Tea infuser on the go
I love tea, and it brings me so much joy to see more people drinking tea nowadays!
As I walked around grocery stores in the US this past summer, I was surprised to see how diverse their tea selections had become. In Deep Roots, one local organic co-op, they even sold matcha whisks— matcha is so popular now!
One thing I noticed, though, was that there weren’t any good tea infusers sold in these stores. I was surprised since tea infusers are essential for preparing loose leaf teas and are such a common thing in China.
I wasn’t much of a tea drinker about 15 years ago, so I didn’t pay attention to tea infusers or notice its lack of presence in the US. I only started to notice when my American host mom first visited me in China around that time and got herself a tea infuser as a souvenir. But her infuser kept breaking since it was made of glass and had a delicate strainer system, so over the years I kept getting her replacements.
It never occurred to me at the time that other tea drinkers around the world might be having this same issue or that this was something worth paying attention to. Then I saw how few tea infusers there were compared to the plethora of teas this summer.
"But there is a tea ball, you know that," one of my professors brought up.
Right, there are still strainers, tea balls, and tea pots. But I think tea lovers outside of China need more than just these options. In my tea studies, I have been exposed to many kinds of tea thermos and bottles that make it a lot easier for tea lovers. People need more than one way to enjoy a good cup of tea!
Of course, not just any bottle will do. Products that keep breaking like the ones my host mom got only make tea drinking more frustrating. It needs to be safe and durable. In my search, I discovered bottles made out of tritan (also used for baby products) are best for holding hot liquids, and tea bullets made out of 316 stainless steel are more dependable.
The magnet bullet bottle I’m holding in this picture is similar to the one I finally settled on for Red Clay Stove. You’ll never guess how many products I went through before I found the perfect one (review video to come)!
Cheers, more soon!
— Jojo, founder.