What material are tea bags made from?

The most common material from which tea bags are made is filter paper. Filter paper is usually made of abaca, the leaf stalk of a banana plant from the Philippines.

Most mass-produced tea bags are made in an assembly line. Two large rolls of filter paper are fed through a machine that releases dried tea leaves between them. A conveyor belt then brings the paper and tea into a drum, which seals them shut with an indentation pattern. The bags are then cut into perfect squares, and a string and tag are stapled to each bag. Some companies use other materials for tea bags, such as silk or gauze, but they are less common.