Loose leaf tea being on of the best quality teas out there with large leaf grades, it’s an obvious choice when it comes to buying your tea today. More and more tea drinkers are swapping to loose leaf instead of tea bags as they would like to experience the whole tea taste without any contaminants and also its more environmentally friendly as we avoid the paper or plastic from the tea bags. Tea infusers or tea strainers are used to steep tea. Today we discuss the different types of strainers out there on the market.
When choosing the right tea infuser, there are 5 point we must consider:
1. Size
The circumference of the infuser should be wide enough and deep enough to allow the large leaves to unfurl in order to brew our tea effectively. If the tea leaves do not have enough room to unfurl and expand, the tea will not effectively extract all the good flavors from the tea.
2. Fit
Nowadays teapots and mugs come in different designs and sizes. So, one must make sure the tea infuser or strainer fits in the teapot.
3. Lid
When steeping tea, we cover the tea so that we retain heat and also effectiveness in the brew as some of the oils escape through the steam. The lid assists in limiting these actions. The tea strainer or infuser should be able to fit in the pot and at the same time allow lid to close nicely on the tea pot.
4. Easy Cleaning
This one is straight forward. Because of the small holes on the tea strainer, it must be easy to effectively clean the strainer.
5. Holes
The holes need to be small enough not to allow tea particles to enter into the cup or teapot but at the same big enough to allow water to flow freely.
There are different types of strainers and infusers as well. Tea drinkers tend to enjoy brewing with different types of strainers. The question is, which type of strainer or infuser is the best? Personally, considering that all the pointers of a good strainers are there, it all depends on personal preference. Here is some example of the strainers or infusers:
Mesh infusers
They are usually in two halves that are joined together by a hinge and attached to a chain. It is easy to use, depending on size and how many cups you want to make, with a mesh infuser you just fill it up and close it with the hinge and steep like a tea bag. It cleans very well also, as you easily reach all the holes and spots of the mesh.
Stainless steel micro-mesh strainer
This stainless steel micro-mesh basket is made from heat-resistant BPA-free material. This is a tea drinkers favourite as it can steep everything including dust tea itself.
100% Stainless steel strainer
This one usually has handles to hold it and in some it comes with a lid. It can sit properly in steep your tea in a mug as well. It rust-resistant, durable and very good for steeping loose leaf. When purchasing a stainless steel it's always best to go for the one with finer holes to avoid tiny tea leave particles to escape into your cup.
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