GB2417234A - Tea bag with attached handle - Google Patents

Abstract

An assembly of a tea bag and a rigid handle is provided. The handle allows stirring and squeezing of the tea bag with reduced risk of scalding. The handle may have a hook and be adapted to carry advertising. The handle may be a rod attached to a straight edge of the bag. The handle may comprise a perimeter frame for the bag.

Description

24 1 7234 Improved Tea Bag This invention relates to an improved tea bag

of the kind used for preparing an individual cup or pot of tea.

Traditionally, tea is prepared by placing loose leaves in a tea pot, immersing the leaves in hot water for a required period of time and straining the liquid through a fine sieve.

This usually requires a large quantity of tea leaves. Furthermore, removing and disposing of the tea leaves is a messy and time consuming activity.

An alternative method of preparing tea is to use a re-useable metal or plastics cage, optionally mounted on a handle. Tea leaves are placed in the cage and the cage is immersed in hot water for a required period of time. Subsequently, the cage is removed.

However, the user must empty the cage of the used tea leaves. This reduces the quantity of tea leaves required but does not remove the messy and time consuming activity of disposing of the tea leaves. Therefore, many tea drinkers choose to use disposable tea bags.

Conventional tea bags are of perforated paper typically having reinforcing fibres of plastic and may be substantially two dimensional, e. g circular or rectangular, or be three-dimensional, e.g a pyramid.

To stir or remove a conventional tea bag from a cup or pot of hot tea, a spoon or other utensil is required. Such utensils are not always available. Removal of a tea bag without a utensil can result in scalded fingers and soiled clothing.

Some tea bags are attached to a length of string, this facilitates removal of a hot wet tea bag from a cup or pot of tea. A small tag may be attached to the other end of the length of string for gripping purposes. Advertisements may be located on such tags. Ordinary strings do not overcome the problem of liquid dripping from tea bags. A user still requires a spoon to squeeze the tea bag against a wall of a cup or pot to remove excess liquid. Even so, such squeezing may be inefficient and liquid often splashes onto surrounding surfaces, body parts and clothing. Such splashing can cause unwanted mess, possible damage and scalding.

Strings may comprise drawstrings which allow liquid to be squeezed out of a tea bag without the use of a utensil, such as a spoon.

One problem with the use of ordinary strings and drawstrings is that, during preparation of the drink, the user must remember to extend the string, drape it over an upper rim of a cup or pot and take care not to allow the string to fall into the cup or pot.

What is required is a tea making assembly which allows the user to prepare a cup or pot of tea with minimal mess and time.

According to the invention there is provided an assembly comprising a flexible permeable container for tea, said container being attached to a relatively rigid elongate handle for facilitating manipulation of the permeable container.

Preferably the permeable container comprises a pouch or bag.

Preferably the permeable container includes integrated plastics material to permit a handle of plastics material to be bonded thereto by em welding.

The permeable container may comprise perforations or a mesh. Perforations may be naturally present between tightly woven fibres or physically punched through a web of material.

Preferably the dimensions of a square or rectangular pouch or bag are between 20 mm long and 100 mm long by 20 mm wide and 100 mm wide. More preferably the dimensions of a square or rectangular pouch or bag are between 50 mm long and 70 mm long by 50 mm wide and 70 mm wide. Preferably the diameter of a circular pouch or bag is between 20 mm and 80 mm, more preferably between 60 mm and 70 mm.

Preferably the volume of a three-dimensional pouch or bag is between 20000 and 70000 mm3, more preferably between 30000 and 50000 mm3.

The permeable container may be one of circular, square, rectangular, pyramid, cuboid or spherical.

In a preferred embodiment the handle comprises a substantially rigid rod. Preferably the length of the rod is between 50 mm and 120 mm, more preferably between 65 mm and mm. A cross-section of the rod may of any shape, em circular, square, triangular, hexagonal. Furthermore the rod may be substantially flat and or straight.

The handle may be connected to any part of a container although connection to an edge or a side is preferred.

Preferably the upper end of the handle extends in use beyond the upper end of the container by a length of between 30 and 100 mm, more preferably between 40 and 70 mm.

The handle facilitates movement of the container into and out of a cup or pot during tea making. Furthermore, the handle may be used to squeeze the container against a side wall of a cup or pot to remove excess liquid from the container prior to removal of the container from the cup or pot. This reduces the risk of splashing hot, coloured liquids onto surfaces, clothing or body parts.

For a container comprising at least one straight edge, the handle and edge may be connected throughout the whole length of the edge. Alternatively the handle and edge may be connected throughout a part of the length of the edge. Preferably the handle is connected to a side or upper edge of the container.

The rod may comprise a first end to which a permeable container is attached and a second end which, in use, extends beyond the upper rim of a cup or pot thereby enabling a user to manipulate the permeable container.

The handle may also comprise a hook for hanging the tea making assembly on an upper rim of a cup or teapot. For example, the handle may comprise a 'U' shape, or a 'T' shape.

The hook may be located at one end of the handle, towards one end of the handle or at a mid-portion of the handle.

The handle may also comprise a surface for display of advertising material. For example, the second end of the handle may include a planar region. Alternatively the second end of the handle may comprise a threedimensional region. Advertising material, e.g. text, logo or drawing, may be placed on the handle by any method, e.g an adhesive sticker or by printing directly onto the handle. Alternatively, advertising material may be incorporated onto the handle during the construction of the handle, e.g by injection moulding, etching or engraving.

The handle may be formed by any method, e.g injection moulding.

The handle and permeable container may be formed separately and later attached together. Such attachment may be any suitable method, e.g heat or adhesive.

Alternatively, the handle and container may be formed as a single integral unit. For example, an integral unit may comprise two complementary halves of a frame connected by a hinge region, wherein a handle extends from one of the halves.

Following filling of at least one of the halves with tea leaves, the two halves can be connected together. Connection may be via integral locking means, (e.g latches), heat or glue. If connection is by heating, preferably dry heat is used above 200 C.

Alternatively, the frame may be filled with a bag or pouch of tea.

The handle may be adapted for squeezing the permeable container. For example the handle may comprise a pair of arms connected together at one end. Attached to one free end of one of the arms is a perforated container, the free end of the other arm being be located on the other side of the perforated container. Therefore, viewed side on, there is perforated container flanked by two free ends of a pair of arms. The connected ends of the arms can be used to lift the permeable container in and out of a cup or pot.

Following immersion of the permeable container in water, the arms may be used to squeeze liquid out of the container prior to disposal of the tea making assembly.

Preferably the free ends of the arms are blunt. Furthermore, a tea making assembly of this design may further comprise any of the previously mentioned features.

An advantage of the tea making assembly of the present invention is that it is inexpensive to manufacture, and therefore disposable, allows the user to prepare a drink of tea without the need for further utensils and reduces the risk of splashing hot, coloured liquid on surfaces, body parts and clothing.

Although the invention has been described with respect to tea leaves, it is equally applicable to herbal teas, herbal infusions, coffee and any other drink whose preparation requires the immersion of particles in liquid and subsequent separation of those particles from the liquid.

Furthermore, the invention may be used for preparing bath infusions or herbal inhalants, e.g those which involve the immersion of herbs and spices in water to generate vapour which when inhaled clears sinuses etc. Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following figures: Fig. 1 is a front view of a tea making assembly comprising a square permeable container welded to a first end of a rod, a second end of the rod comprises a hook. The dimensions of the handle are exaggerated to improve clarity.

Fig. 2 is a view from one side of the tea making assembly of Fig. 1. The width of the container walls, the side seams and the dimensions of the handle are exaggerated to improve clarity.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of the tea making assembly of Fig. 1. The width of the upper and lower seams of the container are exaggerated to improve clarity.

According to Fig. 1 a tea bag comprises a square perforated container, and is welded to one end of a substantially rigid rod of e.g. polypropylene. An inverted 'U' shaped hook is located at the upper end of the rod and is suitable for hanging the tea bag over an upper rim of a cup, for moving to tea bag in the cup, for squeezing the tea bag against the side of the cup, and for removing the tea bag for disposal.

Fig. 2 shows a view from one side of the tea bag of Fig. 1 Fig. 3 shows a section on line 3-3 of the tea making assembly of Fig. 1, the handle extends upwards from the tea bag.

Claims (10)

1. Claims 1. An assembly comprising a flexible permeable container for tea,

   attached to a substantially rigid handle for facilitating manipulation of the permeable container during tea making.
2. 2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the handle comprises a rod.
3. 3. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein the permeable container has a straight edge, and said edge is attached to said rod.
4. 4. An assembly according to any preceding claim wherein a free end of the handle comprises a hook for hanging the assembly on an upper rim of a cup or teapot.
5. 5. An assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the handle is formed integrally with the permeable container.
6. 6. A making assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the handle is adapted for squeezing the container.
7. 7. An assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the handle comprises a perimeter frame for the container.
8. 8. An assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the container is a bag of permeable fibre sheet material.
9. 9. An assembly according to any of claims 1-7 wherein the container is a bag of web material having holes punched therein.
10. 10. An assembly of tea bag and substantially rigid handle substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.