You know your relationship with tea is getting serious when tea accessories come into the picture. But with so many types of accessories to choose from, it can be difficult to discern the ‘needs’ from the ‘wants’. In today’s post, we’d like to introduce five basic tea accessories – apart from the teacup and kettle – we feel should be in every tea lover’s kitchen.
A tea scoop is, as its name suggests, a scoop or spoon designed for tea. It may seem redundant but once you’re used to it, the tea scoop takes the guesswork out of measuring loose leaf teas and helps you to prevent the tea leaves from bruising.
If you’re looking for a good tea scoop, check out the ones by Camellia Teabar and Kindred Teas!
There are many ways of brewing tea, but one of the most popular ways is to use a teapot. There are many types of teapots, from the elegant British-style teapots to the zisha (purple clay) Chinese teapots. Depending on your style of brewing tea, different teapots may suit you differently. If you’re buying your first teapot, we suggest getting a simple one that can brew any type of tea, rather than a specialised teapot like a zisha pot. A teapot and teacup set is also a functional and stylish choice.
If you’re looking to drink tea for one, why not get the adorable penguin portable tea set by Pinetree Pantry? Alternatively, if you’re looking for a teapot that can display blooming teas, Infusion-de-vie’s Glass Teapot is the one for you.
While there are disposable and non-disposable tea infusers, we urge you to go green and get a reusable tea infuser. As a bonus, tea infusers can come in all sorts of shapes which add a bit of fun to teatime.
#teapasartip: When using a tea infuser, remember not to fill it to the brim with tea leaves, so the leaves have space to unfurl.
In English, gaiwan can be translated to “covered bow”, and it is a slightly larger sized teacup with a lid. The gaiwan can be used to brew tea before decanting it into smaller cups, or you can also drink directly from the gaiwan. The lid helps to keep the heat in, and prevent tea leaves from leaving the cup. Its convenient size also makes it handy!
Although traditionally used to brew Chinese tea, there’s no reason why it can’t be used to brew your favourite Sri Lankan black tea.
If you’re looking for something local, check out the Qi Pottery SG Clay Series – handmade gaiwans using Singaporean clay.
The final item in our list is the portable tea bottle. Being constantly on the go doesn’t mean having to give up on freshly brewed tea. There are bottles with in-built infusers that allow you to make tea wherever you are. And if you have some time, you can even put cold water into the bottle for a smooth cold brew drink! For more on cold brew, check out our post here.
The Fressko Flask ensures the contents stay hot for up to 6 hours, or chilled for at least 12 hours, available in 5 colours. Or if you’re looking for something more lightweight, this tumbler from A.muse Projects is tres perfect.
A good cup of tea doesn’t, and shouldn’t require a room full of fancy equipment. All you need is one or two good pieces and you’re ready to explore the world of tea. Of course, you might become addicted to teaware and tea accessories, but that is another problem for another article 😉
teapasar journal 