Tea!!! page

[drnemer]

I am developing a new passion for tea. Specifically tea leaves. More specifically, green tea leaves.

I live in a dorm but i have an electric stove and a microwave. But I don't have a kettle or a tea maker.

I have been scouring the web for a affordable tea maker that makes more than one cup of tea at a time and also could steep the tea leaves

I never steeped my own tea before. Normally i used tea bags. But, I tried green tea that was made from tea leaves and it was far better than I have been used to.

There are a ton of sites that sell different types of kettles, electronic tea makers, infusers, steepers, that come in all sorts of shapes and styles that it is hard for me to pick.

I rather not spend more than 40 dollars on making tea. I just do not know what I need or what I can do without. I read somewhere that green tea does not need a steeper than you can pour the leaves in your glass?

Here are some products that i seen so far.

Teavana Perfectea Tea Maker: Make Tea Easy | Teavana

Teamaker, onetouchteapot, onetouchteamaker, one touch tea maker, tea pot, one touch tea pot, smart tea maker, miracle tea maker

Iced IngenuiTEA Teapot from Adagio Teas

FL700D50 <- this has looked to be impressive


So tea lovers can anyone recommend a good affordable tea maker? Also since SO many places sell tea, does anyone know of the a great affordable organic brand to get green tea leaves.

One note, I would make tea on the stove but my electric stove that the college provides is not going to be as good as a gas stove or the electric stove in your home. That is why i considered getting a electronic tea maker or just using my microwave to create hot water... My main concern is being able to brew the tea leaves and cost. Also BPA free is something I consider important as well.

[paleo-bunny]

All you need is a basic electric kettle, teapot and strainer. Those can be obtained for the equivalent of around 20 dollars in the UK. When I went to university every student I knew had their own electric kettle, but I am talking about England!

Yes, tea made from tea leaves usually tastes far superior. But all this talk of tea makers seems over the top for a student!

[Dr. Bork Bork]

I really like Republic of Tea's stuff. Zhena's Gypsy Tea is good too. If you sign up for RoT's mailing list/newsletter, you get a free bag of tea every month. It's kinda fun

[Nigel]

I live in a dorm but i have an electric stove and a microwave. But I don't have a kettle or a tea maker.

You could buy a tea infuser spoon. Boil the water in the microwave and then put the green tea filled infuser in the hot water for a couple of minutes.

[Nigel]

Bugger, the link didn't work but if you Froogle Tea Infuser Spoon, you will see what I'm on about. My wife uses one for making her morning hot Ginger drink.

[DinoHunter]

The one I use is something like this... Norpro Decorative Laser Etched Tea Infuser | eBay
fits in your tea cup, put your leaves in, pour hot water in, let seep & then remove along with leaves . most quality loose teas can be reused 2-3 times so dont toss out, just pop it back in your cup & add more water.
I love mine & pricewise .. well ...$8
The tea balls are good to but I like the above type much better..

[Knifegill]

My sister got me this, and it's amazing:

[Terez]

I tried quite a variety of infusers when I began using loose tea. This is the one I like best:
Amazon.com: Finum Brewing Large Basket, Black: Home & Kitchen

First I bought the large one, then someone gave me the small one. The small is more versatile but it really only matters that it fits in your cup (unless you're going to use a pot).

The ribs and rim are plastic, which means I don't burn my fingers on hot metal (which was a pain with all-metal infusers that I used).

The little tray (that it's sitting on in the picture) serves as a lid while it's steeping (keeping the tea hot), and then turn it over and put the infuser into it while it's waiting to be resteeped later. It keeps my countertop dry while the infuser sits there waiting to be resteeped.

The leaves knock out of this thing much more easily than out of the all-metal infusers. With the metal ones, a few leaves would always get stuck in the perforations and I would be using my nails trying to pry them out. With this, I give it a good rap when I'm knocking the leaves out and that knocks most of them into the trash can. The little bit that's left in the infuser just rinses out of it. Easy peasy.

I use it for black tea as well as green tea. Most black teas don't stand up to re-steeping.

As someone else mentioned, you can re-steep a good green tea. I use this green tea from Golden Moon Tea (you can scroll down and see my review on that page). It's not cheap but it is amazing.

One teaspoon ends up giving me 5 cups of tea because I re-steep it four times (the initial steep + 4 re-steeps = 5 cups). It starts out with a teaspoon of these tiny dry leaves in the infuser. By the fifth steep, the leaves are very big and fill half the infuser because they've expanded so much. (This tea would never work with a small tea ball.)

So that tea is probably out of your price range but definitely consider the infuser.

BTW, the Golden Moon site has some very interesting and informative articles in the "Knowledge" section. I think you'd enjoy it.

Terez

[oliviascotland]

I'm with PaleoBunny - a kettle and teapot seem to be the cheapest way to go. Or you could simply buy a teapot and heat your water in a saucepan on your electric stove. You truly do not need expensive specialist equipment to make a good cup/pot of tea!

[KotikBegemotik]

My recommendation is that you get an electric kettle and save your money to buy good tea. There's a whole tealeafy world out there. From assertive Assams to delicate Darjeelings, from a dark Keemun to a pale magnolia white, and don't even get me started on oolongs. That's it, i'm off tho make a cuppa.