Custom Printed Tea Folding Carton Box | Recyclable Outer, Barrier Inner | MOQ 500
- Material: SBS / FBB / kraft 300-400gsm
- Structure: Tuck end with sachet partition
- MOQ: 500 pcs
- Lead Time: 8-14 days | Free dieline
Custom tea folding cartons in SBS, FBB and kraft with die-cut sachet partitions, dispensing openings and foil finishing. Recyclable outer with the barrier kept in the inner pouch. Free dieline, MOQ of 500.
Our Advantages
No Die and Plate Charges For Digital Samples
High quality printing
Quick Turn Around
Starting from 500pcs
Custom size and style
Competitive Price
Free Design Support
To door delivery
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COMPANY SERVICES
| Bigger Discounts Offer for large orders | Bigger Discounts Offer for large orders Prices are negotiable based on your purchase volume and Fixated prices can be offered based on frequency of the order. |
| After-service | Sample cost is refundable if it's not good quality as we promised!We will refund you the defected goods values as contract listed,if the defective goods are beyond as we contracted.Our goal is to have no bad feedback and keep doing business in the future! |
| Risk Free, Quality Assurance | We've Sate of the art production facility and all printed jobs are run through our strict quality assurance department, so there are no quality complaints. |
| Printed Method | We use Off-set printing to achieve excellent printing results. However, Digital and screen printing is also available depending on box requirements. |
| About Us | Guangzhou Ecopaperbox established in 2011 is undoubtedly an accredited manufacturer of custom boxes which are exactly according to the needs and desires of the clients. Our top priority is meeting the needs and requirements of our customers. Custom Packaging and printing are provided to the customers with excellent quality on the regular basis so that maximum benefit can be achieved in the minimum amount of time. All boxes that made of paperboard, we can produce. You are welcome to make inquiry via info@ecopaperbox.com and contact us at +8619927709433. |
What Is a Tea Carton, and What Does It Actually Protect?
A tea carton is a printed folding carton holding tea bags, pyramid sachets, loose leaf or an inner tin. The important thing to understand about it is what it does not do: paperboard is not an aroma barrier. Tea loses its volatile aromatics through board within weeks, and it absorbs odours from whatever it is stored beside. The carton is the brand surface and the structure. The barrier has to be inside it.
That single fact resolves most of the confusion in this category. Brands ask for a foil-lined carton, when what they actually need is a foil or metallised inner sachet inside a plain recyclable carton. Lining the carton itself makes the largest component of the pack unrecyclable while barely improving shelf life, because the tuck flaps still leak. Barrier in the inner, recyclability in the outer, is the correct division.
Structurally, tea cartons are usually small and tall, which is the hardest proportion to keep square. A narrow carton in light board bows on a shelf, and a bowed tea carton reads as cheap immediately. FBB at the same grammage is stiffer than SBS, which is normally the cheapest way to fix it without going up in weight.
Which Industries Use This Box, and How It Is Specified
Tea cartons are quoted by format and by whether the barrier sits in the carton or inside it.
| Industry / use case | How we normally spec it |
|---|---|
| Tea bag cartons (20-100 count) | 300-350gsm board with a die-cut partition or a plain stack, straight tuck end. The volume format across the whole category. |
| Pyramid and silk sachet cartons | 350-400gsm with a window or a printed illustration of the sachet, since the pyramid shape is itself a premium signal. |
| Loose leaf and single origin | Carton holding an inner foil pouch or a tin. The carton is display and information; the pouch is the barrier. |
| Tea gift and assortment sets | Larger carton with a compartmented paperboard tray holding several varieties, often with a sleeve or a magnetic flap. |
| Matcha and powdered tea | Small deep carton around a sealed tin or sachet. Powdered tea is the most oxygen-sensitive format in the category. |
| Herbal and wellness infusions | Kraft or uncoated stock with spot colour, which is what this segment reads as authentic. Requires a nutrition or ingredient panel. |
Tell us what the inner packaging is. A carton around a sealed foil pouch and a carton holding loose bags directly are two different specifications, and the difference is in the flaps and the fitment.
Material Specification
Choose the board for stiffness and print, and put the barrier inside rather than in the carton wall.
| Component / stock | Specification |
|---|---|
| SBS / C1S 300-400gsm | Bleached virgin board with a coated face. The default for a printed tea carton where the artwork carries the brand. |
| Kraft board 300-400gsm | Unbleached brown board for artisan, single-origin and organic positioning. Prints best with 1-2 spot colours and foil rather than full CMYK. |
| Recycled CCNB | 80-100% recycled fibre with a coated white face, used where the inside of the carton is not seen and the range is sold on a sustainability story. |
| Aroma barrier | Tea loses volatile aromatics through paperboard. The carton is an outer, not a barrier - the barrier has to be the inner sachet, an aluminium-free metallised liner or a foil-lined pouch inside the box. |
| Inner fitment | Die-cut paperboard partitions for individual tea bags or a pyramid sachet grid, or a plain tray where the carton holds a tin or pouch. |
| Coatings | Water-based aqueous varnish keeps the carton kerbside-recyclable. Soft-touch film is common on premium tea but adds a plastic layer the mill must separate. |
Sustainability notes
- The carton is the recyclable part; the barrier is not. Keeping the barrier in a small inner pouch rather than lining the whole carton means the majority of the pack by weight stays in the paper stream.
- Aqueous varnish instead of soft-touch film is the single biggest recyclability improvement available on a tea carton, and it costs less.
- Recycled CCNB and kraft stocks carry 80-100% recycled fibre and are already what most organic and single-origin tea brands specify.
- Cartons ship and store flat, so a container holds several times more empty tea cartons than pre-formed tins - a direct freight saving per unit.
- Right-sizing to the actual sachet count removes more board across a season than any change of stock does, and it also cuts the shelf space each SKU needs.
Structure, Fitment and Finish Options
Tea cartons are small and tall, so stiffness and squareness matter more than on almost any other carton size.
| Option | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Closure | Straight tuck end for a clean front, reverse tuck end for machine filling, or a tuck-top auto-bottom where the carton holds a heavier tin. |
| Board and stiffness | FBB rather than SBS at the same grammage where the carton is narrow and tall. It is usually the cheapest way to stop a bow. |
| Fitment | Die-cut paperboard partition for individual sachets, a grid for pyramids, or a plain tray where the carton holds a pouch or tin. |
| Window | A small window over a pyramid sachet. Not used on loose leaf, where light exposure degrades the tea. |
| Dispensing | A perforated dispensing opening so the carton stays closed after first use, which matters on 80-100 count catering formats. |
| Finishing | Hot foil, emboss or spot UV on the logo. Foil on kraft is the single most effective premium cue in this category. |
If the carton has to display in a chiller or a bright retail environment, keep the window small or leave it out. Light degrades tea faster than air does once the pack is sealed.
Printing and Finishing
- Offset CMYK - photographic artwork, gradients and product imagery.
- Pantone spot colour - exact brand colour matching, up to 6 colours plus varnish.
- Digital printing - the reason we can hold MOQ at 100; no plate cost on short runs.
- Hot foil stamping - gold, silver, rose gold, holographic. The most requested logo finish.
- Emboss / deboss - raised or recessed logo, with or without foil.
- Spot UV - gloss varnish over a matte laminate to pick out a logo or pattern.
- Finishes - matte, gloss, soft-touch, anti-scratch lamination or aqueous varnish.
Ordering: MOQ, Dieline and Lead Time
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| MOQ | 500 pcs per size and per design |
| Dieline | Free. We send a print-ready structural dieline to your designer before you commit to anything. |
| Pre-production sample | Plain structural sample in 3-5 days, printed sample in 5-7 days. Sample cost is credited against the bulk order. |
| Production lead time | 8-14 working days after artwork and sample sign-off |
| Artwork format | AI or PDF, CMYK, 300dpi, 3mm bleed, fonts outlined, placed on our dieline |
| Shipping | Ships flat-packed, which keeps freight volume and duty low. |
Send the inner pouch, tin or a sample of the bags at the count you intend to sell. A tea carton sized to a nominal bag count rather than a measured stack is either loose or will not close.
Related Packaging
Other food and beverage cartons
Kraft Takeout Boxes with Window | Pie Boxes with Window
Carton structures we cut this in
Straight Tuck End | Reverse Tuck End | Auto Bottom Carton | Sleeve Carton
Gift formats for tea sets
Rigid Gift Boxes | Kraft Gift Boxes
Surface Choice
Our Guangzhou custom packaging factory runs four-color offset printing, automatic lamination, die-cutting and rigid box assembly on one floor. In-house production keeps lead times short and print color consistent from the first sample to full volume. Buyers are welcome to request a video tour or a factory audit before placing an order.
Packing Method For Corrugated Packaging:
Generally no need to put the PE bags inside of the cartons. Since the boxes are glued a layer of cardboard, generally production time is not long enough to dry the paper box. If you tie the PE bags, the steamed water pearl will be produced inside of the bags.
Product Details
- Custom sizes & shape – made to your exact dimensions, flute and box style.
- Eco-friendly board – recyclable corrugated / kraft material with low-migration inks on request.
- Secure closure – self-locking or magnetic options keep contents safe in transit.
- Full-surface printing – CMYK, Pantone, foil, emboss and spot UV available.
- Low MOQ & fast turnaround – start from 500 pcs with 7–15 day lead time.
Customer Reviews
The tea cartons turned out beautifully. The colors are crisp, the auto-bottom is sturdy and our retail partners love the clean shelf presence.
Great quality and fast turnaround. The team helped adjust our dieline so the botanical artwork lined up perfectly after folding.
Perfect for our herbal tea sampler sets. The low 500-piece MOQ let us test three different designs before scaling up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a tea carton keep tea fresh?
Not on its own, and this is the most important thing to know before specifying one. Paperboard is not an aroma barrier - volatile aromatics pass through it and outside odours pass in. Freshness comes from the inner packaging: a foil or metallised sachet, a sealed pouch or a tin. The carton provides structure, information and shelf presence.
Should I foil-line the carton itself?
Usually not. Lining the carton makes the largest component of the pack unrecyclable while adding little shelf life, because the tuck flaps still leak air at the ends. The better answer is a plain recyclable carton around a sealed foil or metallised inner. You get the barrier where it works and keep the recyclability where it counts by weight.
Why does my tea carton bow on the shelf?
Because it is narrow and tall in a board that is too soft for the proportion. The usual fix is FBB instead of SBS at the same grammage - FBB is a multi-ply board with a bulky middle layer, so it is stiffer for the same weight and often the same price. Going up in grammage also works but costs more per carton.
Can I put a window in a tea box?
For pyramid and silk sachets, a small window works well, because the sachet shape is itself the premium signal. For loose leaf, avoid it - light degrades tea faster than air once the pack is sealed, and a window over loose leaf on a bright shelf will visibly fade the product within weeks.
Do you make cartons with a dispensing opening?
Yes. A perforated dispensing panel lets the customer take one bag at a time while the carton stays closed, which matters on 80 and 100 count catering and office formats. It is a dieline feature, so it has to be decided before we cut, but it costs nothing extra.
Is a kraft tea carton better for the environment than a white one?
Kraft skips the bleaching stage, so it uses less water and fewer chemicals, and it is what the organic and single-origin segment reads as honest. But the larger environmental variable is the coating: an aqueous varnish keeps any carton kerbside-recyclable, while a soft-touch film on a kraft carton undoes most of the benefit. Choose the coating before you choose the colour of the board.
What is the minimum order for custom tea boxes?
One hundred pieces per size and per design, printed digitally with no plate cost. Tea brands typically launch with six or eight varieties at low volume each, so the per-SKU minimum matters more than the total. Above roughly 3,000 pieces per design we move to offset and the unit price drops.