Teapots

or more accurately; choosing a teapot

I've always liked tea and I don't use teabags- as a form of quality control more than anything. People I know complain about the hassles of leaf tea but really - are they that busy that they can't spend 30 seconds to use a teapot?

I see the teapot and strainer as a small ritual that ensures making the tea is as good as possible.  If you want a sandwich you have to do all sorts of things depending on your bread, use of spreads, whether you use butter or lettuce and tea making is surely less hassle than that.

The problem with tea is teapots. I've owned a lot of teapots - and 12 in the last 10 years. There are design faults with 99% of them.

I don't use metal teapots. So they may be better but I don't believe conducting a significant amount of the heat out of the teapot is a great way to start. 

So what are the common problems with teapots?

• they dribble
• the lids aren't fitted properly
• the angle of getting the last of the tea out is sometimes well over 45 degrees causing tea to come out the lid
• the internal of the pot has obstructions that block the tea coming out
• the pots have weird cages inside which hinder infusion
• they aren't balanced well so are very hard to pour when they are full
• their handles are weak and break off after very little use

So I'd recommend avoiding novelty teapots. They never work well in my experience.

So once you've worked out what size teapot you need - numbers of cups - then here is what I would suggest before you buy.

1 How does it pour?  - check it our water before you buy.  Does it dribble?  What about when it's full? Is the spout low enough to get the tea from the bottom of the pot out without needing to tip the pot over 45 degrees?

2 is the lid rattly?  At what angle does it fall off?

3 does the inside of the pot where the spout meets the chamber have large holes that will allow large wet tea leaves to go through? (or are you going to get them blocked?)

4 is there a dumb cage? can you remove the cage and throw it out?

5 how strong is the handle? (okay and the spout?) 

If anyone is wanting to buy a good teapot that passes all these tests here's the one I own - a Martin Gulliver: 

http://www.thestudio.co.nz/shop/Kitchenware/Kettles+Coffee++Tea+Maker/Blue+Spots+Teapot.html

Posted via web from SamNZed's posterous