Blog Archives
Spinspiration: Hummingbird.
The Fiber: Blue Faced Leicester in Hummingbird via Hello Yarn.
The Infuser: Hummingbird Tea Infuser via Amazon.
The Mug: Mint Green Bird Cage via GilliattCeramics.
The Yarn: Hummingbird via The Corner of Knit & Tea.
Teaccessories: Foxy
I love woodland creatures, but I really love the recent fascination with foxes. I love the puns even more. Here are a few items that would make your collection foxy:
Zero Fox Given mug, foxandcloverboutique, $18.00
For Fox Sake mug, Kali Laine Designs, $18.00
Teaccessories: Infuse Me Again.
I’ve posted dozens of infusers so far and yet every week I see new ones everywhere.
Green Clip Tea Infuser, Shop Trudeau, $14.95
Eva Solo Teabag, Amazon, $29.00
Babushka Tea Infuser, Urban General Store, $10
Teacessories: Infuse me
A few friends directed my attention to “20 of the Most Creative Tea Infusers for Tea Lovers.” I have shown many of the ones mentioned on the blog before, but there were a few new ones:
Tea Bag Holder “Shirokuma”, Necktie
Audrey, Amazon, $20.63
Tea.Tanic, Uncrate, $13
Teaccessories: Infuse Me
If you’re looking for an easy way to get into loose leaf teas, a must have is an infuser. There are so many available that there’s something for every aesthetic. Here are a few I’ve seen recently:
Tovolo in mug infuser, Bed Bath & Beyond, $9.99
Umbrella Shaped Tea Strainer, FeelGift, $23.00
T-Bird Swing infuser (Orange or Green), The Kitchen Gift Co., £7.95
Eva Solo Tea Bag Infuser, Amazon, $29.00
Teaccessories: Owl be sipping with you.
If you love owls, then I’m sure you’ll give a hoot about all of these great finds!
Owl Tea Set (set of teapot and two cups), Art Institute Chicago, $56
Owl Make Tea Infuser, Modcloth, $12.99
Chilly Owl mug with snow, vitaminaeu, $23.92
Owl cup cozy, thesunandturtle, $25.00
Owl Tea Steeper Keeper, The Pot Spot, $18.00
Knittea – Yarn Infuser
Another creative intersection of knit and tea found on Pinterest:
If you are working on a small project, store thread or perle cotton in a tea infuser for safekeeping while traveling.
Tea & Fandom: Star Wars
I know there are many Star Wars fans out there, in particular because several of my friends have sent me links. If you dig the galaxy adventures and are a tea lover, you might try some of these.
Storm Trooper Star Wars teapot, Lenny Mud, $40.00
Calm You Must Keep, Gelert Design, $11.39
R2-tea-2 tea bag tidy, Gallons of Ink, $10.52 (also available: C-T3A-PO and Tea-wok)
Star Wars Death Star tea infuser, ThinkGeek, $19.99
Star Wars and 68 other Star Wars related tea blends, Adagio.com, various prices
May the force be with you!
Teacessories: Infusers
If you’re not interested in purchasing an infuser mug or using paper filters, there’s no reason you can’t brew tea at home in your own mugs. All you need is an infuser and those can be obtained at a variety of price points.
The easiest, cheapest alternative is to purchase a tea ball. You can get these at any grocery store, or if you’re already ordering from Amazon this one is available for $2.99:
Progressive Stainless Steel Mesh Tea Ball, Amazon, $2.99
If you’re looking for more nerd cred, I suggest checking out the infusers at ThinkGeek.
Star Wars Death Star Tea Infuser, ThinkGeek.com, $13.99
Dr. Who Tardis Tea Infuser, Thinkgeek.com, $19.99
Robot Tea Infuser, ThinkGeek.com, $9.99
Or if you’re looking for a bit more whimsy, try one of these:
Duck Tea Infuser, ThinkGeek.com, $9.99
Deep Tea Diver Infuser, ThinkGeek.com, $14.99
T-Rex Tea Infuser, ThinkGeek.com, $10.99
Teatanic Unsinkable Tea Infuser, ThinkGeek.com, $9.99
Teacessories: The Republic of Tea
During my wait for my Teavana tumbler, I got impatient and decided to try something different. I had been encouraged by a friend to try The Republic of Tea so I wandered over to their site and browsed.
The first thing I found was their Glass Tumbler with Infuser. It seemed competitive with the Teavana tumbler, so I picked one up to compare and contrast.
Glass Tumbler with Infuser, The Republic of Tea, $18.95
I’m also posting a picture of the Teavana tumbler again here so you have an easy reference guide as I compare the two.
Green Essential Infuser Tumbler, Teavana, $19.95
I really like both tumblers for different reasons.
The Republic of Tea glass tumbler is more substantial and sturdy looking than the plastic one from Teavana. It also has a removable basket for easy cleaning, whereas the Teavana mug’s basket is attached to the lid which makes it harder to clean. While I love the lever mechanism on the Teavana tumbler, I do worry that it will break.
However, I love that the Teavana tumbler can stay sealed and keep the beverage warm, and that there’s a sipping hole in the lid. The Republic of Tea glass tumbler must be opened to remove the basket, and there’s no sipping hole in the lid – you must unscrew the cap to drink from the tumbler. It almost seems the glass tumbler would be better suited to brewing and pouring, but that defeats the purpose for me of having a nifty all-in-one mug to use at work.
In short, I like both of them for different reasons and will continue to use both, but thought I’d share my thoughts with you.
Since I was already purchasing something from The Republic of Tea, I also took the opportunity to pick up some of their teas in a make your own sampler. They have two separate samplers – a 12 pack for $6.95 or a 24-pack for $13.90. You can select any teas from their menu to add to your custom package. Pick multiples of the same teas or different ones, whatever appeals to you. I decided to order a 24 count sampler so I had some tea bags in the stash.
I look forward to trying these soon!
Also coming up shortly, I’ll discuss using tea bags versus brewing loose leaf tea.
