Tea Accessories Review
Tray, Caddy, Cozy, Warmer, Timer and Chest

Proper storage of tea is essential for maintaining freshness. Your tea will stay at its best if it is stored away from light, away from heat, and away from moisture.

Tea tins are a popular way to keep loose-leaf. You can find them in a variety of sizes and shapes. Look for tea canisters that will easily fit in your kitchen.

Do you usually drink tea from bags? Is your cabinet becoming cluttered with half-empty boxes filled with different types of teabags?

Get a tea chest, and get organized!

Tea chests are usually made of wood, and have a felt lining on the inside, with slots for your tea bags. This pretty tea chest, by Bentley, even comes with its own selection of teas.

Once they are gone, you can recycle the tea chest and fill it with your own tea bags!

Also known as purple clay, tea lovers have sung the praises of the Yixing tea pot for centuries.

It gets its name from the Chinese region where the exclusive purple sand clay is harvested. This clay is ideal for crafting tea pots as its porous quality allows the vessel to absorb the flavors of the teas brewed within, "seasoning" the tea pot over time.

The traditional tea set comes with several tea accessories.

First of all, a good tea tray is essential. Brewing tea the traditional Chinese way (called gongfu style) can be a messy, messy process. The tea tray is the place where the art of tea brewing is performed. They make the process neater by catching the drips and spills.

The tea tray makes it easy to carry your tea pot and mug, and it also catches drips and wasted tea. A traditional Chinese tea tray is decorated with artful patterns created by rubbing wasted tea into the wood. If you like finger-painting, you’ll love the process of seasoning a tea tray!

Some even have a hose attachment and drain into a bucket under the table, like this pretty tray that you can order by contacting me.

Others are more like a box, with a flat surface on top that has slits cut into it, so the water flows into the box and is kept within the box.

Finally, decorate your tea tray with some Chinese clay animals for luck!

Also, a set of tea tools makes brewing tea in a Yixing tea pot much easier. Here are the tea tools you need:

• A funnel to make it easier to get the tea leaves into the tea pot.

• A pick to poke used tea leaves out of the tea pot spout.

• A scraper to get stubborn leaves that cling to the inside of the tea pot.

• A set of tongs for picking up hot cups without handles.

In the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, matcha tea powder is used instead of whole tea leaves.

To whisk the tea powder into the water the traditional way, you’ll need a bamboo whisk.

There is also a specially shaped bamboo spoon that is usually used to scoop the matcha powder.

Japanese Tea Leaves and Pots

Tea caddies help you carry your tea set easily from room to room. Unlike traditional Chinese tea trays, they don’t have a place to hold lots of water and/or tea.

They come in many shapes, sizes and patterns. In particular, the Japanese are known for their shiny black lacquer ware tea trays.

In addition to caddies for the entire tea set, look for smaller caddies for used tea bags, tea leaves, tea strainers and spoons.

Many of these smaller tea caddies are made of precious metals such as silver or pewter and make excellent gift ideas.

There are also plenty of tea accessories to help keep your tea nice and hot.

Tea cozies are like little quilts for your teakettle. They come in many different patterns, ranging from farm animals to flowers.

When buying a tea cozy, make sure the cozy is the right size for your tea pot. If it’s too big, it won’t do a good job of keeping the tea warm. If it’s too small, it simply won’t fit.

Wraparound tea cozies with an opening for a spout are convenient, because you can pour the tea without removing the cozy. However, they do leave the spout exposed to outside air, so they aren’t as good at retaining heat as the kind that just slips over the tea pot.

If you are looking for a more elegant way to keep your tea warm, look for a pretty tea pot warmer.

A tea pot warmer is basically a stand for your tea pot that has space for a votive candle underneath. The heat from the candle’s flame warms the bottom of the tea pot, keeping warm for hours. However, make sure not to leave the burning candle unattended!

In addition to keeping your tea warm, tea warmers also give you the warm, soothing glow of candlelight.

If you have a glass tea pot, the combination of a glowing candle and a crystal clear pot full of tea is magical. The Teaposy Light My Fire Warmer is made of sturdy, heat resistant borosilicate glass.

My husband kept insisting I was going to scorch the tablecloth when I used it, but when I moved the tea pot and the warmer, the place on the table where it had been resting wasn’t even warm to the touch!

However, if you have a cast-iron pot, you’ll probably want something a little sturdier, like this from Teavana.

This tea warmer will stand up to the heaviest tetsubin, enhancing its already legendary ability to retain heat.

Even with a programmable kettle, a tea thermometer can be essential, especially for a finicky green teas like sencha.

This Taylor Connoisseur Tea Thermometer and Timer not only measures water temperature, it can also alert you when the water reaches the desired temperature.

This is excellent for absentminded people like yours truly: No more cold, bitter cups!

There are many, many other types of tea accessories - everything from lemon squeezers to sugar spoons to travel pouches for your tea pot.

Look at some catalogues or do a search online - you’ll be amazed at what you find!

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