A glass teapot is a teapot made from heat-resistant borosilicate glass, usually with an infuser inside to hold the leaves. Because the whole pot is clear, you can watch the colour build and pour when it looks right, which is the easiest way we know to learn loose-leaf tea. Glass also doesn't hold onto flavour, so one pot can brew green tea in the morning and a smoky black tea at night.
We now carry more glass teapots than we used to, and people at the Tea Bar often ask us which one to start with. Here's how we answer.
Which glass teapot to start with
Two questions decide most of it: how many cups you pour at a time, and whether you'd rather lift the leaves out or pour the tea off them.
1. How many cups at a time?
Just you. A pot between 280ml and 350ml gives you one good mug, or two or three small cups over a few infusions. The 280ml Qinzhong is the simplest place to start: small, bell-shaped, nothing to take apart. The 320ml Song-style is the same idea with a long spout and a shape borrowed from a Song dynasty pouring vessel, for people who want something nicer to look at on the desk. The 350ml bamboo handle pot has an overhead handle and a glass infuser, and holds a little more. If you'd rather have wood than clear glass in the hand, the 300ml grey glass teapot has a walnut handle and a smoke-grey tint that sits well on a dark table.
Two of you. The 500ml Retro set comes with two matching cups and a flat base that sits on a candle warmer. It's the pot customers write to us about most, and the one we suggest when someone asks for a gift. If you already have cups, the 500ml glass teapot with removable infuser is the same size as a pot on its own.
A table, or a whole afternoon. The 800ml pot brews enough for two or three people at once, or one person who doesn't want to get up and refill. Lift the infuser out once it's as strong as you like and the pot won't turn bitter while it sits.
2. Built-in or removable infuser?
A built-in infuser holds the leaves in the pot. You pour the whole infusion off each time, and the leaves are ready for the next one. This suits short, repeated infusions in the Chinese style, and it's how the 280ml and 320ml pots work.
A removable infuser lifts out. You steep once, take the leaves out when the tea is ready, and drink at your own pace. This is closer to how most Australians already make tea, and it's how the 500ml set, the 500ml pot, the 350ml pot, the grey 300ml pot and the 800ml pot work.
Neither is better. If you like a pot you can walk away from, choose removable. If you like brewing the same leaves four or five times, choose built-in.
3. A few special cases
Blooming flower tea needs room to open, so go for 500ml or more. The 500ml Retro set and the 500ml glass teapot with removable infuser both work well: lift the infuser out and drop the flower straight into the pot.
Keeping the tea warm. Glass doesn't hold heat the way clay does. Any of these pots with a flat base will sit on a candle warmer, which keeps a pot at drinking temperature for an hour or two. Our tea warmers fit these pots.
Green tea. Glass is the pot we'd pick for green and white tea over clay, because you can see when it's ready and the pot won't flatten the flavour.
Quick picks
If you're in Hobart, come and hold them at the Tea Bar at Salamanca. Size is easier to judge in the hand than on a screen.
Common questions
What glass are these teapots made from?
High borosilicate glass, the same material as laboratory glassware. It handles boiling water and normal temperature changes. Most of these pots are hand-formed, so small bubbles or ripples in the glass are normal and each pot varies a little.
Can I put a glass teapot on the stove?
Treat them as steeping pots, not kettles. Boil your water separately and pour it in. To keep tea warm, use a candle warmer. A couple of the pots are rated for an electric ceramic stove on low, and we say so on those product pages. If the page doesn't say it, don't.
How long does the tea stay warm?
Not as long as clay or ceramic. Warm the empty pot with hot water before you brew, and put it on a candle warmer for anything longer than a single cup.
How do I clean a glass teapot?
Rinse it soon after use so leaves don't dry onto the infuser, then hand wash with warm water. Skip the dishwasher and abrasive cleaners. Let it air dry with the lid off. Avoid pouring boiling water into a pot straight from a cold cupboard in winter; a quick warm rinse first is enough.
What if I break a lid or an infuser?
Get in touch. For pots we still carry, we can often supply a replacement lid or infuser.
What tea should I brew in it?
Anything, but glass shows off green tea, white tea, jasmine pearls and blooming flower tea best. As a starting point for a Western-style pot, use 2 to 3g of leaf per 200ml of water and steep for 2 to 3 minutes, then adjust to taste.
Related
Teapots ·
Tea Warmer ·
Glass Cups ·
Tea Wares
