Tazo Refresh Mint Herbal Tea (24ct filterbags)
At a glance
Summary
Tazo Refresh Mint scores 35/100 — the cleanest blend in Tazo's bagged lineup. Just three herbs (peppermint, spearmint, tarragon), no 'natural flavors' line, no added citric acid, caffeine-free. Peppermint and spearmint bring documented digestive and antimicrobial benefits (menthol and carvone respectively); tarragon contributes aromatic estragole. The score is held below 'recommend' tier solely by the delivery vehicle: the filterbag is paper heat-sealed with polypropylene, releasing billions of micro- and nanoplastic particles per cup at 95 °C (Hernandez et al. 2019; Banaei et al. 2024). Brewed loose, this is a 70-tier infusion.
Key ingredients 4
Polypropylene tea bag (Microplastic shedding)Very Bad
Tazo's standard rectangular filterbags are paper heat-sealed with polypropylene. Hernandez et al. 2019 (Environ. Sci. Technol., McGill) measured ~11.6 billion microplastic and ~3.1 billion nanoplastic particles released per cup from plastic-containing tea bags brewed at 95 °C. Banaei et al. 2024 (Chemosphere, UAB Barcelona) confirmed polypropylene bags shed ~1.2 billion particles per mL and demonstrated particle uptake by human intestinal cells in vitro. There is no established safe exposure threshold for chronic ingestion of polypropylene nanoplastics from food contact materials.
See more about Polypropylene tea bag (Microplastic shedding) →Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)Good
Tarragon contributes estragole and traces of capillin/bornyl acetate. Long history of culinary use; small-scale evidence for blood-glucose modulation in diabetic models. No safety concerns at infusion doses.
See more about Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) →Peppermint Leaf (Mentha × piperita)Very Good
Peppermint contains menthol and rosmarinic acid. Multiple RCTs support its use for IBS symptom relief (Khanna et al. 2014 meta-analysis) and tension headache. Caffeine-free and well-tolerated.
See more about Peppermint Leaf (Mentha × piperita) →Spearmint Leaf (Mentha spicata)Very Good
Spearmint is rich in carvone and rosmarinic acid. Two human trials (Akdoğan 2007; Damiani 2015) showed measurable anti-androgenic effects in women with hirsutism at 2 cups/day. Aromatic without the menthol intensity of peppermint.
See more about Spearmint Leaf (Mentha spicata) →Processing
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