第1595期:The humble tea bag

Are you a tea drinker? If so, you’re not alone. Every day around the world millions of cups of this popular brew are drunk, and it’s been that way for thousands of years. The oldest discovered tea is from the Han Dynasty, dating from 206BC to 220AD. But it’s thought that the tea trend really took off during the Tang Dynasty in the 8th Century, when it became China’s national drink. Now, Turkey, the Republic of Ireland and the UK are believed to be the biggest tea-drinking nations, per capita.

你是一个喝茶的人吗？如果是这样，你并不孤单。全世界每天都有数百万杯这种流行的啤酒被喝掉，几千年来一直如此。发现的最古老的茶来自汉代，可追溯到公元前 206 年至公元 220 年。但人们认为，茶的风潮在 8 世纪唐代才真正兴起，成为中国的国饮。现在，土耳其、爱尔兰共和国和英国被认为是人均最大的饮茶国家。

Tea is consumed in many ways – slurped, sipped or glugged. It can be poured from pots, infused or brewed in the cup using tea bags – and it’s this latter process that is causing concern. Research last year found some premium tea bags might be leaving billions of microscopic plastic particles in the cup.  Scientists from McGill University in Montreal found that some ‘plastic’ tea bags shed high levels of microplastics into water. However, The World Health Organization says such particles in drinking water do not appear to pose a risk.

茶的消费方式有很多种——啜饮、啜饮或吞咽。它可以从罐子里倒出来，用茶包泡在杯子里或泡在杯子里——正是后一种过程引起了人们的关注。去年的研究发现，一些优质茶包可能会在杯子中留下数十亿个微小的塑料颗粒。蒙特利尔麦吉尔大学的科学家发现，一些“塑料”茶包会将大量微塑料排放到水中。然而，世界卫生组织表示，饮用水中的此类颗粒似乎不会构成风险。

Most tea bags are made from paper, with a small amount of plastic used to seal them shut – made from oil. This has led to debate about whether they can be recycled, but many are still composted. However, gardener Mike Armitage has told the BBC that the plastic contained in the soil could be washed into streams and rivers and ultimately out to sea.

大多数茶包是用纸做的，用少量的塑料来密封它们——用油做的。这引发了关于它们是否可以回收的争论，但许多仍然是堆肥。然而，园丁迈克·阿米蒂奇告诉 BBC，土壤中的塑料可能会被冲入溪流和河流，最终流入大海。

Unilever, the owners of the tea brand PG Tips, said their tea bags are made with a small amount of plastic – used to seal them – and that they are suitable for composting. And the brand Yorkshire Tea said their bags do contain 25% polypropylene, but they were “actively developing plant-based and biodegradable alternatives”.

茶叶品牌 PG Tips 的所有者联合利华表示，他们的茶包是用少量塑料制成的——用来密封它们——它们适合堆肥。约克郡茶品牌表示，他们的袋子确实含有 25% 的聚丙烯，但他们“正在积极开发基于植物和可生物降解的替代品”。

While tea bag manufacturers might be doing their bit to reduce plastic pollution, it could be a good time to switch your favourite beverage to coffee, or if that isn’t your cup of tea then try using loose-leaf tea, which can have a better flavour.

虽然茶包制造商可能会尽其所能减少塑料污染，但现在可能是将您最喜欢的饮料换成咖啡的好时机，或者如果这不是您的一杯茶，那么请尝试使用散叶茶，它可以更好的味道。

词汇表

tea drinker 喜欢喝茶的人
brew 茶
drink 饮品
consume 喝，饮用
slurp 咕嘟咕嘟地喝
sip 小口喝，抿
glug 大口喝
pour 倒
pot 壶
infused 泡（茶）
brewed 冲泡
tea bag 茶包
premium 高级的，优质的
microplastics 微塑料
drinking water 饮用水
compost 把…制成堆肥
polypropylene 聚丙烯
biodegradable 可生物降解的
beverage 饮料
not be someone’s cup of tea 非某人所好，不合某人的心意
loose-leaf tea 散装茶叶