Tea Infuser Mugs

I remember when I was a kid and working for S&V in the 1980’s & 90’s, we didn’t have many choices of teaware items. There were teapots, of course, but many of them didn’t have infusers.

Simpson & Vail Fall Catalog 1990

The ones that had infusers, the holes were so large that quite a few tea leaves would go through them when straining. The preferred, traditional, method for tea brewing was to put the loose leaves in the pot and use a strainer on your cup & saucer. My mother, Joan, scoured resources searching in many places for new items, which, without the internet, was not an easy task.

Tea mug Infusers with larger holes

Tea mug Infuser with larger holes

Today the world of tea brewing has exploded with so many lovely options. We have teapots in many shapes, colors and sizes, and most of them have infusers (with small holes, which are perfect for brewing any size leaf). There are fewer options for cups & saucers as more and more people are favoring mugs. It was a natural progression to include infusers in these mugs. About 10 years ago we found tea mugs in pretty colors and sizes, but as with the early teapots, the infusers had large holes that were not conducive to brewing smaller leaves. Those manufacturers quickly changed the style of infusers to keep up with customer’s desires. Today, all the tea infuser mugs we sell have fine mesh strainers that are perfect for brewing any size tea leaf.

With so many choices now for brewing loose leaf tea with ease, it seems that there is less of a need for teabags. Loose teas are fresher, less expensive and available in a much wider variety of flavors and styles. The number of people realizing the value of drinking loose teas is ever increasing, and, with tea brewing accoutrements making it so easy, I think we’ll see even more people exploring the loose tea world.

As the population of tea drinkers increases I think we’ll start to see even more exciting offerings in the tea world both in the types of teas (and tisanes) offered as well as in the brewing world.

What do you think needs fixing in the world of tea brewing?