[Barky]
> it's a gimmick. After several years of brewin' tea I use loose leaf in
> Upton's little fill-yer-own paper tea sacks on a chain clip. They're big
> enough they allow the leaf to unfurl but there's no mess, no plasticky
> taste. and they're ~$4 per 100. Check em out in the back of the upton
> catalogue.

[Arf]
Furthermore, you can get a ceramic mug at the thrift shop for 50 cents
and a strainer at any chinese market for another dollar. So, for less than
two dollars you'd have yourself a perfectly functional tea making kit.
Word of advice on this: Put the leaves directly into your new mug, then
when you pour the tea into another drinking vessel, use the strainer to
catch leaves; do not put leaf in the strainer and the strainer into the mug
as this will hurt the leaves' feelings by containing them too securely.