Tea drinkers stewing over splitting Yorkshire Tea bags Published duration 18 December 2018

image copyright PA image caption Yorkshire Tea's biodegradable bags have been splitting, brewers claim

Yorkshire Tea's new biodegradable bags have left customers in a stew, with some complaining the plant-based bags were ruining their cuppas.

Tea lovers contacted the company, despairing that the biodegradable bags were splitting mid-brew.

Football pundit Darren Fletcher tweeted to say the performance of the new bags was "shambolic".

Yorkshire Tea responded that some of teabags, which were introduced in October, had been "misbehaving".

Fletcher told his Twitter followers of "shocking developments" with the bags, at his house during breakfast.

One Twitter user joked that the problem was causing "much moodiness in the morning", while another said: "I've been drinking your tea the last month or so (having been a Tetley drinker all my life) and I really enjoy the taste...what I don't enjoy is the number of split teabags that I'm getting.

"Every third or fourth bag splits.. what's that about?"

Responding to the claims, Yorkshire Tea said the problem has only affected a small proportion of bags, but added: "People are used to our tea bags being reliable, so it's a big deal when they go wrong."

A spokesman said: "Some of our tea bags have been misbehaving. If it's happened to you, we're really, really sorry."

Earlier this year, the tea-maker announced that it was beginning to introduce renewable and biodegradable tea bags using a plant-based material for sealing.

The aim was that all tea bags would be biodegradable by the end of 2019, it said.

"It doesn't have any effect on the tea's flavour or its shelf life and won't cost you any more to buy," the firm promised.