A new, recyclable, forward-thinking tea-brewing instrument - with a name that sticks! 🌱🫖 👏🏻
The ChaDan brewing instrument is an egg-shaped infuser, is made from sugarcane fibres, an agricultural by-product. Designed for brewing directly in a cup or mug, it therefore could potentially offer a simpler way to prepare speciality tea, both at home and in professional tea service.
What makes ChaDan interesting?
According to its developer ChaDan offers room for the leaves to unfold and is designed to impart neither taste nor smell. It keeps the loose leaves contained, making serving and clearing away straightforward. Especially the prospect of an easier clearing away makes it an appealing feature for restaurants, hotels and anyone who enjoys an uncomplicated cup of high quality loose leaf tea, on the go. Also the fact that you can compost the ChaDan directly in your own home compost is very interesting. Most biodegradeable materials on the market need an industrial compost, that gets hot enough.
ChaDan is literally a brewing instrument made for the future: it contains no microplastics, no PFAS, no glues, no synthetic coatings and is fully compliant with the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (P&PWR)! The ChaDan is designed to withstand several infusions with the same leaves during a brewing session.
This all sounds very good to me; let's see how ChaDan performs with three different loose leaf teas!
I steeped three teas exceptional loose leaf teas
I took exactly 2 grams of each tea (as is recommended by Cha Dan as their golden rule per container). And of course I used a fresh new ChaDan for each tea:
Swolame White from Bibek Rai —a white tea fresh and gentle, high grown in Nepal
Golden Whisper from Glen Nevis, Sri Lanka—an elegant, very tippy black tea with a strong fruity body. From the award winning plantation behind Aratenna Special Silver Tips.
Aged Yi Tribal Coins from Wild Tea Qi—a fermented pu-erh from my teacher, Shana Zhang. A very special tea from wild-growing, ancient tea trees (400-500 years old trees), plucked, produced and perfected by the Yi and Dai people in Yunnan China.Â
ChaDan — putting the idea to the test
I brewed each of the three teas twice, testing ChaDan both in a glass and in a ZERO teapot. Swolame White and Golden Whisper could easily have offered at least two more infusions—and the Yi Tribal Coin pu-erh probably another ten!
My first impression is that the ChaDan is a very forward thinking and welcome idea. I appreciate an easy-to-use, plastic-free, biodegradable alternative for brewing fine loose-leaf teas in settings where especially the disposal of the leaves is a challenge. The material, as is the case with ChaDan, must allow the tea’s own aromas and flavours to come through without adding anything of its own.
Fine leaves need lots of space
Fitting 2 grams of a bulky specialty tea into ChaDan proved difficult. Golden Whisper, in particular, did not have enough space to unfold freely, which limited the expression of its aromas and flavors. ChaDan worked OK with Swolame White and well with the pu-erh during the two infusions. Smaller or broken-leaf green and black teas might be particularly suitable for the ChaDan.
In order to try the ChaDan also with a smaller leaf tea, I used Sealy's Vintage BOP from Glen Nevis. See images above. The tea came out fine, but lots of fannings escaped the holes of the ChaDan.
By the second infusion of the teas, the material, especially the lid, had become a bit soft and discolored. This makes me question its suitability for a high-quality pu-erh capable of ten or more infusions. However, the ChaDan brewed the pu-erh tea very well during the first two steeps in this test. I would say that the pu-erh brewing worked the best of all the four teas I used in this brief test.
Another thing I noticed was that when you want to fish out the ChaDan from your cup, it's nice to use some kind of tool, like a spoon (or a handle). It's easy to burn your fingers and drip hot water on the table/around you.
Where could the idea go next?
I like the material and the sustainable concept. My main wish is for a larger brewing space, and maybe a handle on the ChaDan?
A wide, open infuser made from the same biodegradable material could be easier to fill and handle, while giving the leaves more room to unfurl. For specialty and large leaf teas teas, that space makes all the difference.
Perhaps the concept could develop further into a complete disposable brewing set: a generously sized cup, a spacious removable infuser, and a lid that also serves as a resting place for the infuser between brews. Or just make the infuser disposable and biodegradable, and the cup and lid can be made from recycled material that can be used over again, without being toxic or imparting unwanted aromas and flavors to the tea.
If all three components could be made suitable for hot tea and composting, this could be an interesting alternative for quality loose-leaf tea, especially in a café or takeaway setting—making it easier to enjoy good tea away from home, with the possibility of several infusions.
ChaDan for me is at a very promising point with a product name that stays with you, but with some room to grow—quite literally!
Come to Långbrogård in Mölnbo to talk tea with me and to purchase quality teas. As you might know, I also, as the only reseller in Sweden, offer the brand Pure Tea available as loose leaf and in biodegradable large tea pouches. All packaging material is made of recyclable and biodegradable material, and the print is with water-based ink.Find some of my offerings here.
Next time I'll be in the shop will be November 1st 2026. At LĂĄngbrogĂĄrd there is always something fun happening, and always fresh bread, local, organic vegetables, and meat from animals that lived a free and good life. And so much more! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Comments