How To Make Your Own Tea Bags (A Crazy-Easy DIY Gift Your ...

Are you looking for a handmade gift that’s

• Low-cost
• Super easy (and quick!)
• Universally loved
• Premium quality gift
• Scalable (both in size of gift and number of giftees!)

Well hold on to your hats.

These DIY tea bags made from coffee filters are handmade gifting GOLD!

I love tea. And I know I’m not alone.

In 2019, Americans consumed over 84 billion servings of tea, ormore than 3.8 billion gallons. (Tea USA).

Wowza.

There’s nothing that gives me more warm hygge vibes than cozying up under a blanket in some stretchy pants with a warm cup of tea.

And in summertime? Give me a cup of the iced cold brew on my patio and I’m a happy gal.

This Make Your Own Tea Bag Tutorial Checks All My Boxes for a Great DIY Gift

☑️ High-Quality Gift

Getting a high-quality final gift depends on two things for this project.

First, select a high-quality loose leaf tea. It will look better, smell better, taste better than the commercial bagged tea from the grocery store.

Second, packaging and presentation count for a lot here. Thoughtful labeling and wrapping will go a long way to a knock-out great impression. But with a nice box you can easily come up with a gift that could have come from an expensive boutique (shhhh, it can be our secret).

My favorite way to personalize these bags is with custom tea tabs that you attach to the end of the bags. I’ve made a whole set of blank tab designs you can print as-is, or import into Canva to customize.

Click here for your free printable blank tea tabs.

☑️ Quick & Easy Project

This is what I call an “Assembly” craft. Simply scoop, fold, trim, staple, repeat.

>>>>Seriously, y’all, it doesn’t get much easier than this.<<<<<<

How long does it take? Once you find a rhythm, you can whip up a bag in 15 seconds. That’s 4 per minute, 40 in 10 minutes, or 240 per hour.

☑️ Inexpensive

Bags of premium quality tea can be pretty steep (pun totally intended), packaged, and sold for $1-2 per tea bag (yikes!).

Forget that. Buy your premium tea in bulk, make your own bags, add some lovely custom labels (ahem, like the ones I linked to above), and you’ve easily cut that cost by 75%.

The cost of bulk loose-leaf tea can range but I’ve seen everything from under $30 to over $60 per pound.

I really like The Art of Tea for this type of premium loose-leaf tea in bulk. The tea is lovely and the packaging of their bags and tins is gorgeous too (if you decide not to DIY it, I won’t judge.) The price per pound varies depending on the variety you choose but remember that you can get several gifts out of a pound of tea. This brings me to my next point…

☑️ Scalable

This gift scales beautifully for all your gifting needs, without breaking the bank. If you make this for one person and have to buy all the materials you’ll still be beating the cost of gourmet retail tea bags.

If you can plan to give this gift to multiple people, you’re just adding to the value of the bulk purchase. One pound should easily yield 8-10 gifts if packaged into bundles of 20-bags each, depending on how much tea you load in each bag. But don’t get stingy here. You’re already saving a bunch by bundling them yourself, make sure the tea you’re gifting is top-quality and it will elevate this craft into something with a much high perceived gifting value by your giftee.

Here’s a few ideas of how to turn these into gifts large and small.

• Tea “Favors” for mini-gifts (like at the office), stocking stuffers, and party favors. Cluster 2-5 bags in a small box or bag.
• A decent-sized-proper-gift would probably be between 20 to 40 bags (that will take appx. 1.5-3.5 oz of tea). This will really depend on the box or tin you’re presenting them in as you want it to be reasonably full.
• Elevate your gift a bit more with some variety and abundance. Try 45-60 bags and give three or more different types.
• Add them to a cozy themed bundle gift.

When creating gift combos or gift bundles of items, I like to create a theme based on a moment I hope to create for my loved one.

For example, add these tea bags to a cute mug and bag of cookies for an indulgent, peaceful moment. Or perhaps pair them with a cozy read book you think they’ll like with a homemade bookmark.

Either way, you’re not just giving things, you’re gifting them the opportunity to create a moment of leisure, indulgence, and self-care laced coziness.

What Kind of Tea to Use

Whichever gift size you choose, the most difficult part is choosing which tea to give! This is a pretty steep topic (groan, I did it again 😆) but there are two rules I try to stick by.

First, match the type of tea to the person. AKA, choose something your giftee loves.

Second, you can select the tea to suit the occasion. For example, choose a healing or relaxing blend for a get-well gift.

Third, if you’re buying for a group, such as party favors or office gifts, I would recommend herbal tea blends only. That way you can minimize objections by eliminating the caffeine-preference factor.

Love the idea of DIY Gifts but looking for more ideas? Download my master list of all the different ways you can DIY your occasions this year.

Materials Needed to Make Your Own DIY Tea Bags

• Coffee Filters- round “basket” style for a standard 8-12 cup coffee maker
• 2oz Quality Loose Leaf Tea
• Baker’s Twine- 100% cotton string
• Staples (Sanitized) and Stapler – mini staples and stapler would be ideal if you have them; if not, a regular size stapler and standard staples work well here
• 1” by 2” piece of paper for the label

Click here for your free printable blank tea tabs.

How to Make Your Own Tea Bags

1. Wash your staples in warm soapy water and set to dry- Since the staples will soak in the tea water you’ll want to make sure there is no dust or residue

2. Place 1 ½ tsp of your chosen loose-leaf tea in the center of the coffee filter. Separate the tea into two equal piles spread out from the center.

3. Fold one side of the coffee filter over the tea plus an inch or so. You should have roughly two-thirds of the filter doubled over, see the photo for reference.

4. Cut the remaining side edge with about a centimeter of overage of the bottom layer and a nice straight side from which to start folding.

5. Fold the other side in toward the center a few times until the tea is sealed in

6. Being careful to mind the openings so your tea doesn’t spill on you, fold the bag in half, distributing the tea evenly to both sides of the new centerfold. The previous skinny folds should now be unseen in the interior

7. Trim the rounded top of the filter to get a nice straight edge

8. Fold the corners in at a 45 degree angle to create a point

9. Insert the string under the corner flap

10. Fold the point of the triangle down before folding over the top down once more leading the string out and back up away from the bag

11. Use one staple to close the bag and secure the string

12. Fold the label tab in half and secure around the other end of the string, sandwiching the string between the two sides of the label

Click here for your free printable blank tea tabs.

DIY Tea Bag Gift Ideas

Need ideas on how to make this nifty craft into a superb and thoughtful gift? Here are some tips and ideas for tea bag gift wins.

Wrapping Ideas for Your Handmade Tea Bags

Nestle these handmade tea bags in small cardboard boxes, tins, drawstring or paper bags. The size of your container depends on how many bags you make (or you can create the number of bags you make based on your container). As long as the container is 80% full of the bags it will look bountiful and beautiful.

Need a gift box in a pinch? Check out this tutorial to learn how to make a gift box from an upcycled food box.

Labeling Your Tea Bags

With consumable gifts, I always recommend including a full list of ingredients in case there are allergy concerns you don’t know about with your giftee. Also, if your tea comes with steeping temperature and time recommendations, it’s thoughtful to include that on your label or note as well.

The main label and the tea-tabs are the perfect opportunities to thoughtfully customize these bags specifically for your unique giftee. Make it a design they’d appreciate, a self-care affirmation they’d relate to, or even an inside joke to make them smile.

Who Are Tea Bag Gifts Good For?

Most Anyone

I mean, who doesn’t like tea? Some people avoid caffeine for personal or religious reasons but herbal teas are a low-risk choice that works with almost any dietary preference! And this one’s actually great for minimalists!This is a low clutter, consumable gift so if your giftee lives on the leaner side then DIY tea bags like these should be well-received.

Who Are Tea Bag Gifts Not Good For?

Super Dudes

The hyper-masculine types of guys. You know the type; probably wouldn’t appreciate tea, likely seeing it as too feminine or high-brow. Then again, if you select a tea that’s good for icing and include a cocktail recipe, even the super dudes might become converts. 😉

People Who Don’t Like Tea

But seriously, who doesn’t like some kind of tea?!

Sustainable Superstars

These probably aren’t best for the zero-waste crowd. As an alternative, you could package the same tea in a glass jar and include a tea strainer, (just in case they don’t have one already.)

When Are Tea Bags a Good Gift?

This gift works for so many occasions but lends itself especially well to get-well gifts, bereavement gifts, teacher gifts, Mother’s Day, housewarming, hostess gifts- I could go on! Tea is just so versatile it’s hard to go wrong.

Wrap it Up

Need a quick, cheap, easy gift box? This one fits a few tea bags perfectly.

Love this idea and want more? Be sure to download my list of the 17 Types of DIY Gifts by clicking on the image below and be inspired by hundreds of personalized ideas to find the perfect DIY for you!

Active Time 2 minutes Prep Time 5 minutes Total Time 7 minutes Difficulty Easy Estimated Cost Under $5

Materials

• Coffee Filters- round “basket” style for a standard 8-12 cup coffee maker
• 2oz Quality Loose Leaf Tea
• Baker’s Twine- 100% cotton string
• Staples (Sanitized) and Stapler - Mini staples and stapler would be ideal if you have them. If not, a regular size stapler and standard staples work well here.
• 1” by 2” piece of paper for the label, or download the printable tea tabs by clicking on the image at the bottom of the post

Tools

• Stapler
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Wash your staples in warm soapy water and set to dry- Since the staples will soak in the tea water you’ll want to make sure there is no dust or residue
2. Place 1 ½ tsp of your chosen loose-leaf tea in the center of the coffee filter. Separate the tea into two equal piles spread out from the center.
3. Fold one side of the coffee filter over the tea plus an inch or so. You should have roughly two-thirds of the filter doubled over, see the photo for reference.
4. Cut the remaining side with about a centimeter of overage left and a nice straight side to start folding from.
5. Fold the other side in toward the center a few times until the tea is sealed in
6. Being careful to mind the openings so your tea doesn't spill on you, fold the bag in half, distributing the tea evenly to both sides of the new centerfold. The previous skinny folds should now be unseen in the interior
7. Trim the rounded top of the filter to get a nice straight edge
8. Fold the corners in at a 45 degree angle to create a point
9. Insert the string under the corner flap
10. Fold the point of the triangle down before folding over the top-down once more leading the string out and back up away from the bag
11. Use one staple to close the bag and secure the string
12. Fold the label tab in half and secure around the other end of the string, sandwiching the string between the two sides of the label

PIN IT for later ⬇️

Are you following Pretty Delightful on Pinterest yet?

Looking for Unique and Impressive DIY Gift Ideas?