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Thomas Sullivan
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When tea was first imported and distributed it was done so in tins. This meant that the tea could be kept stored at the proper temperature in a cool environment, but it was also expensive. The high price of tea in tins meant that it was unreachable for many. Thomas Sullivan changed all that in 1908.

Thomas Sullivan was a tea importer based in New York city. Tea was becoming ever more popular in America and Sullivan had to send increasing amounts of tea to his clients in tins. With each sample he had to put several ounces of tea in a tin, then post it to the client's address. this was bad business for him because tea was heavy and the tins expensive, Sullivan needed another way.

So he came up with the tea bags, which was actually just a silk pouch with a small amount of tea inside. This meant that the client could taste the tea as before, but he wasn't wasting money on tins and mailing costs.

His clients were amazed on receipt of their samples as Sullivan's idea was ingenious, they automatically thought that the pouches were designed to go straight into the tea pot when in fact they were supposed to be for transport only! The idea caught on and the clients started to order their tea bags from Sullivan as they were so convenient, much better than the tins.

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