Hastening a brew

[amfx22000]

I am the only individual in my family who knows the wonders of tea on a regular basis, and as such, my brewing methods are based solely on trial and error and instructions on the sides of tea boxes. I just now brewed up a quart of black tea and in the process realized how inefficient my brewing methods seem.

Basically, I

1. Boil a quart of water in a tea pot
2. Pour it over 4 tsps of loose leaf tea in a pitcher.
3. Let it brew for 5 minutes.
4. Pour the tea from the pitcher into ANOTHER pitcher through this small netted bowl I've got (a sifter, I think)
5. Mix in 1/4 cup milk and 1 tsp brown sugar

I'm looking for suggestions on how to eliminate step 4 entirely. I'm fairly certain that normal people don't have to go through three dishes and a sifter just to make a pot (pitcher) of tea.

I'm posting this in "teaware" under the assumption that there is some common tea pot or some other wares that would simplify my process.

[MarshalN]

The only solution I have for you is to buy a filter basket and pull it out after five minutes. That way you can use the same pitcher.

You really ought to find a teapot though that covers the water while you're waiting. The heat loss on an uncovered pitcher is huge if you wait that long.

[amfx22000]

The only solution I have for you is to buy a filter basket and pull it out after five minutes. That way you can use the same pitcher.

You really ought to find a teapot though that covers the water while you're waiting. The heat loss on an uncovered pitcher is huge if you wait that long.

I usually throw a hand towel over the top of the pitcher while the tea brews. Is that sufficient to prevent heat loss?

PS Thanks for the basket idea!

[Jasmin]

I use tea pots that have the baskets as was mentioned.
Do you drink that tea right away? Then you could pour the tea into individual cups (through a strainer). Then everyone can add sugar and milk to their likings.

[kymidwife]

Adagio makes the 32 oz. IngenuiTea which holds your leaf and water for brewing, and then decants into your serving vessel through a built-in filter. This process would seem to eliminate the extra steps for you. I own a couple of these myself. Great for unflavored teas, but strong flavors like peppermint can linger, so be aware of that.

Sarah

[LauraW]

Something that I picked up a while back and use fairly regularly (when not using my ingenuiTEA Sarah suggested) is just a simple strainer.. picture attached of one very similar to mine. Makes it easy to brew tea in a pot, then pour from the pot into individual cups, while still leaving the leaves to roam around in the pot - and giving you a cool presentation (IMHO). Then you can sweeten in the cup (best way I've found is if you already know your proportions for add-ins, put those in the cup first, pour tea over it).

[debunix]

One pot to boil the water, another to brew the tea, and a cup to drink it from--three vessels are pretty standard for brewing tea.

At work, I brew up a quart at a time to take with me to my afternoon clinic or meetings & to share, so I use the kettle, a teapot, the thermos to hold the tea, and a separate cup to drink it. Four vessels.

My teapots mostly have built-in strainers, but even so, I don't like the fines, so use an extra strainer over the mouth of the thermos or teacup if the tea fines are small enough to get through the pot's strainer.