Frequently asked questions

By putting care into the making of all our drinks, we put wellbeing at the heart of every cup of Twinings.

We believe our products can be a source for positive change around the world – from the communities where we source our ingredients, to the homes where our drinks are enjoyed. We are working to improve the wellbeing and livelihoods of our farmers and sourcing communities, while protecting the planet we rely on, by sourcing quality ingredients to the highest ethical and sustainable standards, improving our environmental impact.

There are two initiatives that we are working through to improve the wellbeing of people and our planet through the making of our drinks:

Sourced with care: Our responsible sourcing program, which aims to improve the lives of the communities from which we source. We do this through improving access to water and sanitation, empowering women, and enhancing incomes and resilience through income diversification and sustainable farming practices.

Working with care: We are helping to conserve our planet by keeping the environment front of mind in everything we do. We constantly challenge our thinking to improve our operations and reduce our footprint. Starting by becoming carbon neutral in our operations and supply chain, and optimising our packaging, we will enable more people to access sustainably produced drinks.

Our Working with Care program formalises our approach to reducing the environmental impact of our own operations.

The program’s focus areas are:

- Climate change: Reducing our carbon footprint and becoming carbon neutral

- Packaging: Transitioning to more sustainable packaging solutions

- Environmental Safeguarding: We will work continuously to ensure we run our business in a way that safeguards the future of our planet. We will also be building environmental criteria into operational decision making.

Our targets for the Working with Care program:

- We will make all our tea and herbal infusions products carbon neutral by 2030

- By 2025, we will ensure that our consumer packaging is reusable or recyclable, and our tea bags are compostable. Where possible across our product range, we will also increase the recycled content of our packaging, find alternatives to single-use plastic packaging, and work to reduce the packaging we use.

Our Working with Care program formalises our approach to reducing the environmental impact of our own operations.

The program’s focus areas are:

- Climate change: Reducing our carbon footprint and becoming carbon neutral

- Packaging: Transitioning to more sustainable packaging solutions

- Environmental Safeguarding: We will work continuously to ensure we run our business in a way that safeguards the future of our planet. We will also be building environmental criteria into operational decision making.

Our targets for the Working with Care program:

- We will make all our tea and herbal infusions products carbon neutral by 2030

- By 2025, we will ensure that our consumer packaging is reusable or recyclable, and our tea bags are compostable. Where possible across our product range, we will also increase the recycled content of our packaging, find alternatives to single-use plastic packaging, and work to reduce the packaging we use.

To ensure our tea bags are made from plant-based and biodegradable materials

At Twinings, we are committed to improving the sustainability of all our products and packaging - this is a top priority for us.

As one of the largest producers of tea globally, Twinings is continually investigating and investing in the creation of sustainable packaging materials for our products. Our carton boxes are fully recyclable.

We are pleased to say that after considerable investigation and quality testing, we have changed over our tea paper on all Australian string & tag tea bag formats, to plant-based and biodegradable materials. These products will be finding their way to our shelves shortly and will replace our previous tea bag material.

We are currently in the process of certifying this tea bag to EN 13432 certification for ‘industrially compostable’ which is a widely recognised standard.

Changing the individual sachets in which we pack some of our speciality teas into fully recyclable materials.

We have been working hard to test various options to achieve a fully recyclable material. To date, we haven’t found a solution that meets our needs to provide a barrier, protecting the flavour and freshness of the teabag inside, and our sustainability targets. This remains a high priority for us to solve, and our teams are working hard to find a solution.

We are committed to ensuring the consistent supply of our much-loved Twinings teas to our customers. During COVID-19 global lockdowns, we experienced strong pressure across our supply chain, and prioritised the continued supply of our teas. As a result, all new materials trials were put on hold, until we were certain we could supply our tea steadily. This meant that the trials of our new plant-based tea bag materials were put on hold. As soon as we were confident again in our supply of tea, we ramped up our sustainability projects, and are pleased to say that this material change over was implemented in February 2021. This product will be flowing through onto shelf now, and we are in the process of creating identification on pack.

At Twinings, our teabags are produced using automatic tea bag packaging machines with a non-heat-sealed method. This involves a process of folding and crimping to form the bag that is then filled with tea. It is then closed using a cotton stich to both close the bag and attach the tag.

Yes

No

We are reducing our global operational and supply chain carbon footprint as much as we can – through renewable energy and improving energy efficiency. Further, we’ll balance unavoidable carbon emissions with initiatives in our supply chain that also absorb carbon and benefit tea communities.

We are developing an action plan that enables us to become carbon neutral across our value chain, from our tea bushes and peppermint fields to the supermarket shelves in all the countries Twinings is present. The means currently measuring our impact at every step, to take action, and understand where the biggest opportunities lie to offset further.

We are partnering with ClimateCare on projects that absorb carbon in tea communities, while also making a sustainable difference to their lives – an example being projects in Kenya that enable clean cookstove and water filtration.

Sourced with Care is Twinings’ responsible sourcing programme that aims to improve the lives of communities from which we source. Our vision is for healthier, happier, empowered and sustainable communities in our supply chain. At Twinings we believe that everyone has the right to a decent quality of life and is able to provide for themselves and their families. We work to empower women, improve access to water and sanitation and increase livelihoods for communities in our supply chain. For more information about our Sourced with Care program, visit: https://www.sourcedwithcare.co...

Tea is a beverage produced from the infusion in boiling water of processed leaves from the plant camellia sinensis. In most languages the word for tea is derived either from the Mandarin Chinese word ‘cha’ or the Fujianese dialect ‘te’.

The Chinese discovered some five thousand years ago that this plant could produce a wide range of flavours and characteristics. These variants are achieved by growing the plants in different soils and climates and at different altitudes just like the vine. Indeed, many tea varieties are often compared to fine wines.Left uncultivated, the tea plant – which is really a tree – would reach a height of around nine metres, but to ensure ease of plucking it is pruned to waist height.The plant is ready for plucking after three to five years, depending on altitude, and the top bud of the bush and the adjacent tender leaves are plucked.

All tea comes from the same plant – Camellia sinensis – and is grown all over the world where conditions are suitable, however, most green tea comes from Eastern China.

There are many ways of categorising tea, mainly by its colour ie. black, green, oolong and white. Within these broad groups are endless variations based on country of origin, estate location, altitude, specie of tea bush, manufacturing processes etc. The teas in the Twinings range all have their own individual characteristics as described on pack and are differentiated by colour, country and manufacturing process.Green tea, which is unoxidised and likened to white wine.Oolong, which is partially oxidised and likened to rosé.Black tea, which is fully oxidised and likened to red wine.White tea, which is the rarest and most delicate of tea.White tea represents the least processed form of tea.

The leaves are plucked and processed as quickly as possible by first withering (reducing moisture by spreading the leaves out on troughs), rolling (to shape the leaves), oxidation (turns the leaves from green to brown – not applicable for green tea), firing (application of heat to arrest the oxidation process and ensure the leaf is dry enough to be packed), sieving (grades the leaf by size & removes excess fibre.)

Follow these simple steps to ensure that the tea you serve is perfect every time.1. Only use freshly drawn cold water, ensure that kettles or water boilers are de-scaled regularly and that teapots are spotlessly clean.2. Teapots should be warmed with hot water, which is then poured away.3. Use the recommended number of tea bags or one teaspoon of loose tea per cup. For one person use a 300mL tea pot, for two persons a 600mL tea pot is recommended.4. Water should always be freshly boiled and boiling when added to black tea.5. Leave to brew for 3-5 minutes before serving. Stir before serving.6. Pour a little milk into each cup before pouring the tea through a strainer if necessary, and sweeten as required.

The main difference is in the size of leaf. Loose-leaf tea is unable to be packed into regular teabags due to its initial size and the swelled size of the infused leaf, which can burst the bags. Other than this, at Twinings we try to ensure that the loose-leaf and teabag variants of a blend are sourced from the same tea type, but of a different leaf size. The smaller leaf has a larger relative surface area and tends to brew more quickly making it ideal for teabags.

Water should always be freshly boiled and boiling when added to tea.

As the flavour of green tea is more delicate than that of its black counterpart, the water used should be first boiled and then allowed to cool slightly, ideally to approx. 85 - 90°C. Other than this the preparation is the same.

A ceremony originally developed by Buddhist monks as a way of staying awake during meditation. The ritual was at its height of popularity between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. The ceremony's greatest exponent was Sen Rikyú.

If you like to add milk and sugar, choose a black tea (you should never add milk to green tea.) Often the stronger blends like Assam, English Breakfast and Traditional Afternoon are better with milk but if your personal preference is for weaker tea then most black tea will be suitable.

This is very subjective and depends on personal preference. Those teas generally acknowledged to be the finest are usually grown at high altitude, hand-plucked finely (i.e. 2 leaves + bud or less), and often from the first flush (i.e. the first new growth of the season.) In terms of taste and appearance: teas that are bright with a lively flavour are often considered to be preferable, however, this is not necessarily true for every type of tea.

A ‘flush’ is new growth of tea on the tea bushes. “Flushes” differ depending on the area that the tea is produced. In China and India there are two main flushes, the first of which occurs in March/April time and the second in May/June time. The first flush usually has a much more pungent taste as it contains much more of the sap which has built up over the dormant winter months whereas the second flush is flavoursome but more rounded.

Tea is purchased on a supply and demand basis, which determines the worth of each individual lot of tea. Some top quality teas are hand-made in extremely small quantities making the cost of production and therefore the value very high. The cost of production and quality varies widely according to country and area.

Elevation can influence the final character of a tea, the flavour is often more delicate the higher the altitude however quality tea can be grown at any altitude above sea level.

Within Australia, in order to have a ‘gluten-free’ label on a product you consume, the product must go through a stringent lab test to confirm that no gluten has been detected. Whilst tea itself doesn’t contain gluten, our products haven’t undergone the relevant lab testing to be labelled ‘gluten-free’.
 If you’re looking for more specific guidance on this, please see the back-of-pack ingredient list for each of our products and consult with your health care practitioner.

ALL of our teas and infusions are suitable for vegetarians, but not always suitable for vegans.

Occasionally the sides of a cup can be discoloured as the tea is drunk. The problem can arise when elements of the tea react with elements of the water to form non-soluble compounds. These compounds can take a couple of different forms:One gives the appearance of a film on the surface of the drink (sometimes looks oily and sometimes dusty)The other is to give the liquid a cloudy look (sometimes referred to as tea ‘cream’)Some of the water compounds are more prevalent in hard water areas, so the problem is often worse in these areas.The film on the surface can be deposited on the side of the cup and can be difficult to remove. Because of the ‘chalky’ nature of these insoluble compounds, we recommend cleaning with something such as bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice, vinegar or something similar.

Black Teas: Average caffeine content of 60-70 mg per cup – based on a serving of 200ml of water. Green & White Teas: Average caffeine content of 30-40 mg per cup – based on a serving of 200ml of water.The caffeine levels depend heavily on preparation methods (brewing time, stirring), the amount of tea leaves used, the size of the leaves and variations in the plant. Black & green teas are produced from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, so both green and black tea naturally contains caffeine with both containing broadly similar amounts.There are many types of tea containing different amounts of caffeine and the caffeine content of the beverage may vary widely depending upon brewing method and preferred strength. However it must be noted that, in common with all foodstuffs, an excessive intake is not recommended. In the case of caffeine, 'excessive' is generally regarded as being above 400 mg/day, equivalent to more than eight cups of tea per day with average caffeine content of 50 mg per cup. Pregnant women are however recommended to limit their daily caffeine intake from all sources to a maximum of 200 mg/day.Coffee can have anywhere between 60-280mg of caffeine per cup depending on the type strength and brewing time.

The extraction of caffeine involves the tea leaves being 'washed', a process that removes almost all of the caffeine. The process we use is a well-established method which is very common across both the tea and coffee industries. Both Twinings and our suppliers have rigorous food safety measures in place to ensure our products are of high quality, safe and in line with Australian laws and regulations.

All Twinings Infusions are naturally caffeine free. The term “Herbal” or “Fruit” tea can be confusing which is why we refer to them as infusions. The only exception to this is our Vitality blend which is a mix of fruit & green tea and therefore does contain caffeine.

Most fruits naturally contain acids. It is generally understood that our saliva will neutralise the acids and wash them away. Our Infusions range from 3pH to 7pH.

All Twinings tea bags use bleached paper. The paper is bleached using an ‘oxygen bleaching’ process. This process is more environmentally sound than alternative chlorine based bleaching methods, due to the fact that the materials used are not released into the environment after use, but can be re-introduced to the bleaching process. Chlorine and chlorine derivatives (such as sodium chlorite) are more toxic chemicals and are far more harmful to the environment. Bleaching offers a cleaner, stronger, more premium teabag than can be produced with unbleached pulp. Taste tests have raised concerns about flavour contamination due when unbleached material is used.

Rooibos tea is a naturally caffeine free drink/tea made from the Rooibos shrub “Aspalathus linearis”, which grows only on the North Western Cape of South Africa. The word 'Rooibos' means 'red bush' in Afrikaans, and is so-called because when the green, needle-like leaves of the plant are cut and left to dry in the sun, they turn a beautiful mahogany red colour.

In developing our Infusion blends we have focused on bringing you the best taste and experience, while ensuring they do not contain artificial flavours. In order to create Infusions that have the perfect combination of ingredients some of the blends do include natural and nature-identical flavours to deliver a richer and fuller taste.

Within Australia, in order to have a ‘gluten-free’ label on a product you consume, the product must go through a stringent lab test to confirm that no gluten has been detected. Whilst tea itself doesn’t contain gluten, our products haven’t undergone the relevant lab testing to be labelled ‘gluten-free’.

If you’re looking for more specific guidance on this, please see the back-of-pack ingredient list for each of our products and consult with your health care practitioner.

If you have any queries or specific concerns about consuming our Infusions range or a particular ingredient, we recommend that you speak with your midwife or local GP for further advice.

In developing our Infusion blends we have focused on bringing you the best taste and experience. We can proudly share that none of our blends in the Live Well range contain artificial colours or flavours.

In developing our Infusion blends we have focused on developing the best blends for individuals to Live Well every day. Our Infusions are not specifically developed for children. If you have specific queries about children consuming Infusions, or a particular ingredient we would advise that you consult with your early childhood nurse or GP for further advice.

We are absolutely conscious of making sustainability choices that have a positive impact to nature and our environment. We can proudly share that our packaging is not only sustainably friendly but also eco friendly with our tea bags being bio-degradable when disposed correctly.

Inner Cleanse with probiotics blend. Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 is a natural spore forming probiotic to support digestive health.

If you have any specific health queries please contact your doctor.

We have elevated our blends to incorporate fortification. This is to give you premium tasting teas with even more benefits than your regular tea. We have fortified blends now to support your immunity, beauty and energy, creating the perfect health ritual in your day.

The probiotics are in a spore-form which means the bacteria are within a protective casing which ensures they are not destroyed by the boiling water.

This blend was created with Ganeden BC30 probiotics. Each tea bag contains 250 million CFU* (colony forming units ) to support the good bacteria in your tummy.

Vitamin B6 is a water soluble vitamin that your body needs for several functions to support overall health and energy. This fantastic vitamin also contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

Biotin is a complex of B vitamins that support the body with overall energy. Biotin specifically supports your skin and hair to retain healthiness.

Twinings Lattes are a creamy blend of coconut milk powder with either matcha green tea, ground spices with black tea, turmeric or cacao. They are gently sweetened with raw sugar and a hint of stevia. Twinings Lattes have been designed to be made with milk (either plant based or regular milk) and enjoyed either warm or cold.

3 Easy Steps:

1. Add a dash of hot water to 2 to 3 teaspoons to create a paste. Or feel free to adjust serves to suit your taste!

2. Top up with your choice of hot or cold milk

3. Stir until smooth and enjoy!

TIP: Try frothing your hot milk

No. Our Twinings Lattes are made with Coconut Milk Powder that contains sodium caseinate which comes from cow's milk. This ingredient is present in a minimal amount and is used to help the Coconut Milk spray drying process.

No. All Twinings Lattes are made with a special Coconut Milk Powder that contains sodium caseinate which comes from cow's milk. This ingredient is present in a minimal amount and is used to help the Coconut Milk spray drying process. All Twinings lattes have less than 0.5g of sodium caseinate every 100g of powder (1g per canister).

Twinings lattes are made with plant based ingredients however they are not dairy free. All Twinings Lattes are made with a special Coconut Milk Powder that contains sodium caseinate which comes from cow's milk. This ingredient is present in a minimal amount and is used to help the Coconut Milk spray drying process. All Twinings lattes have less than 0.5g of sodium caseinate every 100g of powder (1g per canister).

No. Twinings Lattes do not contain any coffee. Twinings Lattes are a creamy blend of coconut milk powder with either Matcha Green Tea, ground spices with black tea Turmeric or Cacao. However, like a café latte that you might find in a cafe, Twinings lattes are designed to be made with milk. Latte is milk in Italian. You can use your choice of either plant based or regular milk to make our range of Twinings Lattes.

Twinings sources the finest ingredients with care from all corners of the globe, harnessing the wonder of tea, herbs and botanicals to bring you the delicious blends you know and love. Twinings is committed to sourcing responsibly as a company, and to be a force for good to improve quality of life in the communities from which we source around the world. We believe that everyone has the right to a decent quality of life and we want to make this a reality in the communities where we source our products. We work to empower women, improve access to water and sanitation and increase livelihoods for communities in our supply chain. For more information about our Sourced with Care program, and to see a selection of the countries that we source from visit: https://www.sourcedwithcare.co...

The following blends from the In’fuse range are available in Coles and select independent grocers:

Passionfruit, Mango & Blood OrangeWatermelon, Strawberry & Mint

Twinings In’fuse is a range of cold water infusions designed as a perfect addition to your water bottle. Made from the best ingredients, it is naturally caffeine free and contains no artificial colours or flavours. Simply drop into your water bottle and take it with you to stay hydrated throughout your day.

We recommend our cold water infusions are dropped into a minimum of 550 ml of water, for the fullest taste experience.

Infusing your cold water is easy, simply:Drop the infuser into your bottle (at least 550ml of water recommended)Leave for 3-5 mins and watch the infusion transform your waterShake and enjoy – leave your infuser in for lasting flavour
 We recommend you consume the infused water within eight hours.

Twinings In’fuse has been designed specifically for cold water and blended to deliver you the best taste experience, whilst conveniently enabling you to drop it directly into cold water without a string and tag. Our In’fuse range is designed to help drive your hydration throughout the day. Our current Twinings black, green and herbals tea range are designed specifically to infuse in hot water before consuming.

To develop our In’fuse blends we have drawn on perfect combinations of fruit, natural fruit flavours, spices & botanicals to deliver the best taste and experience. In using fruit which naturally contains sugar and incorporating flavours to create the perfect combination, the In'fuse blends do contain less than 1 g of sugar.

Our In’fuse range has been designed for infusion into a water bottle to assist you with hydration throughout the day, and to deliver you the best flavour and taste experience. We recommend the blends are infused with a minimum of 550 ml of water so they could be consumed into a glass of water if preferred – it’s all about your taste preference!

Twinings In’fuse has been designed specifically for cold water, to deliver you the best taste experience. If you do drop the infuser in hot water, the taste profile of the drink is affected, so we do not recommend this. If you’re seeking a product for hot water, we recommend you try our current Twinings black, green and herbals tea range – all designed specifically to infuse in hot water before consuming.

For the best flavour and taste experience we recommend that after dropping the infuser into your water bottle you consume the water within eight hours.

The current Twinings hot tea range needs to be placed into hot water first to ensure the product is safe for consuming and to enable the flavour profile of the blend to develop for the best taste experience.

We highly recommend consuming our cold water infusions in a re-usable bottle, to be mindful of the environment. To develop our In’fuse water bottle, we have focused on delivering a product that’s environmentally friendly. We are proud to confirm that all elements of our water bottle are recyclable, with these claims passed by independent testing from SGS Australia.

All Asha blends are made from the best tasting teas, herbs and natural flavours. We do not add any colours or artificial flavours to our blends.

We are proud to confirm the Asha blends are made solely from the best tasting teas, herbs and natural flavours to give you the best taste experience.

The gently scented Green Tea in Blissful Green has been sourced from the Hunan Province in China which is situated along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This region has a subtropical, humid climate which results in a gentle green tea flavour.
The origin of our other ingredients used in the range may vary depending on availability and supply to ensure we can continuously bring you the best tasting blend all while upholding our Australian Certified Organic status. At Twinings we recognise our responsibility to source ethically and our ability to act as a force for good by improving conditions in our supply chain. Our Sourced with Care programme aims to do just that. Find out more at www.sourcedwithcare.com

There is only one blend in the Asha range that contains caffeine and that is Blissful Green - all others are caffeine free.

Caffeine levels depend heavily on preparation methods (brewing time, stirring), the number of teabags used, the size of the leaves and variations in the plant. While we have not specifically tested each of the Asha blends for caffeine content, we can provide the following general advice.

Green Tea such as Asha Blissful Green contain an average caffeine content of 30-40 mg per cup based on a serving of 200ml of water.

Herbal infusions such as Asha Sleep Time, Vanilla Retreat and Turmeric Temple are naturally caffeine free.

The blends within the Asha range do not contain any traces of animal product and so are great for vegetarians and vegans to enjoy.

Asha Sleep Time, Asha Vanilla Retreat and Asha Turmeric Temple from our Organic Asha Range, are all naturally caffeine-free herbal infusions and therefore the most gentle of our blends to consume during pregnancy.

Please consult with your GP if you have specific concerns about consuming our tea, infusions or ingredients, especially during pregnancy.

Our Blissful Green tea is sourced from the Hunan Province in south-eastern China. Situated along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, this region has a subtropical, humid climate which results in a gentle green tea flavour.

After picking, it has been delicately scented with real jasmine flowers. The this is done by introducing jasmine flowers to the tea for scenting and then sifting them out during the sorting process so that no flowers remain.

Our herbal infusions and green tea blends are best enjoyed without milk.