It’s mostly a blend of different plant materials but is tea vegan and vegetarian?
Tea is typically vegan and vegetarian as it’s a mixture of different plant materials. The most common like green, black, and white tea all come from the same plant. However, some tea blends have small amounts of honey to add flavor. These are not considered vegan and should be avoided. Vegetarians, on the other hand, can have all types of tea.
There is also the issue of tea bags. Most tea bags have about 25% plastic, which means you may want to avoid it. After all, plastic is responsible for vast environmental destruction, so opting for the loose tea counterpart is better.
Loose tea is both more environmentally friendly and even tastes much better. Read along as I go over all kinds of tea. Their ingredients and why they may or may not be vegan or vegetarian.
What Tea Is Vegan And Vegetarian
| Kind Of Tea | Is It Vegan | Is It Vegetarian |
| Green Tea | YES | YES |
| Black Tea | YES | YES |
| Earl Grey Tea | YES | YES |
| White Tea | YES | YES |
| Herbal | YES | YES |
| Iced Tea | Mostly | YES |
Disclaimer: This only includes plain tea, as some variations of these can have animal products. Many tea mixtures have honey, or other sweeteners added that are not vegan.
Is Loose Tea Vegan And Vegetarian
Loose tea is nothing more than tea that doesn’t come in a bag. It’s arguably the most fun and best-tasting tea. You can choose amazing herbs, fruits, leaves for your loose tea mixture, so it’s much more interesting than your regular tea bag.
Although the question remains whether or not loose tea is usually vegan.
Loose tea is almost always vegan, it’s usually a combination of different greens that are entirely vegan. Although some mixes can have small amounts of honey, so you cannot always assume. The safest choice is to avoid any loose tea products that specifically say honey on the front.
However, it’s still essential to read the ingredients. You cannot imagine what some brands add to even the simplest of drinks, such as tea.
Verdict: Almost Always
Are Tea Bags Vegan And Vegetarian
Tea bags make tea much more convenient to make and enjoy. After all, it can be a mess to make a cup of tea with loose tea. Especially if you don’t have the proper equipment.
The ingredients in tea bags are usually vegan, as they consist of greens such as leaves, spices, or even fruit. Although the bags themselves are not always the most vegan choice, as most tea bags consist of 25% plastic.
Plastic may just be the most substantial environmental issue today. More than 8.8 million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year. This results in whole islands of plastic and trash, which also harms animals.
Animals are suffocated and entrapped in large quantities of plastic each year. In fact, it’s estimated that more than 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic pollution. So you could potentially end up hurting animals indirectly.
So the best choice is to go for the loose tea. It’s not only much better in terms of taste, but it requires less plastic to produce.
Verdict: Most Tea Bags Contain 25% Plastic
Is All Tea Vegan
There are many different kinds of tea out there, all with different ingredients. So it’s crucial to identify what these are made of and whether any animal products are present. Here are the most common teas and whether or not they are vegan.
Is Green Tea Vegan
Likely the most popular of teas, green tea. You can get this tea almost everywhere, so what does this popular tea consist of?
Green tea is entirely vegan because its only ingredient is Camellia sinensis leaves. It’s a plant, which’ leaves and buds are traditionally used for various teas. Green tea itself does not inherently have any animal ingredients. Although some ready to drink green teas can contain honey.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Is Black Tea Vegan
The main ingredient of black tea is Camellia sinensis leaves. That’s also true for green tea, and what makes these teas so different is the production. Black tea needs more withering and oxidation in order to achieve that distinct taste, but the ingredient is the same.
Black tea is vegan as it uses the same plant-based ingredient like green tea. The only ingredient is Camellia sinensis, which is a plant. The reason black and green tea tastes so different is due to the oxidation process.
So black tea is 100% plant-based. At least in its purest form. Some may add non-vegan condiments, but black tea is vegan.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Is Earl Grey Tea Vegan
Earl Grey tea is very similar to black tea in its main ingredients. In fact, Earl Grey tea is black tea but with an additional ingredient.
Earl Grey consists of black tea with bergamot essential oil added for flavor. That’s how Earl Grey gets its different flavor. The oil is entirely vegan as it’s derived from the bergamot orange. Thus, Earl Grey is vegan as it only has plant-based ingredients.
Just opt for other sweeteners than honey.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Is White Tea Vegan
White tea can refer to different kinds of tea. The common denominator of these being that they all come from the Camellia sinensis plant. Just like green, black, and Earl Grey.
So white tea is typically vegan as it primarily consists of plant material. There is nothing non-vegan in the traditional tea itself. The downfall is when certain ingredients are added to give additional flavor. It’s usually in the form of honey or non-vegan sugar.
So opt for the traditional and plain white teas. These are almost vegan as the only ingredient is plant-based.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Is Herbal Tea Vegan
Herbal tea is merely a blend of various plant material. In fact, the former teas in this article are all under the same category of herbal tea. Although, herbal tea is different from the others as the recipe is not as set in stone.
Herbal tea is vegan and vegetarian as it’s made with plant material. There is no definite ingredients or plants in herbal tea. It’s merely a combination of different plants or spices used in hot water to make tea. However, the ingredients need to be of plants; otherwise, it’s not a pure herbal tea.
That’s for the plain tea. As with most teas, many add additional sweeteners that are not always vegan. Herbal tea itself, however, is vegan and vegetarian.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
What Tea Brands Are Vegan
Is Pukka Tea Vegan
Pukka tea has many different flavors in their selection, and all of them are entirely vegetarian. There are fewer vegan options, though. Many of their popular flavors have small amounts of honey. This makes these specific flavors non-vegan.
So what Pukka Tea flavors are not suitable for vegans?
Non-Vegan Pukka Teas
- Pukka Lemon Ginger & Manuka Honey
- Chamomile, Vanilla and Manuka Honey
These are the flavors that are not suitable for vegans. All the others can be consumed by vegans as they are free from any animal products. Vegetarians can have all of their flavors, including the ones on the list above.
Verdict: All Are Vegetarian, Most are Vegan
Is Fuze Tea Vegan
Fuze tea is an ice tea that’s produced by the Coca-Cola company. There are many different varieties, but it seems most, if not all are vegan.
Fuze tea contains the ingredient natural flavor, which is an umbrella term that can include animal products. Coca-Cola states that most of their products, including teas, are entirely vegan. So one can assume that the natural flavor in Fuze tea is made of plant-based ingredients.
You can read more about natural flavor in the vegan diet here. That should give you an idea of what it is, and why you need to avoid it.
Ingredients In Fuze Iced Tea Lemon
Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Tea Powder, Natural Flavors, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Sucralose, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12
Coca-Cola
Verdict: Most Likely Vegan And Vegetarian
Is Peace Tea Vegan
Most of the Peace tea options are vegan, as they are without any animal products. They do contain the ingredient natural flavor, which can be non-vegan. However, Peace Tea is a Coca-Cola product, and they say that most of their teas are vegan.
Since most of their teas contain natural flavor, it’s assumable that natural flavor is a vegan ingredient in this instance. So most Peace teas are vegan, but some have honey.
One example of Peace tea with honey is the green tea option. Have a look at the ingredients below, to see the ingredients of concern.
Peace Tea Green Tea Ingredients
Brewed Natural Green Tea (Pure Filtered Water, Green Tea), Sugar, Natural Flavors, Honey, Citric Acid, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Sucralose.
Verdict: All Seem Vegetarian, But Not All Are Vegan
Is Twining Tea Vegan
Twining is a wildly popular tea, and they have a vast selection. Many of their products are suitable for vegans and vegetarians, but not all. Some of them contain animal products such as honey, which is considered non-vegan.
Here is a list of Twining teas that vegans cannot have.
Non-Vegan Twining Teas
- Bollywood Chai Latte
- Cranberry and Pomegranate
- Camomile, Honey and Vanilla
- Chocolate Coconut Flavor Green Tea
- Green Tea with Honey and Lemon
- Green Tea and Pomegranate
- Raspberry and Pomegranate
- Green Tea, Peach and Cherry Blossom
- Mango & Coconut Green Tea
These are just the teas I were able to identify as non-vegan. Please note that you may encounter another non-vegan flavor. So read the ingredients yourself to make sure that it’s 100% vegan and vegetarian.
Verdict: Many Are Not Vegan
Is Iced Tea Vegan
Maybe the most popular iced tea in the world is Lipton, and that’s entirely vegan. They don’t use any animal ingredients, and most iced tea is like this. After all, iced tea is merely iced tea, and most tea is vegan.
So it’s really no surprise that most iced tea is vegan. Although I encourage you to read the ingredients before any purchase. You never know what some brands add to their products behind your back.
Verdict: Mostly Vegan And Vegetarian
Conclusion
Tea is, for the most part, vegan, even iced tea. Although the problem often arises when you buy a ready to drink tea. They often have honey or other non-vegan sweeteners. Another issue is when you buy blends that have honey.
Many brands have blends with honey added, but it usually says so on the front. So it’s not an issue most of the time. However, have a look at the ingredients if you buy blends, just to be on the safe side.
Hey, I’m Gus! I have been vegan for quite some years now, and have collected a lot of knowledge about the subject in this time. My goal with this blog is to spread the vegan message and make it easy to know exactly what’s vegan and what’s not.