Making the perfect cup of tea is not as easy as it seems. Aside from the right water temperature, steeping duration, and tea quality, you will need to utilize the right tools to make all the difference between a good cup and a bad one!

Sure, the process is straightforward when using tea bags, but your favourite loose-leaf tea will require having the right strainer or infuser, right? And, if you’re hesitating about which one will serve your drinking tea needs best, the following guidelines might give you a hand in making the right decision.

The Whats and Hows of Tea Strainers

Whether for black or green, herbal or Arkadia chai, use a tea strainer to prepare the perfect cup of your favourite flavour. These highly versatile tea preparation tools rest on a teapot or teacup rim, holding the loose tea leaves as you pour the hot water through to extract the tea’s flavour and qualities, maintain the loose tea leaves’ consistency, and let tea users choose how long they want their brew to simmer.

Since they capture all the loose tea leaves as you pour, keeping them out of your teacup or teapot, tea strainers are generally used when preparing a larger quantity of tea and serving to several guests at the same time. Moreover, tea drinkers will enjoy how simple it is to use when pouring water straight from the kettle into their teacups.

Strainers are made of stainless steel and can also be used as infusers, which means they can sit inside the teacup or teapot while the tea steeps. Although the mesh in most tea leaf strainers is small enough to collect most loose tea leaves, some minute particles nevertheless manage to pass through and end up in your cup.

So, to eliminate any lingering leaves from the cup, tea specialists typically filter the tea twice: once in the pot and once again using a strainer with an extremely fine mesh. If the sediment at the bottom of your cup bothers you, use a very fine mesh strainer to remove it.

Therefore, if you deal with large loose tea leaves it’s best to use a strainer since its holes are big enough to hold the particles. Furthermore, tea strainers are better suited for tea leaves that require a longer infusion time; there are tea leaves that don’t get bitter if left inside the teapot for an extended period.

The Whats and Hows of Tea Infusers

Unlike strainers, tea infusers are perforated containers used to steep loose tea leaves in hot water. While keeping the tea leaves enclosed, these infusers allow the tea to be extracted into the water. This makes it simple to drain the water of all the leaves and regulate the amount of time the tea steeps. However, they can only hold a certain number of leaves and release flavour from small holes.

Moreover, to prevent the tea leaves from floating about freely in your brew, a tea infuser binds them together, generally in a mesh ball or basket. Additionally, it enables premium teas to open up and reveal all of their flavours. The best thing about infusers is that there are several different types available so there is something for everyone. Tea leaves can be extracted using brewing baskets, which are normally composed of mesh and can be submerged in water. These are larger and may be beneficial if you are steeping a large quantity of larger tea leaves.

Tea balls, on the other hand, are exactly what their name implies: a ball-shaped container that stores leaves and is generally attached to a chain or handle for simple removal from hot water. Because tea balls are smaller, there may be a limit to the amount of tea that can be prepared, and they may prevent using larger leaves which need space to expand and interact with the water.

However, if you’re looking for a simple infuser alternative then the silicone ones are your best buy. Although, some tea enthusiasts do not prefer them as they can create an aftertaste or are not as effective as other infusers. Some thermoses, teapots, and travel mugs have built-in infusers. These are all useful for steeping tea while on the road. Being suitable for both preparing large quantities of tea and a single cup only, a tea infuser is a must-have tool for tea blends and flavoured teas that you only intend to steep once.

One of the most commonly asked questions regarding infusers is whether you can use a tea bag in it. Yes, although it would be a little odd! The bag itself serves as the infuser, allowing the taste of the tea to permeate the water without any loose tea spilling into the beverage.

This way, the tea flavourings could theoretically travel through two distinct barriers which is a bit unnecessary. Another option is to cut open a tea bag and pour the tea into the infuser. Once more, this is a bit pointless because some tea bags contain extremely finely ground tea that may fit through the infuser’s holes. Therefore, it is preferable to utilize loose tea only.