What’s Coming Between You and Your Tea? Part II – Exploring Some Different Types of Tea Infusers

In the previous article (What’s Coming Between You and Your Tea? Part I – The Tea Infuser), I showed what infusion was and the disadvantages of an infuser. However, if you still want to use one, here is a rundown on some of the types currently available.
Infusers come in various forms, including tea balls, teaspoon-shaped, sticks, baskets, filters, infusion bags (not the bags that bagged tea comes in), French Presses, and cups and teapots with ceramic infuser baskets.

Choices, choices, choices!

But if you are truly to live the “tea life,” this will be an important decision for you – to use one of these infusers or not, and which infuser is best.

Most infusers are fairly inexpensive, ranging from a few dollars upwards. However, cost of these items isn’t the real issue. It’s the cost of the tea. Why use an infuser that keeps you from getting the most out of your tea? If you must use one at all, pick one that is going to provide the best infusing for the best cup or potful of tea. Also bear in mind that they are not suitable for use with tea in the form of fannings or dust. Whole leaf or pieces is best.

What They Are
Tea Balls

Hollow spheres, in two pieces, made of either stainless steel mesh or stainless steel with small holes. The mesh ones usually have a snap closure. The steel ones twist the two halves together.

Teaspoon-shaped Infusers
As the name says, they’re shaped like teaspoons. Otherwise, teaspoon infusers are essentially the same as tea balls. They are meant for brewing up a single cup of tea. Heat your water, fill the teaspoon infuser with tea and close it, then put it into a cup and pour in the hot water.

Tea Infuser Sticks
Stainless steel tubes that slide for filling and have small holes for infusing. They are meant for brewing up a single cup of tea and often have a hooked handle for catching on the side of the cup.

Infuser Baskets

Baskets made of stainless steel or nylon/plastic. They come in various sizes, some for your cup and others for your teapot. You put your loose tea in them and put them in the cup or teapot, then pour the hot water over them.



How effective they are:
On the Websites that sell infusers, they instruct us to fill the infusers only halfway. Why? So that the leaves have room to expand fully within the infuser. Good advice, but the leaves still don’t get to fully interact with the water as they would if loose in the pot. As one who truly lives the “tea life,” I don’t see tea balls, etc., worth the time and trouble. They just seem to come between me and my tea, especially a fine whole leaf tea, and they are virtually worthless on teas that are comprised of fannings or dust (which should only be used in a non-bleached bag), since the particles of tea are small enough to fit through the holes or mesh of the infuser.

On the other hand, if you want tea that is a step up from bagged tea in a setting where infusing tea in a pot and then straining it would be awkward (such as in an office), then an infuser could be just the thing. You can use whole leaf or broken leaf tea, get a good tea flavor, and avoid the fuss of a teapot and strainer.

Of course, there are infusers that fit into your teapot. There are also French Presses. We’ll look into these in the next article.

For now, enjoy your infusion of tea!

© 2009 A.C. Cargill photos and text