Thursday, November 15, 2012

Reviewing My Favorite Tea Steepers for Loose Teas


My last post on Three Reasons to Buy Bulk Tea shared my warm and happy thoughts on loose leaf teas...but when purchasing teas whole leaf, it's easy to get a little overwhelmed at the idea of how to prepare them.  So I hope this post will help take some of the anxiety out of fixing them AND hopefully share some tea steepers that really do a pretty great job of brewing a great cup of tea.  My first foray into whole leaf teas took place many years ago as a newlywed eating at a local Chinese restaurant.  The first sip I had of the prepared tea the waiter brought to the table rocked my liquid world...it was amazing.


Of course, I had to buy the tea for myself...it was too delicious to be true.  So, I asked the Chinese waiter what the name of the tea was and he answered me, but for the life of me I had no idea what he was saying.  Poor guy, I think I asked him to say it about three times before I let him get back to work.  I kept repeating the word that I thought he was saying, but I really had no idea.  
Now this Chinese restaurant had a little store attached and I promptly went over to it and looked for the tea.  I found a golden tin on the shelf labeled "Jasmine" and all of a sudden the waiter's voice echoed in my ear...I realized the tea was jasmine!! Yeah!  So, I bought my tin of amazing tea and took it home...well, it sat unused for a long time.  I couldn't figure out how to fix it and what to use and so on.  I am happy to say that my confusion didn't last too long and I soon accumulated a large collection of tea steepers.  Some gifts, some I bought, some I picked up...you name it.  I went through them all and learned what worked for me and what didn't work.
And here's where my review begins:

 

First we have the tea steepers that come with punched out holes in them.  I have them in all sizes and shapes (except I curiously don't have the all too familiar egg-shaped tea ball!?)  These have been the most common ones I 've seen around at the grocery store or local Walmart.  I even found a few vintage ones (like the one in the front.)  Now, I have a problem with these steepers.  The first thing is that some of the steepers are ridiculously small.  This picture doesn't show them true to size, but trust me, many are very small.  A small tea steeper means it's difficult to get a decent cup of tea from them.  They're hard to fill and the leaves certainly don't circulate. 

This steeper is so small, but it's really cute and I'll admit - fun to look at!

My second reason for not liking them is that they let some of the tea leaves escape and that  means a cloudy cup of tea.  Not a drink spoiler but let's face it...it bugs me.  I want my cup of tea "clean" as possible as that enables me to re-steep the leaves again.  So, I pretty much do not use any of these unless I have a large leaf tea that won't come out through the holes.  I still own these because my family, much less particular than I, will use them.

Not all mesh is made alike; look for a nice tight weave which limits the amount of escaping leaves.

Next we have the mesh tea steepers.  Now I am interested.  These make much more sense.  However, most of the ones I have are made to filter the tea leaves and not to steep them.  
Like the next two in the photos...


The one above swings so when you're done using it, it drips into its own little tray.  Clever.  


This is a classic English style... at least I've seen them used in BBC tv productions.  But the vintage ones had holes in theirs and not mesh.  These last two "steepers' are best used with a tea pot as you have to pour the tea from one container to the next.  I actually like these two a lot and have used them, but they're not ideal for a single cup of tea.


Now we come to modern days with this really cool tea stick.  I saw this in a coffee/tea magazine when we were managing a coffee house some years ago.  I wanted one really bad at the time.  My husband heard and promptly bought one for me for my birthday.  I won't say how much he paid for it but trust me it was A LOT.  My heart was touched and it really is the coolest steeper on the block.  It does a better job than the steepers with holes, but is not as good as the mesh.  I tend to use it for large leafed greens and it works fine.  You can see how you slide the punched holed cover to measure your tea, close it, steep and stir your tea with just this stick.  Pretty ingenious...just don't overfill.


Now we come this final steeper...the big "daddy" of them all.  I actually bought this one as a part of a set.  It came in a teapot which arrived broken.  I sent the teapot back but kept the steeper because it fit everything from a regular mug to a 32 oz. teapot! This steeper won my heart.  It's made of steel and no plastic parts (I don't care for plastic in steepers) and is perforated with micro holes so that not even the finest rooibos leaves escape.  Not too mention that it is large enough to allow the tea leaves to happily swim about imparting their delicious flavor to the water.  Three great reasons that make this the steeper I go to every time, whether for my teapot or mug.  It was also a reasonable price and you can find this one here (replacement infuser).


Okay, here are my top three steepers.  Actually the little teapot steeper is not very effective, but every tea collection should have one kitsch-y one... :)


There are also many types of disposable tea bags out there in case you don't want anything bulky to store.  You can find a bunch here.  I've bought and made my own tea bags before but have never used these particular ones.  They make sense that they would work, but I would rather stick with a more economical steeper as we drink many cups.  But these seem pretty practical too. 

I also found this one called the Tuffy Tea Steeper.

 It's collapsible so it's easy to store and made from food grade silicone.  Because this one has holes, I think this could work for larger leaf teas; maybe not rooibos so much.  It looks interesting though and tempting, but I am sticking with my large tea infuser for sure.

Okay, that's what I've found so far in my tea drinking journey...what's your favorite way to steep loose leaf tea?

Blessings!

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30 comments:

  1. Great post! You have me interested in loose leaf tea now! I have one of those balls with little holes in it that I need to try out. May not be the best, but we'll see how it works!

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    1. Thanks! Glad you were inspired; that makes the tea "addict" in me happy! You'll be okay with your tea ball with a larger leafed tea and only filling it a little less than halfway full. You'll probably get some floaters and bits in your tea, but they will settle out. Have fun and thanks for reading and commenting! :)

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  2. What a helpful post! And fun too! I like to drink tea....not all loose. I've had a number if different infusers but never really thought too much about them other than if they were easy to use...open and close....and some are impossible...and if too much tea "leaks" out. So what am I using right now? "The cutest" - yes!!! Because....sometimes having cute makes the cup...or the pot!
    Happy Tea!!

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    1. Thanks Diane! I agree, a fun tea infuser makes drinking tea more fun for sure! Enjoy your cup of tea and thanks for stopping by! :)

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  3. I didn't realise there were so many different tea steepers, having only seen about a half dozen. My husband enjoys tea and I've found the steeper which works best for us is a mess ball on a stiff "tong" handle holder. It sits nicely in the cup and can be swished around but is also quick and easy to remove, open and bump out the used leaves and then wash without even getting my hands wet.

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    1. Yes, there are a huge number of them for sure...I'm always looking at them! We used to have a handled mesh tea infuser like you're talking about. I really like the mesh infusers too, they don't lose the leaves very much and like you said, the handles make them perfect for stirring. Thanks for sharing your favorite! :)

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  4. Great post! We also tried just about every steeper out there and also settled on the basket. You can see the leaves floating up and down and unfolding as it steeps. We also have a couple plastic steepers (BPA Free) that you fill up and then put on top of the cup to empty. I switched from coffee to tea about 10 years ago and absolutely love it. There are so many different flavors, it's fun discovering new ones and it can become addicting, but it's healthy so I guess it's okay!
    ~Rob

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    1. My sister owns a couple of the bottom emptied tea "pots" and really likes her a lot. They are really cool to watch. The baskets are perfect for me though, they store much easier as you can put them inside a teapot when not in use. I say go for the tea drinking...it is really good for you with lots of health benefits! Thanks for reading!

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  5. I think I need to pin this post! What a fun education!!!!

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    1. Thanks...it was fun to do too! I got to drink tea! :)

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  6. I drink Chinese tea everyday, but having a different tea set.

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    1. I would love to see your tea sets...they are fun to collect too! :)

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  7. Nancy! hi! that is quite the chronical of tea. i just plop a tea bag in the cup of water. i am not much of a tea person. but i have a gal friend (we married brothers) and she will invite me to 'tea parties' and we go all out. that is way fun!!!

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    1. Thanks for reading and glad you like the tea parties...they seem to bring the little girl out of us all and are lots of fun! I have a few posts, Mother's Day Tea Party and Vintage Tea Fun that show where we went and what we did. :)

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  8. ooops, and forgot to say thanks for the thrifting encouragement and opinions on your successes with it, too. :D

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    1. Thanks for the inspiration...I really like your creativity too. :)

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  9. Great post ! I am a tea drinker also , but usually only make loose leaf as a treat ( when I take the time ) I also have a mesh on that is a spoon , great for single cups . You can never have too many steepers :)

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    1. Mesh spoons are nice. Everyone here pretty much has their favorite; which means it's usually the first one they can find! Thanks for stopping by...
      :)

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  10. Holy Smokes, you have quite the collection of tea steepers! I'm just a litte jealous thinking I should ask for some for Christmas:) Thanks for sharing your informative review. I pinned and tweeted this post:) www.something2offer.com

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    1. I know...sad right? I was on the search for the perfect one and I'm pretty well settled now with what I like, but it's hard to let go of the collection. They would be perfect on a Christmas tree I think?! Thanks so much for visiting and I appreciate your pin and tweet! Be blessed!

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  11. This is very interesting. I had No Idea there are so many varieties of these items. What fun and what a lovely collection you have!

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    1. Thanks! It's actually a fun kind of collection to have because it doesn't take up much space. It would be fun to decorate a small Christmas tree with them sometime... :)

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  12. I was told once that the"proper" way to brew tea is to let the tea freely circulate in the pot and then pour it into a cup through a strainer. I always liked this idea, but found in practice that if you don't pour it all right away that it will over steep and become bitter. I am also a fan of the mesh baskets. I actually have a cup sized one that I use for making single cups of loose leaf tea. Have you ever tried a french press to brew tea? I'd be curious to hear how that worked.

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    1. Yes, that's completely right about steeping loose leaf teas in a teapot. I think they would have a hot waterpot in a tea set and only pour in enough water for the amount of cups of tea they wanted. Not sure though. I think the basket type of steepers works very close to free floating leaves. Yes, I did use a french press for herbal teas...not blacks or greens. They do a great job for herbal teas as they don't keep infusing. Mine broke, so I'm waiting on a replacement for it. Thanks for reading!

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  13. I am a heavy tea drinker, this was so much fun. I like the last one too. Thank you for the link I added it to my favorites so I could look at it later. Thanks for all research, I have my grandmothers old tea spoon, it has a hinge like a locket.

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    1. That is so cool to have your grandmother's tea spoon infuser...how fun and what great memories! Thanks so much for reading!

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  14. i actually have a cup that is angled in the center so it tips from side to side. one side steeps - tip - the other is where you drink from. it's excellent :)


    thank you for sharing with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up! I hope to see you again this week with more seasonal & fresh/real food posts. xo, kristy

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    1. Now that sounds really cool...would love to a picture of it sometime! Thanks for hosting, :)

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  15. Great post! I alternate between tea steepers that have been given to me as gifts by other people, the typical little ball steepers that aren't as fancy or cool as any of the ones you've reviewed!

    Thanks so much for sharing this on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday! I've pinned this and look forward to seeing what you've been up to this week :)

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    1. Thanks so much! I should probably have a tea steeper give-a-way sometime! :)

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