Great Gadgets for Tea Lovers

I love tea and drink it every day. I prefer loose tea over tea bags, but sometimes I used tea bags anyway because it seemed inconvenient to find my wire strainer, make sure it didn't rust, etc.

That was before I got these things for Christmas. Here is a paisley print steeping mug. It's a 3-piece ceramic set with mug, inset strainer and lid. The openings in the strainer are large, so it works best with coarse-cut loose tea. It's so pretty that just using it is a treat.


This set is a tempered glass mug with a plastic and nylon mesh strainer and lid. As you can see, I've used it a lot since Christmas. The mesh was white when I got it. Because it will strain the finer cuts of loose tea, I find it more practical. And I've always loved the look of tea or coffee in glass mugs.


Both of these mugs are microwave-safe (which is how I usually make my tea), or you can go the more traditional route and pour boiling water over the tea leaves.

This is a bamboo strainer. I rarely use it for single cups of tea, but use it often when I'm making pitchers of iced tea. Obviously, I don't have to worry about it rusting.


Shane found all of these things, as well as some coarse-cut Darjeeling tea, at World Market. I know they have similar mugs at Wild Oats. They can probably be found at any upscale kitchen store as well.

And if you prefer coffee over tea, this is my Starbucks mug. I'm not a fan of Starbucks (I like their coffee, but not their prices), but when I saw this mug on someone's blog, I just had to have it. It's my favorite coffee mug, but yes, I do drink tea from it once in a while.