RTNY – Our Tea Sachet Packaging Expansion

Royal NY Traders

Trader Group

We understand there are several factors that influence decision making when selecting the teas for your menu. Royal Tea’s new sachet packing program allows clients to balance the cost and quality of their tea selections. We have developed a production space to sachet teas to offer you more options.

Our Tea Sachets Fit Higher Quality Teas

Loose leaf tea is not always an option for spaces that may be held back by labor or space constraints. However, most bagged tea options offer lower quality material. Standard tea pouches are typically filled with tea fannings or dust in order to fit a smaller pouch. These tea grades are leftover after the higher quality leaves are picked and purchased. Lower grade teas offer less vibrant flavors and more astringency. Smaller grades of tea will also require a shorter brew time, increasing the likelihood of over-steeping them.

The sachet has a pyramid shape that allows for higher grade, large leaf teas to be packaged in a convenient pouch. The larger size also allows for leaves to expand as they steep, allowing the whole leaf to steep evenly.

Already Using Loose Tea?

If you are already using our loose teas, you still might want to consider sachets. Different filtration methods yield differing results in the finished product. To test this, a loose tea, a paper filter bag, and a mesh sachet were compared. Keeping brew ratio, time, and water temperature constant, one of our more popular offerings, Earl Grey, was brewed and cupped.

The resulting cups were similar, but there were some defined differences. The most similar to the loose tea was the sachet. The paper filter yielded a cup that had a thinner body and less sweetness. The results were clear by looking at the cup liquor alone. The paper filter cup was less amber and more pale yellow, even with some added agitation during the steep. This is most likely because the paper filter is less porous and flexible than the mesh. The paper filter required agitation in order for the leaves to expand properly, but still remained somewhat compressed due to the paper’s rigidity. The mesh allowed for a greater flow of compounds out of the bag, while the paper retained some solubles along with absorbed water.

Switching to Tea Sachet Packaging Might Save You Money

Manually dosing your tea increases the chance for human error, and a small variance may result in an unsatisfied customer. Using too much or too little will yield flavors that are more or less intense than optimal. Using too much tea also decreases the margin on each tea, decreasing profitability over the long term. Decreasing the human error requires more training and care by the staff preparing the tea; sachets are simpler for newer employees to use.

Enveloped sachets increase your quality and shelf life. When staff are preparing tea, they must weigh or scoop tea from a larger batch. This means the tea is constantly being exposed to fresh air and moisture whenever it is being prepared for service. By the end of that batch, your tea may be stale. Our enveloping equipment protects your tea from the effects of air and light, keeping it fresh for longer.

How does it work?

There are two main components to our system: the sachet filling machine and the enveloping component. The filling component uses precise internal scales to dose out the correct amount tea and an auger system moves the tea into a funnel. The funnel releases the tea onto a PLA mesh material. The mesh is molded into the correct shape through the use of an ultrasonic device and the finished sachet is placed onto a conveyor belt. An Air-powered feeder pushes the sachets into an over-wrap material and the machine seals all sides of the envelop.

PLA Mesh may sound scary, but it is actually a natural fiber. Polyactic acid, PLA, is derived from corn starch. After disposal, PLA is 100% biodegradable and decomposes into carbon and water.

If interested in your own sachets, there is a 100 count minimum for blank tags and 5,000 count minimum for custom tags. Any other questions can be answered by your trader at Royal Tea.