Comments on: Teastick Gems Loose Tea Infuser Review

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:22:02 +0000

I use one of these extensively. I prefer the Rooibos teas and they are so fine that all the other infusers allow the fine bits out into the tea. This one works perfectly, despite how tiny the Roobis bits are, i rarely get anything leaking out of the spoon. and for those times when you are in a hurry (don’t gasp in horror) I can microwave the the mug with this infuser in it and no ill effects to the tea or the infuser or the microwave. Sure i use the ultrafine basket when i am making large batches but this thing works perfectly where the other ones fail.

By: Cosmic Teapot

Cosmic Teapot — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:52:11 +0000

There’s something seriously wrong with this type of tea infuser. If you’re drinking black tea, brewing in an open cup loses far too much heat. You may as well go back to Lipton in that case.

This type of infuser is fine for green and white tea, but it’s still a flawed concept.

By: Teavalize

Teavalize — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:25:36 +0000

I used to use one of these infusers but I have progressed to the teavalize tea infuser mug. I don’t even have to take the leaves out anymore until I’m done drinking, its handy in the mornings because I just throw it all in there ,add water and it’s usually good to drink by the time I get to the car.

By: ingenuiTEA Teapot Review — The Gadgeteer

ingenuiTEA Teapot Review — The Gadgeteer — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:26:30 +0000

[...] either use a French press or a mesh cup infuser to steep the leaves. Recently I reviewed the Teastick, which is a cool idea, but turned out to be a little awkward to use and clean. In a comment to that [...]

By: Echoloc8

Echoloc8 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:59:42 +0000

Julie, it's not hard to clean at all: since the valve stays closed unless put over a cup, you can fill the IngenuiTEA with hot water and the spent leaves will just float out.

According to reviews, the filter at bottom can be removed, too (though I haven't yet, so I can't say how easy that is), for more thorough cleaning.

Everything it's built from is upper-rack dishwasher and microwave safe, too.

-Rich

By: Nikolas Harris

Nikolas Harris — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:24:58 +0000

Did you guys ever try fruit tea? It uses the exact same method, but with dried fruit pieces — its so good. I have a single cup infuser (Second picture from top, the tall filter) I find that it works great. Perfect for mornings, and easy to clean up after. I also have a whole kettle infuser, from germany, works perfectly!

By: Nikolas Harris

Nikolas Harris — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:24:58 +0000

* the fruit teas are also from germany *

… but… you may be able to get them from other places also.

[Edited at December 08, 2008 13:26:38 PM.]

[Edited at December 08, 2008 13:28:07 PM.]

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:36:50 +0000

Thanks for the link. It looks really cool and I am going to try to get on to try out ) Is it hard to clean it?

By: Echoloc8

Echoloc8 — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:42:37 +0000

I'm a big fan of the IngenuiTEA from Adagio Teas, and also available from ThinkGeek.com.

It's made from thick plastic like the Teastick (possibly the same substance, but I'm unsure), and has an infuser mesh in the bottom to filter out the loose leaves. The trick that it does is accomplished by a valve system on the bottom of the IngenuiTEA that releases the brewed tea when the device is set atop a cup of smaller diameter. It's hard to explain, but the ThinkGeek link above shows a picture of it in action, and it's pretty self-explanatory from there.

I've had mine for a little over a week, and love it! Some of the online reviews I've found have mentioned that the mesh assembly can fit loosely after heavy use, but I've had no trouble, and in any case replacements are apparently available from Adagio's website.

Not an investor or anything, just someone who ordered one on a lark and was extremely impressed.

-Rich

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:41:42 +0000

I use bagged teas too. I order boxes from Stash and take them to work. On the weekends at home, I use loose tea.

By: Hai

Hai — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:34:35 +0000

Like you, I am drinking tea every day, but will occasionally drink "stinking coffee" as well. I use an old fashion teapot. I usually prepare my tea very concentrated. Each time I like a cup of tea, I pour myself half a cup of concentrated tea, fill the rest of the cup with hot water and the tea is just perfect: not too hot or too cold. By the way, like Kezza said, I don't filter my tea.

At work, I use the pre-packaged tea bags a la Lipton. They are not too bad.

[Edited at December 03, 2008 15:35:51 PM.]

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:39:43 +0000

Kezza:

Interesting! Thanks for the info. I’ll have to try to find some online and order it. )

By: Kezza

Kezza — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:23:33 +0000

Julie -
It’s Tung Ting oolong (also spelled Dong Ding by some retailers). The leaves are large and whole, so you don’t get tiny bits of leaf floating around. It’s a fairly green oolong, so steeping forever doesn’t make it bitter. It’s traditional in China (and Taiwan) to drink some teas without filtering. A coworker of mine from the region that produces Lung Ching green tea doesn’t filter hers, either. We both just add hot water to our mugs throughout the day.

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:20:33 +0000

Kezza:

Tell me about this Taiwanese tea. You say it doesn't need filtering? Do you drink the leaves too? Or is it powered?

By: Kezza

Kezza — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:17:17 +0000

When I'm at work I drink tea out of a 12oz stainless thermal mug. Unfortunately, the cup-type infuser doesn't sit far enough into the mug to steep well, and the ball-type infuser that I have is too large to fit into the mug. Right now I mostly just drink a taiwanese tea that doesn't need to be filtered out, but for other teas I think I'll give this stick-type infuser a try. I used to use disposable filter bags, but that seemed wasteful. For a little while I used a reusable cotton drawstring tea bag, but it was a massive pain to clean.

[Edited at December 03, 2008 10:18:18 AM.]

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:30:31 +0000

Sean:

I used to buy empty tea bags and fill them myself. This was the most convenient method, but that gets expensive and wasteful since you throw away the bag. I also like a French press, of all the infusing methods, it is the hardest to clean.

I really can't think of a better design than the cup shaped infuser. They even make gold plated ones ;o)

By: Sean Inglis

Sean Inglis — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:31:08 +0000

I bought a couple of the stainless steel versions of this, one for myself and one as a present.

I really wanted to like it, but I habitually use my old spring-loaded infuser: although the Teastick looks great and is a more convenient shape to tote around, it's definitely more awkward to clean. I also found that being able to scoop the tea into the "barrel" isn't much use if you're a frequent drinker and if, like me, you can't be bothered to ensure it's bone dry each time before use.

Much nicer to look at though, the stainless one doesn't discolour like my mesh infusers, and it's a bit of a conversation piece.