Numi Organic Tea Bags
Numi Organic Tea
Organic Tea Bags
The tea bag is about as clean as bagged tea gets: unbleached manila hemp, no polypropylene, a cotton string, and a recycled tag. It sits at 2 rather than 1 because each bag ships in an individually compostable wrapper that still contains a sugarcane plastic layer and only breaks down industrially.
Manila-hemp tea bags with no polypropylene heat-seal, closed instead by a crimp and knot, with a 100% cotton string and a recycled-paper tag. A founding B Corp. The bag is plastic-free; the individual freshness wrappers are commercially compostable but contain sugarcane PLA and a metalized layer.
How this score breaks down
Strengths
- Manila-hemp bag with no polypropylene heat-seal, closed by a crimp and knot
- Cotton string and recycled-paper tag, nothing plastic in the cup
- Founding B Corp, first certified in 2007, and USDA Organic
- Unusually full disclosure of every bag and wrapper component
Trade-offs
- Individual wrappers are industrially compostable only, not home compostable or recyclable
- The wrapper contains a sugarcane PLA lining and a metalized layer
- The article claim that the wrappers are BPI-certified is not accurate; the brand lists ASTM D6868 compliance with certification in progress
Scored on our consumables method (consumables-v1, 2026-08-15). How we rank →
What's inside
Tea bags made from unbleached manila hemp (abaca) cellulose, closed by a crimp-and-knot process that the brand states removes the need for a polypropylene heat-seal. The string is 100% cotton and the tag is 100% recycled paper with soy-based inks.
| Part | Material |
|---|---|
| Bag | Manila hemp (abaca) cellulose, unbleached |
| Seal | Crimp and knot, no polypropylene |
| String | 100% cotton |
| Tag | 100% recycled paper, soy inks |
| Wrapper | FSC paper lined with sugarcane PLA and a metalized layer |
Free of Polypropylene heat-seal, nylon mesh, plastic string
- Packaging
- Individual tea-bag wrappers the brand states are commercially compostable (industrial only) and made from FSC paper lined with sugarcane-based PLA and a metalized layer. The brand notes the wrappers are not recyclable because of that lining.
- Microplastics
- None steep into the cup: the bag is manila hemp with no plastic mesh and no polypropylene heat-seal.
Attributes
What this product is, at a glance.
Certifications
Independent, third-party certifications only. Tap any badge to see what it verifies.
About Numi Organic Tea
Numi Organic Tea is a brother-and-sister company founded in 1999 in Oakland, California, by Ahmed Rahim and Reem Hassani, who started it in a small apartment and named it after a dried lime they drank as children in Baghdad. It makes premium organic teas in bags and loose leaf across black, green, herbal, and other blends.
Numi is a public benefit corporation and a certified B Corp, confirmed in B Lab's registry, and states it is USDA Organic, Fair Trade, and Climate Neutral. Its teabags are compostable and plastic-free, while the wrappers use a plant-based lining that needs commercial composting, so the plastic-free story is partial.
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