Variable Temperature Electric Kettle

If I’m going to brew a french press or want to make tea for more than just one or two, I turn to using a trusty stove top kettle to make the required amount. It’s quick and hasn’t let me down yet – although you do need to stay on top of it to watch when the water boils. This Variable Temperature Electric Kettle from Breville has some interesting advantages over the traditional stove top kettle.

The Breville kettle does a lot more than just boil water. It allows you to quickly bring water to a preset temperature – and includes temperatures for green tea, white tea, oolong tea,black tea and French press, in addition to boiling – and will hold that same temperature for up to 20 minutes. The ‘hold’ feature is extremely convenient if you like to work or take care of things around the house while you’re waiting to make tea. There’s a safety shut off, in case you get too distracted and forget you left the kettle on. It holds 60-oz and has an easy to read water gauge on the side.

The downside is that the Kettle is pricey – no surprise given all its features – but if you can find it on sale and know you’ll make good use of a new kettle, you can’t go too far wrong with this one.

Alessi Tea Strainer

Alessi has such a great sense of fun throughout their entire kitchenware line, and this cute little tea strainer is no exception. The Alessi Te O Tea Strainer is a hands-off tea strainer. Its design is that of a playfull little man (creature?) holding up a straining bowl; his hands do the work for you, so there is no need to burn your fingers trying to squeeze a hot tea bag. Simply drop your bag into the strainer and let it sit for a minute. I can’t really overstate the cuteness of this little guy. It would be a great gift for a tea lover, for just about any occasion.

Tea-Straining Spoon

Years ago, practically all the tea bags I purchased came with little tags attached that made them easy to pull out of a steaming mug. These days, most of the tea bags I buy don’t come with this convenience, and I’m left to try and fish out the bag with a spoon or – when desperate – with my fingers. I’m pretty sure that every tea-drinker has burned his or her fingers at least once trying to fish out a hot tea bag. With this tea straining spoon, you can fish the bag out and give it a quick squeeze while keeping your fingers out of harms way.  The thing that separates it from similar spoons is that the squeezing end is on the back of the spoon, so you can essentially use it just like any other spoon – stirring in cream, sugar, etc. – until you need to use the tong action of the tool to grab and squeeze a bag.