lolainred said

Curious Tea Related Kickstarter I Had to Share

I have been seriously out of the Steepster loop so forgive me if someone has already mentioned this, but I was browsing Kickstarter after I funded the most ridiculous card game that I can’t wait to own and I came across a kickstarter for a really interesting tea strainer.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lennartrieper/tealightful-timer-the-perfect-tea-always-on-time?ref=nav_search

I can’t decide how I feel about it, but I immediately wanted to share it with you guys. I have mixed feeling about tea strainers that give the loose leaves so little room to breathe, but I can’t get over my curiosity for the fact that the thing closes off and stops the steeping for you.

I’d love to hear what others think about it.

18 Replies

My personal thoughts without actually seeing the product up close and personal (only via photographs), the infuser looks too small to handle teas that are going to expand a lot. Because the infuser looks as though it’s ‘punched holes’ and not a fine mesh strainer, some smaller leafed tea isn’t going to work (rooibos won’t work).

So right away, I feel like options for usage is limited. Given the price of the unit, I don’t like the limited options it offers.

Amoda said

Agreed! But I LOVE the idea of it. Oversteeping is the biggest mistake I see people making and the one that always makes me cringe! If they created it to be taller and shaped more like a brew-in-a-mug type infuse, I’d be aaaaalll over it.

I agree with you. I do like the idea behind it, but the size is something that would keep me from recommending it to someone. I also can’t get over the holes in this, it doesn’t seem to allow for a lot of water flow which would prohibit the full flavor of the tea to come through.

Amoda said

ohh good point. I didn’t think about the size of the holes. I wonder who they did their product testing with..

plus, I’m just not all that into having plastic surround my tea like that. I assume it’s silicone? I don’t know … I think I’ll stick to my Breville.

Amoda said

I love my Breville :)

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SarsyPie said

I kinda wish this had been around when I first started with tea. I mostly gongfu now, so I don’t think I’d find it useful. It’s pretty damn cool, though, and I sort of want to fund it because it seems like a very cleverly simple design!

You’re right, though. It doesn’t seem like it would give full leaves enough room to do their thing. But if you’re not using whole leaf tea…

lolainred said

yeah I feel the same way! I feel like someone new to tea could get a lot of use out of something like this. Me now, not so much. But it’s definitely clever!

SarsyPie said

I’m trying to think of a family member who needs this because I want to see it in action. :p

Amoda said

I agree with this too! haha I can see that for tea drinkers just getting started, this is a starting point. It will atleast keep them from oversteeping and the discouragement that bitter tea can create.

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cookies said

I don’t think those types of infusers are worth it. They seem to be mainly for novelty. It’s a fun idea but not practical for most teas.

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Lindsay said

Honestly, oversteeping my tea isn’t a big problem for me. I usually set the timer on my stove, which beeps loudly and repeatedly until you go and turn it off. If I’m not at home, I set an alarm on my phone. Though it is pretty hilarious how often the alarm goes off and I’m totally surprised, like, “oh yeah, tea! forgot all about that… in the past 3 minutes”. Me, distractable? :p So setting a timer is absolutely necessary for me, but having a special gadget in place of walking across the room and removing the infuser basket from the mug? Not necessary.

Kittenna said

Hahaha, I forget I’m making tea all the time. Even in the 2-minute span I steep my greens and blacks for….

Nattie said

I do the stove timer thing too, and so often forget about it. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve (impending TMI) gone to the toilet and just suddenly heard beeping and panicked. Constantly having to pee is a burden I bear for the love of tea.

Raritea said

I’ve “trained” my roommates to point out when my tea timer is dangerously low… i.e. they know how disappointed I get when I over-steep a tea and they want to avoid TEArs- Gotta love ’em!

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Everune said

Interesting, but as others pointed out it might not be the best for teas that expand a lot.

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I don’t think this product would be very useful for me (because of many of the issues listed above) but if the price comes down a little bit, I would buy it for my husband. He’s always rushing out the door in the morning and could just drop this in and let the tea steep while he drives.

Yeah, I agree that the price is also prohibitive. I can’t see spending that much for what amounts to a tea gadget for me, especially since I’ve got my Breville. But if I were running around a lot, something like that would definitely be more useful.

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