SnapTea Infuser: Another Way To Brew Loose-Leaf Tea

This time of year, you will generally find us with our hands wrapped around a mug of tea. But we've been drinking a lot of loose-leaf teas lately, and we've not been entirely satisfied with our options for brewing a cup. So we're curious about this Copco SnapTea Infuser; have you tried it?

To recap: We're not fans of tea balls and even that very pretty tea stick; they don't allow the tea to move freely enough for a good brew. This TriniTEA tea maker is actually a wonderful appliance for those who drink more tea than coffee, but we don't pull it out unless we want a whole pot. Those fill-able disposable tea bags are, well, disposable and also rather hard to fill, and, finally, just being old fashioned and straining our tea sounds like too much work. (Maybe we're just lazy.)

This infuser for brewing tea is intriguing to us, though, because it promises to be no-mess. The sides of the strainer snap down to cover the tea basket after brewing, to guard against drips. The basket itself is wide enough to allow the tea to move freely as it steeps in the hot water.

Have you tried this? What do you think? What is the best cup-brewing method for loose-leaf tea that you've found?

• Find it: Copco SnapTea Infuser, $10 at Sur La Table

(Image: Sur La Table)

Comments (15)

I find the Finum tea basket works perfectly; the super fine mesh means no leaves in your cup, and you can flip the lid upside down on the table and set the basket in it after you're finished brewing for no drips/rings on the table. Voila. http://www.simplefamilyliving.com/products.asp?pid=139&cat=6&mode=open

I use a small 2-cup glass teapot with a mesh basket from Hario or a mug-sized ceramic tea basket I got at a Japanese store. The ceramic is nice because it's easier to clean than mesh.

I've been using the bodum yoyo plastic tea infuser for a few years now. It lets the tea soak and float. I've tried balls and wands...

The best I've ever used is a Teavana infuser. It holds 16oz of fluid and the tea floats freely with a lid to keep the heat and steam in. When you place the infuser on top of a mug, the steeped tea pours out the bottom and leaves the leaves in the infuser. Great for college students and cube workers that have to travel to get hot water.

I have a mesh tea infuser basket from the Republic of Tea called the People's Brew Basket. I like it because it's small enough to fit in just about any cup. (A lot of the other tea infusers are so large that they will only fit in large mugs.)

http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=473

They also sell a sturdy mug that comes with a sturdy stainless steel infuser. Plenty of room for the tea leaves to unfold and move freely.

I have a couple of teacups from Muji that come with a built-in stainer and lid. Everything is made of ceramic. It's nice, although the strainer has large holes, so a few tea leaves always come through.

I bought this recently http://www.amazon.com/Copco-2510-4501-Personal-Tea-Carafe/dp/B0028N6OM0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1256685761&sr=8-7

It's Copco branded and I love it. I have a huge array of teaware at home, but at work, this thing is awsome! I can microwave water in it, I can use it as a water carafe at my desk, it's silicon collar makes handling it safer, and it cleans easer than my chatsford ceramic pots. It's only drawback is that if you use the british style tea that's ground very finely, it will make it through the stainless steel strainer. I suspect that would also be the case with the SnapTea. If you do use a lot of the fine cut tea, get the Adagio Teas Ingenuitea mentioned above.

I also have a ceramic cup with a stainless steel strainer and lid. They're pretty easy to come by in Australia - I know T2 stocks them. I absolutely love it.

They're particularly useful for work, where I used to drink most tea anyhow.

I second the IngenuiTea fro mAdagio.

I have one of those infusers that pours out of the bottom when you put it on your cup. I found it to be a bit of a pain to clean everything out of the strainer. I just let the leaves float around in the pot and use a little tea strainer.