Sweet-tea

Abstract

This invention comprises a permeable tea bag and a mixture of tea leaves and a sweetener within the tea bag. The tea bag containing the tea leaves and sweetener will be deposited in a cup of hot water and will be removed once a sufficient amount of brewing time elapses. The tea would be sweetened and brewed and be ready for consumption at this time, preventing the need to add sugar or other sweetener after brewing.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Non-Provisional patent application does not claim priority to any United States provisional patent application or any foreign patent application.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosures made herein relate generally to tea or coffee. The invention discussed herein is in the general classification of tea bags.

BACKGROUND

Tea can be enjoyed in a variety of forms. These include traditional teas and a variety of herbal teas as well as green tea and black tea. Teas are usually made by placing a tea bag into a cup of hot water. Most tea bags consist of tea leaves contained within a small bag. The bag is usually highly porous to allow the water to penetrate the tea leaves. The material used in tea bags does not break down on contact with hot water but is thin enough to allow a free exchange of water and tea-leaf oils and extracts. The tea bags are usually round or square in shape and are sized to hold enough tea leaves to brew one cup of tea. A string is usually attached to the tea bag to make it easier to remove the bag after brewing is complete.

Often, a sweetener, such as sugar, is added to the tea. The majority of consumers add the sweetener to the tea after it is brewed. This can be an inconvenience for people who like to take their favorite type of tea bags with them to work or while traveling, as it requires them to also transport sugar or other sweeteners. To date, no tea bags with sweetener already added exist in the marketplace.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Sweet-Tea utilizes a conventional tea bag and fills it with a mixture of tea and a sweetener to allow the automatic addition of the sweetener when the tea is brewed. The tea bag containing the tea and sweetener can be deposited in a cup of hot water and removed once a sufficient amount of brewing time elapses. The tea will be sweetened and brewed and be ready for consumption at this time.

Although the invention described herein is often referred to as Sweet-Tea, it should be understood that it could be used for a variety of applications in the food industry.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a tea and sweetener mixture within a tea bag that will allow the tea extracts and oils and sweetener to mix with hot water when placed in a container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tea and sweetener mixture within a tea bag that is easy to use and transport.

Yet another object this invention is to provide an affordable tea and sweetener mixture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention cut along section A-A.

FIG. 3 depicts a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Sweet Tea is comprised of at least some of the following: a permeable bag and a mixture of tea leaves and a sweetener.

In the preferred embodiment of the tea bag, shown in FIG. 1, a thin, permeable outer membrane 1 surrounds the tea leaf and sweetener mixture (not pictured). The membrane 1 is roughly circular in shape and is connected to a tea bag string (not pictured).

FIG. 2 reveals the tea leaf and sweetener mixture 2 that is contained within the tea bag. The tea leaf and sweetener mixture 2 can be of any type of tea or sweetener. Common teas include: traditional tea, herbal teas, green tea and black tea. Common sweeteners include: sugar, NutraSweet, Equal, and Sweet-N-Low.

FIG. 3 depicts an alternative embodiment of the invention with a thin, permeable membrane 4 that is roughly rectangular in shape. It also has a tea bag string 3 to aid in the removal of the tea bag from a cup of tea.

Sweet-Tea is designed to allow a user to easily transport tea bags with sweetener in one convenient bag. To use Sweet-Tea, the tea bag containing the tea and sweetener will be deposited in an appropriately sized cup of hot water and will be removed once a sufficient amount of brewing time elapses. The tea will be sweetened and brewed and be ready for consumption at this time.

The tea bags of the present invention will be offered with different types of tea and strengths and types of sweetener. For example, the tea bags can have the equivalent of one packet of sweetener or two packets of sweetener. Both sugar and various types of artificial sweeteners will be offered. It should be obvious that any shape or size tea bag could be utilized in this invention. Any type or strength of sweetener or tea could also be utilized.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. It should therefore be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is intended to include all changes and modifications that are within the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. A tea bag comprising a permeable outer membrane surrounding a tea leaf and sweetener mixture.

2. The tea bag of claim 1 wherein the permeable outer membrane is roughly rectangular in shape.

3. The tea bag of claim 1 wherein the permeable outer membrane is roughly circular in shape.

4. The tea bag of claim 1 further comprising

a tea bag string connected to the permeable outer membrane.

5. The tea bag of claim 1 wherein the permeable outer membrane is made of paper.

6. The tea bag of claim 1 wherein the tea leaf and sweetener mixture contains sugar.

7. The tea bag of claim 1 wherein the tea leaf and sweetener mixture contains artificial sweeteners.

8. A tea bag comprising a circular, permeable outer membrane surrounding a tea leaf and sweetener mixture wherein the circular, permeable outer membrane is connected to a tea bag string and the tea leaf and sweetener mixture contains sugar.