"Fancy" silky teabags shed microplastics

Loose leaf teas are even better

4 Likes

I’ve used the simple metal ball ones and it’s easy, you just rinse it under the sink. Everything should come off on it’s own but it’s still good to hit it with a brush and detergent once in a while to make sure it’s clean. I presume these fanciful ones are similar but having not bought any I can’t speak for how easy they are to clean

3 Likes

No-one knows if it’s bad for you

At a guess I would say … yeah, it’s probably fucking bad for you.

1 Like

Use a brush from the outside.

Or just make it in a pot and don’t worry if you can’t get it completely clean, just give it a good rinse after use – my granny did this for years.

2 Likes

Oh, the cute manatea!

1 Like

don’t get a plastic one?

So the tea cools down as it brews? Neat!

Always a like for Professor Elemental.

I can’t figure out if Republic of Tea is one of the “safe” brands. I know the teabags are recycled paper, but I don’t know if it’s used in sealing since they don’t have strings or staples.

Well, no more than using a teabag or tea ball. The manatee is a silicone infuser to stuff full of loose tea and then hang on the side of your cup. Works pretty well! I’ve seen them in koala and sloth form as well.

Don’t know about the manatea, but the tea ball I leave some water in the pot to boil after I’m done, give the mesh a quick scrub with a toothbrush and pour the reboiled water over it. Gets most of the residual tea out, and every few months I give it a scrub with some soft dish soap. But yeah, a light patina will build up over time on stainless steel. Seasoning!

2 Likes

Yeah, but those lack the abysmal puns.

3 Likes

I just open it and give it a few shakes into the trash, then rinse under a faucet. The holes aren’t really large enough to snag tea leaves, and since it’s silicone it’s essentially nonstick, so it’s never given me issues.

1 Like

Reminds me of a special type of ceramic that’s entirely crafted around the concept of naturally developing a patina from tea throughout extended usage. The process from sourcing the clay, making it and then getting the patina is laborious, expensive and difficult so there’s a lot of ceremony and ritual involved as far as i understand.

I first heard of it from Sherlock

1 Like

Didn’t the tea pot break later in that episode?

When I want more than one cup, I use an older version of this…

The ceramic is glazed and kiln fired, but it’s definitely developed a patina over time, both the stainless steel basket and the inside of the pot. There are cheaper brands, but I can’t speak to how they compare in quality as I’ve only owned the Forlife brand which I bought a couple decades ago in a tea shop for I think around 30-some USD.

At one point I had one of the glass tea infuser pots, but like my glass french press, it broke, and it never stayed warm, so it’s stainless steel and ceramic for me from now on.

I also use one of these outside or when it’s cold to keep the pot warm. Mine is red to match my tea pot, but it’s hard to find the non-white colored ones. You put little votive style candles in to warm the tea. I’d guess they also make electric ones.

Here’s a metal one…

It’s been a while but i think it did break. In the context of the show i did like that the character describes the precious and fragile tea pots as objects that can only be preserved through constant use vs something that needs to be isolated from the world to keep it intact.

1 Like

Corny as it was sometimes, I really enjoyed that version of Sherlock. The chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes and Martin Freeman’s Watson was great.

2 Likes

Moriarty is also very cartoonishly villainous and cold hearted but in the best of ways, the actor that plays him is quite excellent. I hear that he’s the love interest in a show i’ve been wanting to see (Fleabag), he plays a priest in that and i mainly want to see it because i’m curious how he plays the role.

1 Like

Yup, commando is the way to go. Whole-leaf estate teas seem expensive until you do the math and realize that, cup for cup, they’re usually cheaper than Lipton.

3 Likes

Even if they weren’t the price difference would still be worth it, but one can definitely find really great loose leaf teas for a reasonable price :smiley: I don’t drink tea enough to justify buying the nicer stuff.

1 Like

Yes, but apparently the majority in your stomach come from these tea bags.

Assuming you drink tea.

Er, brewed with those bags.

Also assuming you don’t drink dryer lint-water.

If you do, I’m not going to judge though. It might taste better than herbal tea.

2 Likes