Tea bags were invented by accident when a merchant tried to save money on packaging.

The invention of the tea bag is credited to Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea importer who sought a more cost-effective way to distribute samples in 1908. At the time, tea was typically sold in large, expensive metal tins. To reduce his overhead costs, Sullivan began hand-sewing loose tea leaves into small silk sachets to send to his clients across the United States.Sullivan's customers did not realize the bags were only intended for transport. They assumed the pouches were a new brewing method and dropped the entire silk bag into boiling water. When they reported back that the mesh was too fine for proper infusion, Sullivan realized he had accidentally created a revolutionary product. He eventually replaced the expensive silk with gauze and later paper to improve the water flow and lower production costs.While Sullivan popularized the concept, a patent for a 'tea leaf holder' made of mesh was actually filed earlier in 1901 by Roberta Lawson and Mary Molaren. However, Sullivan's commercial accident is what truly brought the product to the mass market. By the 1920s, tea bags were being produced commercially with the addition of the familiar string and tag. Today, the Tea Council of the USA reports that approximately 70% to 80% of tea consumed in the United States is prepared using tea bags.