Making a tea pot work better.

[ndw76]

My mother in-law bought me a Chinese clay tea pot, it is the type which does not have a wire basket. Instead it has straining holes at the bottom of the spout. This means that it is difficult to get the used tea leaves out of the pot. I could just rinse the pot out and drop the leaves in the sink, but I like to put the leaves on my plants.

I tried to fix this by buying a wire straining basket for this tea pot, but I couldn't find a basket exactly the right size. Even if I could get a basket it would stop the lid from fitting properly.

So I found a solution last night in the local $2.00 shop (here it is the 60 baht shop). I found a pack of 80 medium size tea bags. The sort where you put your own tea leaves in the bag and put the bag in the pot.

The tea still tastes good and if the bag detracts from the experience, I'm not enough of a tea expert to notice.

So does anyone else use these tea bags?

[nonc_ron]

I haven't tried it but it sounds like a plan.

[debunix]

I either: shake the tea pot out over my compost bucket, then rinse out the rest into the sink; or dump it all into the sink with the drain strainer in place, and use that to transport the loose leaves to the compost. Either way, most of the leaves get to the worms, who turn them into castings for the garden, and a quick rinse clears the pot.

No strainer or tea bags required.

Tea bags, are generally not preferred because they may not allow the leaves to fully expand and come into contact with the water evenly on all surfaces.

[Victoria]

I definitely us them for travel. I have some of the larger teapot size I use when using some of my larger glass pots of black tea. Works great!

So if it works good for you then great.

[iannon]

I used to use them for my wifes looseleaf tea. Until i got one of the bodum Metal ones that has more steeping room. Would be great for travelling tho..I actually took some on my last trip. used the in-room coffee maker for hot water and the bags for my tea