It’s not easy being a tea drinker. We’re used to walking into a coffee shop and selecting one of maybe three options, or (true story) having to explain to a barista why simply dropping a tea bag into a cup of ice water does not make iced tea. And at work, where it’s common to find a单人舱咖啡机at-the-ready, tea lovers often bring their own from home.
The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.
设计,挂的鼓吹者rim to look like a manatee poking its head out of the ocean, is wonderfully functional. Even when tipping the mug more than 90 degrees to get the last few drops of tea, the Manatea holds on tight, eliminating the need for a separate dish to catch drips. And while that means you may keep it in the mug longer than other infusers, as you sip, and the water level decreases, steeping stops. (That being said, make sure you initially fill your mug to cover all of the infuser’s holes—you’ll see it start working immediately.)
Made of silicone, the Manatea is easy to clean, and leaves don’t escape or get stuck in the holes. The one downside is that when leaves expand in its narrow body, they need a little extra help being removed (I used my finger), but then they generally come out in one relatively clean clump.
Whether it’s raining outside, or you need a giant cup of tea to kick-start your morning, there are some days that just call for an oversized mug. And on those days, we recommend you reach for the Yoassi. A more traditional stainless steel tea infuser, the Yoassi offers a large basket to hold enough tea leaves to flavor even the biggest mug of hot water—or to allow for an extra-strong cup for that boost of caffeine.
The Yoassi’s arms are wide enough to easily fit across our 16-ounce testing mug, and could likely work on one with an even bigger mouth. Tea steeps quickly and evenly without needing much prodding. And when the tea is steeped to your liking, the Yoassi’s dish (which fits snugly as a lid when not in use) can hold your dripping infuser until you’re ready to clean it or make a second cup with the leaves. Just be careful when you’re removing it—the metal arms get surprisingly hot to the touch after steeping.
And speaking of cleaning, the Yoassi is about as straight-forward as tea infusers come. Leaves come out easily and the mouth is wide enough to fit a sponge when washing by hand. If the Yoassi were a bit smaller to use with more standard mugs, we might have named this our top pick, but instead we’ll enjoy breaking it out on those days when we need a little something extra.
I was immediately intrigued by the functionality of the OXO Good Grips tea infuser, twisting the end of the handle and watching the ball open and close with a satisfying heft. In practice, however, this proved to be the most frustrating part of the experience.
This is not to say the twisting itself doesn’t work—it certainly does—but the movement actually traps tea leaves between its two halves, making cleaning a pain. This design also made this infuser the only one that actually let whole leaves escape, likely from being caught in between the mini cups while they were in the open position. During one test, enough leaves floated to the top that I stopped drinking it altogether.
也就是说,如果你特别彻底的智慧h your cleaning, this may not be a bad choice. I enjoyed how little space it occupied in the mug, and, since I have a tendency to leave my tea steeping as I drink, the fact that I could still sip easily around it. Also, for all its moving parts, it felt sturdy and well-made.
Forlife Brew-in-Mug Extra-fine Tea Infuser with Lid
The Forlife tea infuser was one of the more frustrating to use. Unlike the Yoassi (and most other similar-looking tea infusers on the market), the Forlife infuser only has one arm to hold it atop the mug, leaving you to balance a much thinner lip on the other side. Move it just so and that side falls into the water. While it never let any leaves escape, it seemed like such an unnecessary problem to have. I even tried it in a smaller mug, but at that point, it stood too tall to fit properly.
On the plus side, when the infuser is balancing properly, it works well to disperse tea throughout and contain leaves—and it comes with a dish to catch drips upon removal. It’s also large enough to fit a sponge into fairly easily for cleaning (even if leaves did get more stuck in the holes than I would’ve liked). But for being the most expensive tea infuser we tested, it was a let down.
For this particular assignment, we only focused on personal-sized in-mug infusers as opposed to those that can be used in larger tea pots or travel mugs, both of which oftentimes have built-in infusers. We used the same amount (2 teaspoons) of the sameorganic assam black teain the same16-ounce mugfor all testing, noting how quickly and evenly the tea steeped without our intervention and how easy it was to remove leaves after use and hand-wash (since many homes and offices don’t have dishwashers available, even if the infuser itself is dishwasher-safe).
Since portability is more of a factor with in-mug tea infusers than their teapot counterparts, I also tested how convenient it was to go about my workday, carrying them from my desk to various conference rooms and back again. Did they have a dish to catch water upon removal, or did I have to grab paper towels (or just keep steeping and deal with a super-strong brew)? Trust that in drinking enough tea to keep me up with late-night jitters on more than one occasion, I put each of the infusers through the ringer.
What You Should Know About Tea Infusers
What is a Tea Infuser?
Typically made of either stainless steel or silicone, a tea infuser holds loose leaves of tea, keeping them from floating around the hot water in your mug or teapot while you brew. Dating back to the circa-760 A.D. Tang dynasty in China, tea infusers were first usedto keep bugs out of Buddhist monks’ cupsbefore 17th-century Dutch merchants began using them to keep leaves contained. The 19th century sawthe most widespread adoption,尤其是在欧洲,那里经常用银制成。
While exact instructions may vary by infuser and type of tea, most tea infusers are used in the same way. Fill the infuser with 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dry tea leaves and place it in the mug. Pour hot water (exact temperature depends on the type of tea) over the infuser and let the leaves steep for the designated amount of time, typically 3 to 5 minutes, before removing.
当您等待茶浸泡或去除茶时,一些茶液通过了一些浸入或旋转而受益,以确保茶在整个杯子中均匀分布。
The more leaves you use and the longer you steep, the stronger the tea will taste. Half the fun of drinking tea is discovering your personal preferences so you can enjoy sipping something made just for you.
Meghan Kavanaugh is an executive editor at Reviewed, overseeing coverage of home and accessibility topics, as well as lab and building operations. A career journalist and editor with more than 10 years of experience, she cut her teeth in community journalism before moving to lifestyle publications and then digital media. In her spare time, you can find her crafting and cooking, to varying degrees of success.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.