Recommended configuration
| Recommended machine | Vertical Form-Fill-Seal (VFFS), tea-bag configuration |
| Filling system | Volumetric cup doser |
| Pack format | Three-side seal filter-paper tea bag (four-side also possible), with optional outer envelope |
| Bag size | Set to approximately 4 g per bag on our tea-configured machine |
| Output | Up to 60 bags/min at 4 g, inner and outer bag with product |
| Film | Heat-sealable filter paper |
| Options | Tag and string insertion; outer envelope station; heat or ultrasonic sealing |
| Build | SUS304 stainless steel as standard |
Product behaviour
Tea is packed into filter paper rather than laminate film, and that one difference drives most of the tea bag machine’s configuration.
Filter paper, not laminate film. A tea bag is formed from heat-sealable filter paper, a porous material the brewing water passes through. The film path, web tension and sealing jaws are set up for paper, so a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine running laminate film is not simply switched over to tea.
Tea is dosed by volume, not weight. Tea leaf is light and bulky: 4 g of cut leaf takes up far more space than 4 g of a dense powder, so tea is dosed with a volumetric cup rather than a weigher.
Leaf dust settles on the seal line. Cut leaf and fannings shed fine dust onto the area being sealed. Dust in the seal gives a weak bond, and a weak bond is a tea bag that opens in the cup.
The tea bag is often not the finished pack. A tag and string, and on premium tea an outer envelope, are each a separate station on the machine, not part of forming the bag. The enveloped tea bag is the build buyers ask for most.
Recommendation
Tea bags are packed on a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine set up in a tea-bag configuration. It is the same VFFS frame supplied for powders and granules, with the film path changed over to filter paper, a volumetric cup doser fitted, and tag or envelope stations added where the pack calls for them.
A tea bag making machine and a tea bag packing machine are the same machine here: the VFFS forms the bag from filter paper, doses the tea and seals the bag in one pass.
The tea bag machine is not a separate model: the decision is which stations the VFFS carries. Frame specifications and options are on the VFFS machine page.
Tea bag machines are built in SUS304 stainless steel as standard, which suits tea. SUS316 is specified only where the product carries salt, which plain tea does not.
Filling system
Tea is filled with a volumetric cup doser: the cup measures a fixed volume of leaf and drops it into the filter-paper bag as the bag is formed.
A cup suits tea because a tea bag is sold at a small, fixed weight and leaf grade is consistent within a blend, so a fixed volume gives a repeatable weight. Our tea-configured machine is set to approximately 4 g per bag. Changing that dose means changing or adjusting the cup, which is a tooling change rather than a screen setting, so decide it before the machine is built.
A multihead weigher, used on the same VFFS frame for granules and snacks, is not used for standard tea bags. At a 4 g dose it is slower and far more expensive than a cup, and buys accuracy a tea bag does not need.
Pack formats
Tea bags are sold in three finished forms, each adding a station to the tea bag machine rather than changing it. Loose-leaf retail bags are a separate configuration.
Every tea pack below is a three-side seal bag. Four-side seal can be run, but three-side is by far the most common for tea. None is a pillow bag, which is the shape the same VFFS frame forms for powders and granules.
Pyramid tea bags can also be run on the same VFFS frame with a different fill-and-seal configuration. A pyramid pack is possible but not standard, so specify it at enquiry stage.
| Pack | Format | Machine setup |
|---|---|---|
| Plain tea bag | Three-side seal filter-paper bag, no tag | Cup doser and filter-paper film path. The base tea configuration |
| Tagged tea bag | Three-side seal filter-paper bag, with tag and string | Adds a tag and string insertion station |
| Enveloped tea bag | Three-side seal tagged bag, sealed inside an outer envelope | Adds an outer envelope station. The premium build, and the one most often asked for |
| Loose-leaf retail bag | Three-side seal and gusseted bag | A different configuration on the same VFFS frame. The gusset is what changes. It is more involved to set up than a flat bag, but it can be run |
Retail box counts are handled after the tea bag machine by a cartoning machine, not by a setting on the bagger. Decide the finishing stations at quotation stage: adding a tag or envelope station to an installed tea bag machine is a far bigger job than building it in.
Output
Our tea-configured machine runs at up to 60 bags a minute. That figure is measured at a 4 g dose, producing a finished inner bag and outer bag with product, so it is the full pack and the most the machine will do.
4 g is the largest dose this machine is set for, so 60 bags a minute is its output at the slowest point; a smaller dose runs faster. Bag size, cup dose and the number of finishing stations move the figure, because every added station has to keep pace with the bag former.
Leaf grade, dust load, paper feed and changeover time pull tea bag output down in daily running, so treat 60 bags a minute as the ceiling. Your output is confirmed in writing with the quotation and settled by a trial on your leaf.
Experience
We run customer product trials on our tea-configured machine in South Africa. Send leaf of the grade you intend to pack and watch it run before committing to a configuration, since dust load varies between tea grades.
Tea enquiries follow a consistent pattern: buyers ask for a plain bag first, then come back for the tag and outer envelope once they have compared their pack with what is on the shelf. That is the most common change of mind on a tea line, and the expensive one to make late.
Our catalogue lists one tea build, the SAP-TB: a VFFS specified for tea with ultrasonic sealing, an inner and outer bag, and a 1 to 10 g packing range. Heat sealing and ultrasonic sealing are both configurations we build, so you choose the sealing method when your tea bag machine is specified.
Model codes shown are machines we have built or configured for previous projects. Your machine is specified and built to suit your product, output and pack format — not supplied off the shelf.
Quotation
A tea bag machine is quoted to configuration, so we need six things about your tea and your pack before we can put a quotation together.
How a machine quotation is built, and what it covers, is set out in the VFFS machine cost guide. Send us a sample of your tea and we will run it before you commit.
Related pages
Tea sits under both the powder and granule product forms. These pages cover the machine, the material and the range.
“Highly recommended! Excellent customer service, great prices, and they always go above and beyond.”
Ratings and reviews are published on our Google Business Profile, where they can be read in full and in context.
PackMan purchased an Automatic 6-Lane, 4-Side Seal Vinegar Packaging Machine, and it has been performing reliably since installation. The machine delivers consistent packaging quality, operates efficiently, and has met our production expectations.
SA Packaging Machinery delivered a solution that has met our expectations. The equipment has been reliable in daily production, and we’re pleased with its performance. We found the team knowledgeable, professional, and willing to assist whenever required.
We’ve been very happy with the equipment supplied by SA Packaging Machinery. It’s straightforward to use, performs consistently, and has helped us improve our production process. The team was easy to work with and made the entire experience smooth.
Send us a sample of your tea and we will run it on our tea bag machine before you commit to anything.
Questions
No. A tea bag machine is a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine configured for tea: a filter-paper film path, a volumetric cup doser, and tag or envelope stations where the pack needs them. You choose a configuration of the VFFS, not a different machine. Frame specifications are on the VFFS machine page.
Yes, with a tag and string insertion station fitted to the tea bag machine. It is an option, not part of the base build, so it is specified at quotation. Adding one to an installed tea bag machine is a far bigger job than including it at the start.
No. Plain and tagged tea bags are sold without one. The outer envelope is the premium presentation, needs its own station, and is the tea bag build buyers most often come back for. If you may want envelopes, say so when we quote.
Our tea-configured machine is set to approximately 4 g per bag. A different tea bag weight means changing or adjusting the volumetric cup, a tooling change rather than a screen setting, so decide it before the machine is built.
No. Tea is light and bulky, so it is dosed by volume, and a volumetric cup gives a repeatable weight at tea-bag doses. A multihead weigher is slower and far more expensive at 4 g, and buys accuracy a tea bag does not need.
Yes, but not in the tea-bag configuration. Loose-leaf tea goes into a three-side seal gusseted retail bag on the same VFFS frame, with a doser sized for the larger pack. The gusset makes it more involved to set up, so tell us at quotation stage if you plan to run both leaf tea and tea bags.
