Go go gadgets

24th March 2009

If you think making a cuppa simply requires a kettle and a tea-bag, think again. Alexandra Fullerton has discovered an arsenal of gadgets to enhance your tea-drinking experience.

The Tea Tool 

Getting a tea-bag out of the mug can be messy and fiddly: Do you grab it with your fingers (risking a scald from hot water)? Perhaps you squeeze it with a tea-spoon - but that never gets all the water out... The solution to no-mess brewing comes in the shape of the Tea Tool, which was designed by a doctor who couldn't bear the drips soggy bags created when carrying used bags from mug to bin.

How does it work?
Put a tea-bag in the cage, place it in your mug then pour on hot water. When you're ready to remove the bag, press down on the plunger - this squeezes the bag releasing liquid and flavour into your cup. You can then take the cage straight to the bin without dripping tea over your kitchen. Pressing the plunger again releases the bag into the rubbish.

Tea Tool, £3.91 from Lakeland www.lakeland.co.uk

Tea filters

These cute little paper filters take their inspiration from cafetiere filters. You get the ease of the tea-bag experience with the choice of loose tea blends - without having to wash up a strainer or tea-pot.

How does it work?
It really is as easy as it looks. Fill the paper filter with loose tea. The filter is then held in place by the wooden stick (it sits on the rim of your mug). The filters are made from non-chlorine bleached pulp fibres for eco-friendly production and are the nearest thing to tea-bags, without actually being one!

£3.50 for pack of 40 filters and sticks from Leaf www.leafshop.co.uk

Tea Infuser Spoon

An ultra-modern answer to one cup brewing. If you fancy a single cup of tea, made from loose leaves, the Tea Infuser Spoon is a brilliantly simple solution.

How does it work?
The easy-fill scoop (so you can load up on the loose leaves of your choice) slots into a stainless steel cylinder. Place the tube into your cup with hot water until it's infused. It works like a reusable tea-bag and the removable base makes emptying much easier too.

Tea Infuser Spoon £4.88 from Lakeland www.lakeland.co.uk

Teeli brewing basket

Brewing loose tea in a pot might seem like a straightforward task but the Teeli makes it even simpler, avoiding dreaded over-brewing - and even potentially blocked sinks!

How does it work?
Fill up the basket with loose tea, as you would will the regular tea-pot method, and brew as normal. Here's the clever bit: Using the Teeli basket means that when you've brewed the tea to the taste, strength and colour of your choice, you can simply lift out the leaves in the Teeli and pour! The leaves won't get stewed and, if you're a fan of larger leafed teas, you can can relax. Tea-leaves brewed loose in a pot often make their way down the plug-hole, leading to blockages, but using the Teeli means you can put the leaves straight in the bin. Genius!
 
'Teeli' medium brewing basket £5.81 from Northern Tea Merchants www.northern-tea.com

Quooker

It might be an expensive outlay but using a Quooker tap for instant boiling water will save money, time and energy in the long-run. Only dispensing as much water as you need saves wasteful over-filling of kettles. You can use it for filling pasta pans and sterilizing jam-jars too.

How does it work?
An insulated tank is installed under the sink while a child-proof tap sits above. Turn on the tap for instant filtered boiling water! A bonus for tea drinkers is that the naturally-occurring calcium in water becomes insoluble, which means you won't get that scummy layer that sometimes appears on the top of your tea.

Quooker boiling water tap £775 from high-end kitchen studios nationwide. Quooker www.quooker.co.uk

Pincer tea infuser

Filling up your teapot to make a solo cuppa can be a pain. If you fancy using speciality loose leaves, instead of a tea-bag brew, the Pincer Infuser could be the answer. We love the old-school safety pin styling of this attractive and useful gadget.

How does it work?
Once you've filled the mesh ball with tea-leaves stir the Pincer into a cup of boiling water to release the flavour and taste of your tea. It's simple!

Pincer tea infuser £2.99 from Northern Tea www.northern-tea.com

All prices correct at time of writing