Brewing Without Plastic From Day One: The Story of DE1

The Story Behind Our Name: “DE1”

People often ask me: “Why DE1?”

“De” is how my mum says “tea” in the Chaoshan dialect, a sound that tastes like home. But “DE1” also echoes “Day One.”

And I love that. Because I want our tea to feel like your day one moment: the day you start a new project, the day you finally open that book, or the day you promise yourself you’ll recycle properly.

And, of course, the original Day One: when the Earth was born with no plastic choking turtles or floating across oceans the size of France.

The Plastic Problem We Couldn’t Ignore

Here’s the not-so-fun part: tea is supposed to be this ancient, soulful ritual… but in reality, 96% of teabags in the UK contain hidden plastics. Yep, even an “organic” one might have a sneaky polyethene lining.

Globally, less than 10% of plastic packaging is recycled, and much ends up in landfills, incinerators, or exported overseas. Seeing this, we knew tea could no longer come at the cost of the environment.

I remember standing in supermarkets in both London and China, staring at endless plastic wrapping and thinking: “This is madness. Why is something as natural as tea wrapped in something as unnatural as plastic?”

So we decided: no more. Today, DE1 is 100% recyclable, with 99% of our products biodegradable or compostable, and we won’t stop until it’s 100%.

Making Tea Beautiful Again

When we looked at the tea industry, we saw something missing: aesthetics. Many brands lacked design flair, despite tea being such an emotional, sensory experience. 

Tea should be beautiful, playful, graphic. Our team of designers sweated over every font, colour, and icon. If we can obsess about kerning on a label, maybe someone will pause, smile, and remember: this brand cares.

Lessons From the DE1 Rollercoaster

Starting a sustainable brand? Buckle up. Here’s what I’ve learned the messy way:

1. Everything can and will go wrong. We were told dozens of times: “You can’t avoid plastic.” And dozens of times we said: “Watch us.” We failed, tried again, failed harder, tried again… you get the idea. Persistence is everything.

2. Prototype, Don’t Just Talk. It’s easy to discuss feasibility, but nothing replaces the learning from physical prototyping and testing.

3. Friends + Business = Tricky Cocktail. Working with friends can be brilliant… or it can make you want to throw a teabag at each other. The key is to stay objective, not let emotions cloud decisions, and focus on solutions.

4. It’s so worth it. Two years in, we’ve laughed, cried, facepalmed, and fist-pumped. Launching DE1 is just the beginning. But already? I wouldn’t swap this rollercoaster for anything.

A Final Sip

DE1 is more than a tea brand. It’s a love letter to tradition, a rebellion against plastic, and proof that design and sustainability can dance together. Every capsule is our little reminder: start fresh, sip consciously, live like it’s Day One.

Ready for your own Day One? Explore our eco-friendly tea capsules at DE1 TEA SHOP.