People are only just realising what the string on tea bags is used for

Lots of things have hidden uses, and it turns out the string on tea bags is one of them. People are now discovering what they're actually for.

White ceramic mug with teabag label on brown background

There's a use for the handy little string (Image: Getty)

All sorts of things have different uses, and it turns out the string on tea bags is one of them.

They're usually there every time we make a cuppa, yet many of us don't realise why... until recently at least. A video has blown minds on TikTok after it was revealed what they actually do.

It was shared by sky_nolan15 and is a pretty good life hack to learn. She said: "How many people knew this? You take the string and fold the paper end under your cup to keep it in place."

This was written over the video of the paper cup that sees her show how it's done. It's very easy to see the trick works, as the tea bag doesn't budge.

Who knew the string has such an important and handy purpose?

The video has left people mind-blown with one admitting it was something they didn't know. On other social media platforms, people admitted they'd never had a tea bag with a string attached before.

Not all tea bags have strings because excluding them from the design is more cost-effective. The string-less design rids the need for an additional component, which leads to making the manufacturing process much easier.

This helps reduce the cost for both tea producers and consumers. Most people use the strings to remove the tea bag from the cup, but this can be done with a spoon.

Not to mention, the bags are also designed to float and be lifted out quite easily too. In other words, many could argue they don't always need a string, but this hasn't stopped people from talking about it.

Over on Reddit, people have also had their fair share of talk about tea strings in the past. It seems the simplest things can intrigue people the most.

One person said: "I've never had a tea bag with string attached to it, sounds very posh." Another added: "I've only came across the tea bags with strings at the coffee machines in petrol stations or hotels."

A third replied: "Tea bag with a string attached is those odd flavored teas. I don’t really drink those so I don’t run into this sort of problem.

"I had a partner once who was mad about them so I did encounter this issue when making her various sorts of teas my solution was to put the tea bag in, and secure the string with my finger on the outside before pouring the water in so it doesn’t flop in."

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