Gunpowder Organic
The name comes from the spherical appearance of the tightly rolled tea leaves, which look like gunpowder. The tea leaves develop a typical, slightly smoky and tart flavour.
From China's renowned Zhejiang province, this organic green tea owes its name to its unique spherical leaf shape, created through traditional drum roasting. The dark green leaves unfurl to create a yellowish-brown infusion with strong, robust character featuring tart and slightly smoky notes that make it particularly popular as a food accompaniment.
Why You'll Love It
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A True Classic: One of the most consumed green teas globally.
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Distinctive Character: Strong, robust flavour with tart and slightly smoky notes
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Food Pairing: Excellent accompaniment to meals due to its bold profile
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Proven Quality: 95% positive reviews praising our gunpowder's quality and fresh flavour
Origins & Character
Zhejiang Province, China: Sourced from one of China's premier tea-growing regions, this organic green tea represents centuries of traditional craftsmanship and expertise.
Traditional Processing: The distinctive spherical "gunpowder" pellets are created through drum roasting, a time-honored technique that concentrates the tea's robust flavours and creates its characteristic spicy, slightly smoky profile.
Versatile Enjoyment: Perfect for morning and afternoon, this gunpowder green tea delivers a yellowish-brown cup that's smooth and aromatic with no bitterness, and can be infused multiple times for excellent value.
Gunpowder Organic is the essential green tea experience - bold, traditional, and endlessly satisfying. A classic that has earned its place as the world's most beloved green tea.
Tea Bag Packaging Material
Tea bags are commonly made from PLA mesh, paper or nylon. t leaf T uses pyramid tea bags made from plant-based PLA, rather than paper or nylon. Here is how the materials differ and what that means for composting.
PLA Pyramid Tea Bags Used by t leaf T
PLA, or polylactic acid, is a plant-based material that can be made from crops such as corn or sugar cane. Our NeoSoilon® pyramid tea bags are made from sugar-cane-derived PLA. PLA tea bags have been available since the mid-2000s and are not made from petroleum-based plastic.
NeoSoilon® is a woven mesh made by Nasa Corporation from 100% PLA filaments. The manufacturer states that NeoSoilon® is certified by the Non-GMO Project. Our pyramid tea bags, including the tag and string, contain no nylon or polypropylene.
PLA is spun into thread and woven to make the clear mesh. It behaves like a plastic when heated, which allows the seams to be sealed using ultrasonic vibrations. This joins the seams without the need for petrochemical-based sealing plastics. PLA melts at around 170°C, well above the temperature of boiling water.
Commercial composting
Our NeoSoilon® pyramid tea bags are intended for industrial or commercial composting. The material meets the European standard EN 13432, ISO 17088 and the American standard ASTM D6400. Under industrial composting conditions at around 58°C, the manufacturer states that 90% of the material’s weight can biodegrade within 180 days.
In soil or water, the manufacturer estimates that the mesh takes around three years to break down. It is not home compostable. Although materials designed for home composting are available, the option we have assessed breaks down within weeks, which is not practical for a product that needs a long shelf life, such as tea. Please check whether a suitable commercial composting facility is available in your area.
Read more from Nasa Corporation about NeoSoilon®.
Old-Style Paper Tea Bags
Paper tea bags have been used for almost 100 years. The paper fibres do not naturally adhere to each other, so the bags need to be heat-sealed. Most paper tea bag materials use a small amount of petro-based sealing plastic to make this possible.
As a result, a paper tea bag may be about 98% paper fibre and around 2% petro-based plastic. The paper fibre can break down in home composting, but the plastic portion is not compostable or biodegradable. This is not an option we use at t leaf T.
Nylon Pyramid Tea Bags
Nylon pyramid tea bags have been available since around 1996, before PLA tea bag technology existed. Nylon is a petroleum-based plastic. It is not compostable or biodegradable and can persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
Nylon costs substantially less than PLA, which can make it an attractive option for producers focused on cost. We do not use nylon tea bags at t leaf T.
Our View
No tea bag material is perfect. For the convenience of tea bags, we believe our plant-based PLA is the most sustainable option currently available to us. For an option without a single-use tea bag, every tea we sell is also available as loose leaf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are t leaf T pyramid tea bags home compostable?
No. Our NeoSoilon® PLA pyramid tea bags are intended for industrial or commercial composting, not home composting. Check whether a suitable commercial composting facility is available in your area.
What are t leaf T pyramid tea bags made from?
They are made from NeoSoilon®, a woven mesh produced by Nasa Corporation from 100% sugar-cane-derived PLA filaments. The tea bags, including the tag and string, contain no nylon or polypropylene.
