Coining a Greener Tea Bag

They may look like chocolate cookies, but they're actually tea coins.

They were invented by teamakers in a village in Assam in northeast India, and they're an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional teabag.

Assam is the world's largest tea-growing region and Rajesh Singpho is one of many teamakers.

And he is now making a name for himself by manufacturing the coins.

[Rajesh Singpho, Tea Coin Manufacturer]:
"We have been traditionally making it for many years now. In 2006 we started marketing this traditional tea and received a lot of positive response."

The coins are hand-pressed and are a mix of Oolong and green tea.

They've been popular in local Indian communities for some time, but now they're starting to take off internationally as well.

[Rjesh Singpho, Tea Coin Manufacturer]:
"We have already started marketing this tea here. And now even the U.S. is demanding this tea. Apart from that, we have begun marketing the tea in Hong Kong and China."

The tea-coin makers only use natural fertilizers and organic pest sprays.

People living in this region of Assam believe that drinking the tea helps to control diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

So if conventional medicine is not your proverbial cup of tea, at just over four dollars a kilogram, tea coins may just be the perfect brew.