(no subject)

[the_rck]

Thanks to kyrielle (the package arrived safely today. Thanks so much!), we've found another tea that Cordelia likes-- Coco Truffle from teaforte.com. It's considerably cheaper purchased as a loose tea than in bags, so I want to go in that direction. Unfortunately, our old tea ball was destroyed a few weeks ago when our cleaning lady dumped it into the garbage disposal. I didn't realize it was down there and ran the disposal. Fortunately, the disposal came out fine. The tea ball, however, had to go in the trash.

Now, I'm looking online to see what's available in terms of tea balls/infusers/whatever. There are a lot of options, and I'm bewildered by them. I want a tea cup infuser, not a pot infuser. I know that much. We have a teapot, but we've never used it, and we're not likely to start any time soon. Generally, when we have tea, we each have a different kind. That being the case, I might, if the infuser is inexpensive enough, buy more than one. Having the option to make more than one cup of tea from loose leaf would be nice.

Anyway, I know there are people in my circle who know more about tea than I do. Do any of you have recommendations about what to look for in a tea ball/infuser? If you're local, do you know, is there a tea shop in Ann Arbor? It seems like the sort of thing we might have, but I don't know anything about it.

Comments

[kyrielle]

I'm glad it got there okay - and glad she likes that flavor! They have a few others she might also like if so - but I didn't have any of them to send along. And maybe she'll enjoy some of the others I included!

I have a couple infusers I like, but the one I'll recommend is actually not a cup - but not a teapot either. It's the Teavana Perfect Teamaker. And it IS. http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-makers-infusers/p/teavana-perfect-teamaker - and it IS. You pour hot water in the top (the one I linked is 16 ounces, there's a 32 ouncer too, but for 8 ounces you just pour *less* water in the top) with the tea leaves inside. After it steeps, you set the maker on TOP of the cup you're going to use and the tea drains out the bottom into the cup.

To clean it, you rinse - and the bottom filter pops out so you can rinse reverse (push the tea off with water, in other words), and it's also all dishwasher safe when disassembled.

I love that thing. And I never get tea leaves in my tea. And it's easy to use. And if you don't fill it to the brim, it's nigh impossible to spill on yourself.

Also, if you ever try a blooming tea, the 16 ounce is big enough to let it bloom fully and you can see it really pretty through the clear sides. ;)

That said, it sounds like you may just need a tea ball, or multiple infusers.

I do also have a cup infuser. It's the Tea Forte "Kati" brewing system. And it's nice, and half the price of the Teavana maker, but I can't recommend it. The cups are very pretty. They are dishwasher safe; except for the metal infuser part, they're microwave safe. But they have no handles, which is probably not ideal for Cordelia? And more importantly, it's an open infuser, not an enclosed or ball. When I remove it, I get tea grit in my tea, especially if I overfilled it. Not much, it's true, but it's a nuisance.

You may just want to get tea balls if you were happy with the old one. I get really aggravated at the cleaning hassle, I admit....

You can also buy tea bags and put the loose tea in them yourself, but that's both annoying to do (my experience, anyway), and also more expensive in the long run if you drink any significant amount of tea.

[the_rck]

To be honest, I didn't use the old tea ball much. We've currently only got one kind of loose tea, and it's shoved in the back of the cupboard where I generally forget about it. I worry a little about investing in tea for Cordelia only to have her decide, a couple of cups in, that she doesn't like this kind after all.

I should do a tea purge and get rid of the boxes that none of us are going to drink. There's a box of Celestial Seasons black cherry berry (or something like that) that I think is older than Cordelia. There's some caffeinated chai, too, and we're not drinking caffeinated tea any more. Then there are a bunch of boxes of green tea that Scott's parents gave us years ago when a study came out saying how good green tea is for people. Those are squirreled away in various corners of our cupboards, and we're never going to do anything with them. Doesn't tea have a limited shelf life?

[kyrielle]

Generally, loose tea kept in a tin is good for up to a year. By which they mean, it won't taste as good as you expect after that.

Generally speaking, tea can't "go bad" and be dangerous to drink (unless, I suppose, you expose it to something else and then let it sit, such as getting it wet and letting it mold; but that's what the packaging should protect against, for fully pouched bagged teas).

It can, however, go stale. When will depend on the tea, but I'd expect two years or so to be the outside limit (and that is my best guess and not at all informed, so I may be wrong) before it is, and some might go stale sooner.

One thing I love about the Perfect Teamaker is it's so easy to clean up, which means I don't shy from using it. But another thing I love is that it's *pretty* to watch the tea brew up in it. A lot of teas (I have no idea if the Coco Truffle is one) are remarkably pretty to watch.

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

The Spice Merchant in Kerrytown has tea paraphernalia, as does Crazy Wisdom, if I remember correctly.

[the_rck]

I'll have to check out The Spice Merchant. Maybe there will be time this weekend, assuming Scott's not working (which he is likely to be). I'm currently disinclined to drag Cordelia out on an expedition through the snow by bus. Maybe once she's back in school, in January, I'll venture forth.

Thanks!

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

Exactly who I was going to recommend. I was just there. Lots of good choices, and someone to help.

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

There is the Tea Haus downtown which has some mighty fine infusers. It's at 204 North 4th Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48104 and their phone number is (734) 622-0460. I particularly like the kind that are round and fit inside your mug, allowing the tea to expand as much as it would in a teapot. They also have very nice full leaf tea that I like a lot. I'm not fond of the little ball style infusers because the tea can't expand properly in them. I have some, but I almost never use them. You can also check the spice merchants at Kerrytown, or Teavana at Briarwood, though both of them seem more expensive and Teavana will try to sell you tea and things you don't need very very hard. I go in there when I want one of their blends, but I know what I want and I don't allow myself to be upsold very often.

BTW, if you ever want to get together and have a tea party, I have tea. Lots of tea. From lots and lots of different companies and from lots and lots of places. I like tea.

[the_rck]

Tea Haus has a website. Score! It's local, and I can shop online. I don't know that I'm adventurous enough to try their teas yet, but they've got infusers.

I'd be interested in getting together with you, with or without tea. I do need to stick to the no caffeine side of things.