I think it's about time I graduated from tea bags to loose leaf tea.
I'm trying to decide what kind of infuser and/or teapot I should buy. I saw this one from Bodum at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but almost every single one had a broken top (the little plastic appendages that extend from the bottom of the teapot's top). It looks pretty cool, a combo infuser/pot, but all those broken pieces don't give me any confidence. This one from Teavana looks neat.
What should I buy, just an infuser or one that comes with a teapot too? I've seen just the infusers at places like Borders Cafe. I'm looking for something sturdy, of course, and something with a mesh screen that won't let any tea get through into the water. A teapot with it would be nice, though it's probably not necessary (again, not too familiar with infusers and pots). Any ideas?
11-26-2007 @5:32PM Adella said... You don't need a special type of pot. All you need is a good tea strainer to pour the tea through when the tea is ready. The best teapots are the Brown Betty types that are made in the UK.
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11-26-2007 @5:32PM Yada said... I have one of these from Adagio
https://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html?SID=b9722c70c6fe0dd21511492b6225c75f
You can click on the video link to see an animation of how it works. I've had mine for over a year now and it's great. It's microwavable, can come apart for cleaning and is very easy to use.
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11-26-2007 @5:29PM Kristi said... I've had the Teavana one for probably two years now. It works well and seems pretty sturdy. Mine stays at work, so I just wash it in the sink. My husband has one that he uses at home, and it takes regular trips through the dishwasher.It really only works well for making a single serving of tea at a time (a large single serving).
If you plan to serve tea to multiple people (with dinner or whatever), you might want a pot, but more of those don't come with the infuser. Just buy a tea ball that is a mesh ball suspended from a chain that opens to fill with loose tea. They're pretty cheap. I have no idea where ours came from--probably Linens N Things or Bed Bath & Beyond. That can be used inside the tea pot and easily removed for serving (like a tea bag, you know, but re-usable).
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1-18-2008 @4:55AM taraloveuk said... Have been using the nice teapot from Tavalon for a while.
http://www.tavalon.com/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?CollId=155
Am thinking of getting their teapot warmer recently. For people who is really tired of refilling hot water to keep the tea warm, this is definitely a smart design.
11-26-2007 @5:36PM Bradbury said... I have the Bodum pot, and one called IngenuiTEA that looks almost identical to the Teavana one.
They both work well, but I like the Bodum pot much better. The Ingenuitea/Teavana style works well, but is all plastic (stains quickly, feels cheap) and a little tougher to clean. It does have a finer mesh screen than the Bodum.
The rounded shape of the Bodum pot leaves the few little bits of tealeaf that make it through in the bottom when you're done, so there's never much in the cup. I've heard that Bodum makes a version with a finer stainless screen, but I've not seen it.
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11-26-2007 @5:38PM Tina said... I have the Teavana teamaker and it's really great. I've used it for loose tea and teabags that don't have the strings attached. The great thing about it is that you can just dispense the tea into your mug and it works with pretty much any sized cup - I've even just dispensed it right into my thermos and that has a small opening. It also comes with a saucer so that any remnants won't drip onto the tabletop or counter. I guess the only drawback is that you can only put two cups of water into it but we have the smaller one and they might have a larger one that can hold 4 cups.
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11-26-2007 @5:42PM Michael Schmitt said... If you have a French Press, I'd use that as your infuser and serve the tea out of that. Bodum has some great French Presses. As a matter of fact, I'm drinking Market Spice Tea (from Pike's Place Market) out of my Bodum press as we speak...
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11-26-2007 @5:48PM Riona said... I used to have the Bodum pot you mention (or one very similar), which we used to refer to as the TurboTea 2000. Now we use their insulated coffee press instead, which rocks - your tea stays hotter longer, but without getting bitter. It's the Columbia.
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11-26-2007 @5:56PM erik_flannestad said... Google "Swiss Gold Tea Infuser", if you're really set on getting one. The conical one fits inside most pots, mugs, or glasses and is removable when the tea is steeped.
Personally, I don't really see the need.
I also think squishing the leaves together, like the bodum does, tends to over-extract.
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11-26-2007 @5:58PM wynk said... My experiences with the following:
Tea ball: they work ok, but can get rusty and bent out of shape. Not good for making a lot of tea.
Mesh tea strainer: my favorite for one cup of tea. Very easy to clean (I just rinse most times) and not messy.
Adagio InginuiTEA: GREAT for on the go, goes right in the dishwasher, and you dont have to worry about keeping it nice. Good for one mug's worth and amusing to watch.
Teapot without a fine strainer: this is what I use at work, nice for making an "extra" amount of tea for one, the ceramic keeps it warm, but sometimes little bits of leaves get in my tea. That doesn't bother me.
Teapot with strainer: very nice, probably a bit more spendy, need to be careful about materials. I'd go with glass if you aren't prone to breaking things. Ceramic can take on strong flavors after a while, so if you like black flavored teas stay away from those. I wish I could find a Pyrex one.
French Press: probably the best for large amounts of tea (or small too, really). My coworker uses this daily and loves it. Works as sort of a reverse strainer, quite well for keeping the tea leaf Man down.
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11-26-2007 @5:59PM fastsix said... http://tinyurl.com/ysbyjc
Unless you drink more than a cup of tea at a time the mug sized tea filters are perfect. Easy to use and easy to clean.
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11-26-2007 @6:12PM sue said... The kind of tea "gear" you want depends on the kind of tea you want to drink. Avoid anything that will restrain the leaves too much, like those little tea mesh balls. They don't give your leaves the room to infuse, and in the case of many oolongs and gunpowder tea, they won't have room to expand properly.
Alton Brown suggested buying a japanese cast iron tea pot. You just put your leaves in with the water, and use a little strainer over your cup when you poor it out. The cast iron pot (and cups) keep everything nice and warm, but it's a pretty pricey option (we bought our set for about 150$ CAN).
The problem I've found was that if you don't drink your tea fast enough, the leaves inside overinfuse and the tea becomes bitter (depending, again, on which tea).
What i do now is just put my leaves in a big cup, infuse, poor into another cup with the strainer over it. I keep the leaves in the strainer until I want another cup, and I just restart the process.
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11-26-2007 @6:28PM Aaron said... I have this one from teaposy:
Tea for Two Teapot
I really like it. the infuser is made of glass.
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11-26-2007 @6:29PM Aaron said... that was supposed to be a link. ah well. here:
http://www.importika.com/Teaposy/teaposy_tea_for_two_teapot.cfm
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11-26-2007 @7:09PM Ozymandia said... I have a Bodum teapot and find it drips a lot when pouring. I have a teaball that someone gave me which is slowly falling apart. My favourite option is a strainer which works very well with my regular teapot, and is showing no sign of causing any problems at the moment. Knock on wood.
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11-26-2007 @7:11PM ShortWoman said... Favorite methods for loose tea, in order:
Japanese iron teapot (tetsubin). Great tea, must be cleaned carefully.
Single-cup sized tea ball. Very good at making one cup of tea, easy to clean, usually dishwasher safe, often comes mounted on a scissor-like spring that stays relatively cool. Be careful no tea is stuck between the two halves, give it a good shake before putting it in your cup.
French press. Dishwasher safe, only appropriate for larger leaf types. Oh, and they make killer coffee too.
ocha to kocha wo nomimashoo! (let's drink some tea, both green and black!)
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11-26-2007 @7:13PM Dianna said... I'll put in a good word for the Bodum, as it's become my go-to teapot. I prefer glass teapots to pottery or plastic, and the Bodum (with a metal filter) has been my choice.
I've also a glass teapot (from Japan) which resembles this one from Adagio, but with a glass filter.
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/glass_teapot.html?SID=a3be71229dfe1e43804f1e14dcf44a9e
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11-26-2007 @7:37PM Fran said... I'd like to second the "swiss gold" infuser suggestion. I have both sizes: pot-size and cup-size. I mostly use the cup size when I make a single mug of tea.
For "tea-for-one" in a pot I use the Chatsford 2-cup pot with plastic mesh strainer from Upton Tea Imports. The strainer fits perfectly and imparts NO plastic-y flavor to the tea. I keep the tea hot while sipping using a crocheted tea cosy my mom made to fit the pot (though a watch cap would work just as well) and I like the double-walled glass cups for drinking- I think those are from Bodum?
I have been drinking loose teas for about 20 years now, and I love to buy from Upton.
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11-26-2007 @7:41PM joenoone said... Here's another good site for Tea (and Coffee) devices reasonably priced :
http://morecoffee.com/search/103015
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11-26-2007 @7:59PM Janice said... MoMa has an awesome tea infuser: http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_Tea%20Stick%20Infuser_10451_10001_24457_-1_11515_11516____61630
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