<P> The first modern tea bags in the Western World were hand - sewn fabric bags; tea bag patents date as early as 1903 . First appearing commercially around 1904, tea bags were successfully marketed about 1908 by the tea and coffee importer Thomas Sullivan from New York, who shipped his silk tea bags around the world . The loose tea was intended to be removed from the bags by customers, but they found it easier to brew the tea with the tea still enclosed in the porous bags . The first tea bag packing machine was invented 1929 by Adolf Rambold for the German company Teekanne . </P> <P> Modern tea bags are usually made of paper fiber . The heat - sealed paper fiber tea bag was patented in 1930 by William Hermanson, one of the founders of Technical Papers Corporation of Boston, who sold his patent to the Salada Tea Company . </P> <P> The rectangular tea bag was not invented until 1944 . Prior to this, tea bags resembled small sacks . </P> <P> A broad variety of teas as well as other infusions like herbal teas, are available in tea bags . Typically, tea bags use fannings, the left - overs after larger leaf pieces are gathered for sale as loose tea, but some companies sell teabags containing whole - leaf tea . </P>

When did tea bags become popular in the uk