

I love this electric kettle for brewing loose-leaf teas. It’s made of durable stainless steel with a generous capacity–I drink a lot of tea so I need a big old vessel like this one. It also has precise temperature control. I have gotten pickier about the temp I use to brew my tea, so this is important.

Best Stuff

Art of Tea

Ingredients: Organic Green Tea, Organic Black Tea, Organic Rosehips, Organic Raspberries, Natural Flavors

Cost per serving: from $0.25 - $0.50

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Art of Tea

Choice Organics Tea

  • Come in 100% unbleached abaca fibers and are free of plastics.
  • They are sealed with either a staple or cotton string.
  • As far as flavor, I’d say Choice is just okay.

Ingredients (Peppermint): Organic Peppermint Leaf

Cost per serving: $0.28

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Choice Organics Tea

Davidson's Organics Tea

  • Nice loose leaf tea option.
  • I don’t have information about their bags yet!

Ingredients (Green Tea Garden): Organic green tea, organic cinnamon, organic chamomile, and natural flavor.

Cost per serving: $0.22

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Davidson's Organics Tea

Equal Exchange Tea

  • Organic
  • Pay their tea farmers fair wages,
  • Use bags made of unbleached abaca with organic cotton strings.
  • The tags are made from paper printed with vegetable-based ink.

Ingredients (Rooibos Tea): Organic Rooibos

Cost per serving: $0.30

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Equal Exchange Tea

Five Mountains Heirloom Organic Tea

  • Makes delicious teas with international organic certifications.
  • Biodiverse and sustainable growing methods
  • Compostable packaging.
  • Their Bergamot Black blend is especially delicious.

Ingredients (Pacific Peppermint): Organic Peppermint Leaves(Mentha x piperita)

Cost per serving: $0.60

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Five Mountains Heirloom Organic Tea

Golden Moon Tea

  • Organic and delicious brand of loose leaf tea.
  • Their jasmine pearls are the most affordable I have found.

Ingredients (Jasmine Green Tea Pearls): Organic Jasmine Pearls Tea

Cost per serving: $1.71

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Golden Moon Tea

Numi Organic Tea

  • Comes in compostable hemp tea bags that are oxygen-bleached, with cotton strings.
  • I like their jasmine green tea.

Ingredients: Fair Trade Certified™ organic green tea scented with organic jasmine flowers.

Cost per serving: $0.32

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Numi Organic Tea

Pique Fermented Teas

  • Pique’s Fermented Pu’er Green Tea is my favorite tea when it comes to health benefits, purity/lack of contamination, flavor, and convenience of preparing.
  • The convenience of Pique’s tea packets is unrivaled–you just empty the powder into hot or cold water.
  • Pique cold-extracts their teas to preserve the maximum polynutrients and you can truly taste the difference.
  • The tea is also screened for a range of toxins and pesticides. 

Ingredients (Green Tea): Organic Pu'er green tea (camellia sinensis assamica) only.

Cost per serving: $2.07

Use code GIMME5 for 5% off your first order at Pique. Learn more about fermented teas.

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Pique Fermented Teas

Stash Organic Tea

  • widely available and makes a range of tea types
  • Come in bags that contain zero plastic, including in the sealants. These bags will compost at home.
  • Note that not all Stash teas are certified organic.

Ingredients: Organic green tea blend

Cost per serving: $0.31

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Stash Organic Tea

The Republic of Tea

  • delivers an unequaled selection of the highest-quality teas.
  • Their jasmine pearls especially amazing.
  • The tea bags from this brand are made from unbleached paper without glues, dyes, or staples.
  • Some of their teas are certified organic, but not all are.

Ingredients (Organic Elderberry): Organic Rooibos, Organic Hibiscus, Organic Elderberries, Organic Elderberry Flavor, Organic Grape Flavor

Cost per serving: $0.33

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The Republic of Tea

Traditional Medicinals

  • Teas are also stored in toxin-free, compostable bags made from hemp and wood pulp.
  • They are whitened using oxygen and peroxide and sealed with staples and cotton string.
  • These are teas that are more medicinal than daily drinks.
  • I often take their Throat Coat variety when I have a virus.
  • They are not all organic.

Ingredients (Spearmint): Organic spearmint leaf

Cost per serving: $0.36

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Traditional Medicinals

Yogi Tea

  • Most blends are organic
  • Bags have no plastic/naturally bleached by oxygen

Ingredients (Chai Rooibos): Organic Rooibos Leaf (redbush), Organic Cardamom Seed, Organic Cinnamon Bark, Organic Ginger Root

Cost per serving: $0.25

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Yogi Tea

Good Stuff

Pukka Tea

  • Organic ingredients
  • Home compostable tea bag with organic cotton string
  • Fully recyclable FSC certified packaging
  • Printed using vegetable-based inks

Ingredients: Green tea (Sencha, Vietnamese, Indian)*, Matcha*. (*organic).

Cost per serving: $0.28

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Pukka Tea

Okay Stuff

Earth Mama Organics Tea

  • teas are in 100% USDA Certified Organic–including the paper tea bags, which are not processed with chlorine, dioxins, and/or epichlorohydrin
  • Have been analyzed and approved by Food Chain for Non-GMO Project Verified status.

Ingredients (Raspberry Leaf): Rubus Idaeus (Red Raspberry) Leaf* *Organic

Cost per serving: $0.33

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Earth Mama Organics Tea

Mountain Rose Herbs

  • Organic
  • Tea bags are made from a starch derived polylactic acid that comes from plants like corn or sugar cane
  • True Zero Waste Facility certification

Ingredients: Organic red rooibos tea

Cost per serving: $0.66

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Mountain Rose Herbs

Rishi Tea

  • I am currently obsessed with the loose tea from Rishi.
  • All of their green teas are exceptional.

Ingredients: Organic & Fair Trade Certified Green Tea With Jasmine.

Cost per serving: $0.60

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Rishi Tea

Bad Stuff

Twinings Tea

Twinings bags were found to contain polypropylene

Sneaky Stuff

Newman's Own Tea

Newman's Own Teabags (contain some amount of polypropylene)

Celestial Seasonings

Celestial Seasonings bags contain polypropylene

I hope this guide helps you choose a non-toxic tea and enjoy this cozy habit with peace of mind.

Stay sane,
Author's Signature

Maia, Founder & CEO

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Leave a comment

20 comments

Colleen

Hey! Thanks for this post on safe teas. How do you steep your loose leaf tea? I saw you listed OXO Brew Tea Infuser Basket but didnt see any details on the materials on Amazon so wanted to confirm that’s the safest option. Rishi also has a Simple Brew Loose Leaf Teapot that looked like a good option but wanted to confirm with you. Thanks!

vogeltd

You are using the word “toxin.” Does that include heavy metals and fluoride, which can be very high in tea? Do any of these companies openly offer COAs?

Emily

If I remove the tea from bag before steeping will that help

Marci Morris

Also, how does stainless compare as an option?

Marci Morris

Wondering if removing the tea from the tea bag before steeping will help any?? Also, love the glass cup but it appears the silcone/rubber? stopper would be in contact with your warm liquid. Isn’t that a hazard? TIA

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