Make Your Own Tea Traveler
 

What you'll need:

1. A fine mesh basket infuser w/o a tab. I'm using The People's Brew Basket,
item #90121, $4.50 from The Republic of Tea:
http://www.republicoftea.com/templat....asp?navID=473.
At 2-1/2" tall, it has a 3" outside diameter at its widest.

2. A traveler's mug or tumbler that the basket will fit into that tapers
down so as to fit into standard cup holders. Mine is a 16 oz. thermal
tumbler, 7-3/4" from base to top of lid. It's important to use a taller
traveler that narrows so that the basket doesn't slip down to the bottom.
For Method A, a basket that slips down will constrain tea leaves more than
is necessary or desirable. For Method B, fishing down near the bottom of a
mug to remove the basket is too inconvenient.

***Method A***
For teas that brew best in <boiling water such as oolong, green, and white
teas:

1. Measure tea into bottom of mug.
2. Insert basket.
3. Add hot water and cap.
4. Let steep, then drink as desired.
5. Remove lid and add more hot water as needed until leaves are spent.

By using the brew basket as a strainer, Method A makes a multi-infusing tea
traveler similar in purpose to the Fuguang traveler sold by Yellow Mountain
Imports on eBay, starting bid $9.99.


***Method B***
For black teas:

1. Insert basket into mug.
2. Measure tea into basket.
3. Add hot water and steep for desired length of time.
4. Remove basket carefully.
5. Cap traveler and drink as desired.
6. Rinse, dry, and store basket. The People's Brew Basket fits perfectly
into an empty plastic Fleischmann's margarine tub.

By using the brew basket as an infuser, Method B makes a tea traveler
similar to the Nissan Coffee and Tea Traveler, list price $29.99.

--
~~Bluesea~~ "Huh. It looks like that $4.50 wasn't wasted, after all."
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