Stainless Tea Infuser Basket with Lid

Stainless steel tea infuser basket with lid

This stainless steel infuser basket is a deep 304 steel basket that sits in the mouth of a mug, for brewing loose-leaf tea one cup at a time. Leaf goes in, water goes over it, and the whole basket lifts out when the tea is where you want it. The lid keeps the heat in while it steeps, then turns over and becomes the dish you stand the wet basket on.

Depth is what sets it apart from the clip-on infusers most people start with. Leaf packed into a narrow ball can't open, and tea brewed that way comes out thin no matter how long you leave it. This basket is 7cm deep and 6.5cm across at the rim, so a full spoon of leaf has room to unfurl and the water can move through it. That's the difference between a mug infuser that works for a big twisted oolong and one that doesn't.

The wall is micro-perforated rather than woven mesh, which holds back the fine broken leaf a coarser mesh lets through into the cup. A long handle runs off one side and a short hook off the other, so the basket balances on the rim instead of dropping in.

Product details

• Material: 304 stainless steel
• Basket: 6.5cm rim, 4.8cm base, 7cm deep
• Overall length with handle: 12cm
• Weight: 43g
• Lid: included, doubles as a drip stand

This works well for

• Whole-leaf teas in a mug: oolong, white tea and big-leaf black tea that need room to open
• Brewing at a desk with no teapot and nothing extra to wash
• Fine or broken leaf that slips through a coarser mesh
• Someone moving from teabags to loose leaf who wants one tool that fits the mugs they already own

It sits in most standard mugs. If your mug is narrower than about 6.5cm at the opening, measure first. We use this style at the counter of our Salamanca Tea Bar in Hobart, and it's on the shelf there if you'd like to check it against your own mug size.

Care

Rinse straight after use so the leaf doesn't dry into the perforations. Dishwasher safe, though a rinse and a shake does the job. If it dulls over time, warm water and bicarb brings it back.

Shipping

Ships from Hobart, Tasmania. Free shipping on orders over $95 Australia-wide. It's a light parcel, wrapped and boxed so the perforated wall doesn't get dented.

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