Tea
Accessories
The
Five Must-Have Tea Accessories
From
tea cozies and paper tea filters to tea bag squeezers, tea
drinkers can be roused into buying a lot of frivolous gadgets.
However, when it comes to making the best cup of tea, you
really only need great tea and a few essential tea accessories.
The rest of those tea doohickeys are just for fun, but by
all means dress your pot in a gingham snuggly if it pleases
you.
1.
A right-sized teapot: For day-to-day tea drinking,
you need a teapot that holds the quantity you plan to drink
in a sitting. So if you’re drinking tea on your own,
use a single-serving pot and make one mug full at a time.
That way you get great tea at a perfect temperature.
Making
one cup of tea in a large pot allows too much air in, which
can affect the flavor and temperature. And besides, tea
is not as good reheated or kept warm in a thermos.
If
you’re making multiple cups at once for say a tea
party, try a tea press pot. For loose-leaf teas, tea snobs
use a teapot rather than a tea infuser ball because a pot
gives the tea leaves room to open up to their full-flavor
perfection.
True
snobs also use separate pots for each tea type, so as to
never muddle the true flavor of any tea.
2.
A basic strainer: When using loose-leaf tea in
a teapot, you’ll need a strainer to catch the steeped
leaves. There are lots of variations of this tea accessory:
ones that fit in your pot, ones that affix your cup, and
ones that stands alone. Any of these will do.
3.
A proper storage container: It’s essential
to store your tea properly in order to retain its freshness.
The best container for storing tea is airtight and sunlight
free. Clear glass jars or containers with glass lids are
not ideal.
Most
teas will stay fresh in a proper container for 6 months
to a year. And remember, tea should be stored at room temperature
and should never be kept in the freezer.
4.
A great kettle: While the exact degree of your
water is not important, the right boil is. Some teas need
to be steeped in boiling water while others flourish to
perfection in water temperatures just short of the boil.
Check out our article on steeping
times. And sorry fast Charlies, using the microwave
to get the best cup of tea is not going to work.
Purchase
a well-designed electric kettle for a quick boil with auto
shut off or use the stovetop version with a whistle.
5.
A timer: For the best cup of tea, you’ll
want to time your steep. Again, a few seconds isn’t
going to make or break your tea; however, close approximation
is key. That’s why a timer is an important tea accessory.
See our brewing tea article for
accurate minute-by-minute for each tea type.
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