Glazed ceramic/stonewear mugs with infusers?
So, who else uses a ceramic mug with a ceramic infuser to brew their tea on a regular basis?
My favorite way to brew tea, especially in the morning when I want to sit and enjoy a large amount of it, is to use a very large, hand made ceramic mug with a very deep infuser (it goes to within about 1/2" from the bottom of the mug) and a lid. I tend to use this for all of my teas, even puerhs, in the morning and keep the leaves in the infuser in the mug and covered for steeping again in the afternoon if I’ve not steeped them out completely. The removable steeper certainly makes rinsing the tea easy, as all I have to do is take it out of the mug and toss the first steeping/rinse down the drain.
The setup I use is identical to this one, which is based off of my custom order: http://www.etsy.com/listing/167761076/big-20-oz-lidded-mug-with-infuser-loose?ref=shop_home_active I generally tend to only fill the mug 2/3 to 3/4 full with the steeper and tea in it, though. I love this thing to pieces.
I also have a relatively small glazed ceramic teapot, roughly 8 ounces, that I also use on occasion. I figure I’ll get a Yixing pot or two one of these years but I’ve got too many other things on my shopping list that are far ahead of them, especially since they should only be used for one type of tea.
I often brew tea like this. I live in an area with a lot of Asian groceries, that have these kinds of mugs readily available really inexpensively. I have one that I adore, and one that is definitely inferior, so I guess it’s a crapshoot.
I like these, because they only brew one cup at a time, so I can re-infuse a few times and not be overwhelmed with tea. I know some people don’t like the infuser baskets on mugs like this, because they have to have slightly larger holes and tea escapes, but tea dredges have never bothered me in my cup personally.
The best one I owned though, was from all places, Teavana. I’d never buy one of the more upscale ones they offer, because when I can get a mug for 3$, I don’t feel the need to buy one for 19$. But I got one on sale for like 8$, and it was ugly, but it was somehow coated on the inside of the porcelain, so it cleaned really well. It was also a great size—it had a big infuser basket. I broke the top of it, unfortunately, but they seem to offer a really similar one to the one I owned here: http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-cups-mugs/infuser-mugs/p/linea-rose-infuser-mug
I may buy it after I move. I have the same problem with it that I did the last one, in that it’s ugly in my opinion, which is why I haven’t bought it yet. (And I have one infuser mug I really like, so it’s kind of redundant.)
I also the other day at the grocery saw a Yixing clay lidded mug that I almost bought. It was pretty. I bought a teapot instead, which I thought would be more useful since I didn’t have one here. And I’ve been using the pot entirely since I bought it, because I’ve found with the mugs, the tea cools off faster than I can drink it. A pot seems to keep the tea hotter better. But it was SO COOL.
The mug you posted is absolutely beautiful. Really beautiful. It’s too big for me, though, I think, and it would also be probably a bit too heavy, but I’d love to own something like that.
That was totally babbly. Sorry.
No worries about the babble, Kat, I tend to do that myself quite a bit. :)
The mug you linked to is very pretty! I looked at all of the steeper mugs I could find online but couldn’t find one with a deep enough steeper basket that was actually in stock. I stumbled across Sarah Welch’s site and had her make a mug to my specifications, including a very deep steeper basket that goes down to within a half-inch of the bottom of the mug. It works beautifully and cleans easily because of the glaze inside the basket and the mug, but it is a heavy beast. Still well worth it, though, because the pot belly of the mug is perfect for wrapping my hands around to keep them warm! The heavy ceramic does a pretty good job of holding heat too and I tend to drink my 16 ounces or so of tea quickly enough that it is still warm when I finish it. There are some days when I’d like a bit less tea without futzing with a pot and all, so I may order a smaller version of the mug sometime after the Holidays, probably next year. I’m glad Sarah Welch takes custom orders, that way I get exactly what I want, which I can’t find for the life of me elsewhere, at least not in stock.
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