I’ve been a Postcrossing member for four years now but still can’t understand why some members state in their profiles that they would like to receive tea bags with the postcards sent to them. It seems such an odd request so why? What do people do with them if they receive them? Surely they can’t actually be used? - by the time they have spent several days/weeks travelling through the postal system even in an envelope they will be stale anyway.
If anyone reading this actually does ask for tea bags then I would be interested in reading the reasons for it
Yes I believe it’s best to send individually wrapped teabags. Many people like making a cup of tea and read/write a postcard. I don’t ask for teabags, but have received many. All have been individually wrapped by the factory, and stay as good as in my cupboard.
And, there’s also teabag folding technique, where you fold the empty sleeves and make art.
Usually, tea bags are well packaged and can be used after receiving. I am very interested in looking at the packages (especially if they are not in English or Russian) and enjoying the taste of tea. There are a few tags dedicated to tea bags, so I indicated on my profile that I would be very happy to receive it in an envelope along with a card, but in no way do I force anyone to do it:)
Why not asking for tea bags? You can ask for anything you want, the sender just doesn’t have to fulfill these wishes
And yes, of course you can use them for drinking. Normally nothing happens to them as most of them are sealed very well. I received some every now and then (though I’ve never asked for as I cannot drink a lot of sorts and it would be a pity if I have to throw them away). None of them was destroyed.
Before Brexit I ordered most of my tea in UK and even from little stores it always arrived in good condition even though it wasn’t always packed into a stable box.
Has anyone had trouble sending teabags in the post? I have a couple of penpals (in Brazil & Japan) who I have wanted to send individually wrapped teabags to, but tea seems to be a restricted item to quite a few countries (from the UK) so I haven’t sent them. It seems like a common request and is regularly sent in the tea tag and tea-related round robins, so I wondered if anyone else has had trouble with tea being a restricted item to post?
I have only swapped for teabags in private swaps (not asking in the main forum) and i assure you they are as good as new even after several weeks travelling and several more in my teabox!
of course it was individually wrapped bags (95% of them)
@geo_ I have received from Brazil with no issues and I think from Japan as well. If it is in a pretty flat envelope nobody is noticing. I know most probably that I wouldnt be able to send to Australia…
Thanks for the replies everyone, I understand now, especially as holeanta has posted a photo. I was actually thinking of the sort of tea bags you get in boxes or packets from a supermarket, like PG Tips or Tetley etc, that’s why I queried it but of course individually wrapped ones are different altogether. I can imagine some of them come in quite colourful and pretty individual packets
I once received a couple tea bags, individually wrapped, but one had a paper wrapper and we had so much rain that week, when it arrived, not only had it soaked through, ruining the tea , but also the envelope it had been in and the card. I hope it didn’t ruin other mail too.
To be fair, I have also received a few also that remained intact.
My second worry would be that since tea leaves are organic, and also look like drugs, that customs would have a problem.
I am curious who really drinks the tea from a total stranger or do they only drink ones from repeat swaps so they know and trust the giver. I think many just collect the tabs and packaging.
Many years ago, on Halloween in America, for trick or treat, people gave fruit, popcornballs and candy to kids. But after some people found razor blades in an apple, or poisoned candy, many parents only let their kids go to church holiday events or trick or treating to neighbors they knew.
It’s sad but a few can ruin something for many.
Is this tea exchange so different?
In the Postcrossing sense, it is generous that someone would offer to mail something extra for free along with their card, and it would be nice to try different flavors from around the globe, but there is always a risk too.
I’m a tea lover and yeah, I love tea from different countries, having a different taste etc. And yeah, I also stated out in my profile, that I’d like having some tea bags, if it would be possible.
I’m not a tea drinker but ones every year, i have tea enough and do it in the envelop , if they asked , the person who asking for tea , maybe want a different taste?
I always check what items cannot be sent to which country, so I don’t send if it says tea is prohibited.
And yes, it can look like drug, I guess, but doesn’t smell like it.
So yes, I drink tea from strangers when these are factory sealed. I think the sniffer dogs will find if someone tries poisoning me. (I know they don’t catch everything).
Truth to be told I’m way more worried eating in certain restaurants here (and I don’t).
(Some time ago, there was needles added to shop fruits here (in Finland) and razor blades were hidden in the sand in swimming places. So I know there are risks. and understand them.)
No…in that it’s so exceptionally rare that it falls into the category of cautionary urban legend. I don’t doubt that it has ever happened, but I have no clear reason to trust a sealed, commercially-labeled tea bag from a Postcrosser any less than I would trust a sealed, commercially-labeled tea bag from, say, the waiting area at my mechanic’s shop. The typical worst-case scenario is that the tea might be old.
Also, no one in his or her right mind is squandering their good drugs like that.
I also think a poisoner type person wants to follow the consequences of their actions, like a terror in nearborhood, the news etc. and they get their sick pleasure from that; but someone unknown getting high in another country and they won’t know even about it, or if the intended victim even uses the tea, what is it for them.
But still, if a tea would look like opened and re sealed, I wouldn’t drink it.
The unauthorised importation of any sort of plant material is a big no-no here in Oz, so if the Customs detect any such items , they will be confiscated.
I don’t really see the point of asking for them on a profile, because Postcrossing is about postcards. I always ignore them, also in some places it costs more to send something like that. I really don’t agree with the notion that you can ask for anything on your profile…
I have sent and received tea bags from regular penpals, no issue. However I no longer do it because now you have to do custom declaration to send any item that is not just a piece of paper or two. Probably no one will notice, but I don’t want to take the risk or losing my letter for a teabag.
If it is a special interest and people want to swap them, like in tags or RR or between penpals, I don’t see why not, but on Postcrossing official I find it very odd.
The very same brand that was posted in that picture is easily available from any UK supermarket - or at least it was until two years ago when I lived there. They are not so cheap but often there were special offers (and I enjoy those a lot more than “black tea”). I don’t know if PG Tips is known at all outside the UK I thought it was a very British thing to have such enormous packs with 80-100 teabags, but maybe I just never paid attention before.
And some people collect the empty teabags too.
but of course individually wrapped ones are different altogether. I can imagine some of them come in quite colourful and pretty individual packets 
I thought it was a very British thing to have such enormous packs with 80-100 teabags, but maybe I just never paid attention before.