Tea and teapots

[mtbc]

mst3kmoxie had the excellent idea of buying me a tea subscription for Christmas. Every month I am sent three sealed sachets of various teas. I have a little mesh spherical cage for confining typically a teaspoon-full or so of leaves to make a cup.

Apparently it is good to allow the leaves a large volume in which to circulate as they brew and it may matter what material their cage is made from. With these issues in mind I started investigating teapots.

I've not yet found a compelling buy. Reviews suggest that the Bodum ones may not be what they once were. A good filter at the spout might suffice. Though, on the other hand, it may be nice to be able to have the leaves away from the water once the tea is brewed if not the whole pot is to be immediately poured.

So, no conclusions yet, just thoughts.

Comments

[emperor]

I have one of the bodum ones with a filter you push down in the middle a bit like a cafetiere. It makes very good tea :)

[mtbc]

Ooh, do you see the very same model on current Amazon or suchlike at present? (Plastic or metal filter?) Is it one of the ones that actually cuts off the leaves from the water when one depresses the plunger?

[emperor]

I think it's a similar one to this (though a little smaller) - there's a metal bit in the middle which the leaves go in, and you depress the plunger which pretty much cuts them off from the water.

[mtbc]

Ah, thank you for looking! From reviewer comments like,

Used it for the first time last night and the plastic plunger snapped. The old one used to be made of metal. This new version is cheap and flimsy …

and

but this latest version by Bodum just seems quite cheaply built …

and

Very poor quality item. Bodum appear to have changed their design of this teapot …

I'm wondering if you got the pre-design-change version!

(I'm still irritated with Sennheiser for improving the design of headphones I like that had been a good seller for years.)

[emperor]

Every part of the middle is metal except for the plunger head (IYSWIM) which is plastic (and has a rubbert skirt to provide a seal).

[mtbc]

Ah, that is something to look out for then, thank you.