Availability of tea

Availability of tea

It is very important that you use the right type of tea. If everyone uses the same tea, it will be possible to compare results. With different tea types this is not possible.

In 2013, Lipton produced both green tea and rooibos tea in woven nylon mesh bags. In 2017, they changed to nonwoven bags made of polypropylene. Late 2021, Lipton changed again to ‘plantbased bags’. As far as we can tell, the tea inside the bag has remained the same. The bag type will affect which micro organisms can digest the tea. Although we are researching this in more detail, we have indications that it is not possible to compare the different types of bag by using a conversion factor. We actually believe that comparing the datasets of the different bag types will provide valuable insights on the importance of different decomposer groups across the globe. You are therefore encouraged to submit your data both from woven nylon mesh, the nonwoven and the biodegradable bags, as long as you clearly indicate which tea bags you used.

 

Technical details

Green tea – Lipton Indonesian tea Sencha tradition: EAN 87 22700 05552 5.

Rooibos tea: Lipton Infusion Rooibos: EAN 87 11327 5143 48.

The wrong tea

Easy confusion exists with ‘Green tea with flavoring’ and ‘Japaneese Sencha’ as well as with ‘red tea’ and ‘African rooibos’. Those are not the right type of tea. Always check the EAN number.

Shops

To our knowledge, Green and Rooibos tea can be bought in grocery shops only in a few countries in Europe.

Online

If you cannot find the right tea in your local shop, you can order it online.
e.g.

Green
Apotea
Scandinavian
Onfos.de
cheapbasket.com.cy
Sporadically also via amazon available.

Rooibos
Dutchsupermarket.com

Dutchsupermarket sponsors our project and provides 10% discount when you apply the coupon code TBI10 in the shopping cart.