PersonaliTEA question?

[bluesuze]

Hello all,

I am new to tea, as this question will for sure give me away. I have a question about hte PersonaliTEA. It looks like a really cute little pot for me. I'm the only one in my house that drinks tea. I typically just drink 1 large cup in the morning, afternoon, and before bedtime.

My questions are: 1. Is the PersonaliTEA a good size for me?

and

2. (a silly question but I just don't know!) Is this teapot for heating up the water? I don't notice that it whistles. Do I heat the water on this pot on the stove and then use the infuser to steep the tea, or do I warm the water in something else, then put it in this tea.

Thanks so much!

[Ladytiger]

Welcome!
To answer you questions.
1) The personaliTEA is 21oz., but you might be able to go for something a bit smaller like the IngnuiTEA which is 16 oz.

2) You'll need to heat the water up in a tea kettle then pour it in the pot to steep it. A nice tea kettle is usually about $35 unless you want an electric kettle, on adagio it goes for $49.

[bluesuze]

Thank you Lady Tiger,

Here's another question, the IngnuiTEa - do I do the same thing? Heat the water up in a kettle first and then pour it? Or can I just pop it in the microwave, and is there a difference in either method?

[Sam.]

For the personaliTEA you definitely need to kettle or even microwave heat the water in another container and then pour it into the teapot along with your tea. You can do the very same thing with the ingenuiTEA or, as you asked, you can actually pop the ingenuiTEA itself into the microwave and heat the water in the microwave. I'd just wait to add the tea leaves until after you've taken it out of the microwave, not before while it's still cold.

The problem with the microwave is you have no way of telling how hot you water is. As you'll find out as you read more about teas, lighter types of tea like green tea, white tea, some oolongs and even some herbals are best brewed with water that's only around ~180-190F rather than boiling at 212F.

The ingenuiTEA is very simple to use and it's neat to be able to see the color of the tea get darker as it brews but it's not as aesthetically pleasing as a nice teapot, in my opinion. I'd think both are good choices to start off your tea drinking with.