The tradition of tea drinking originates in ancient China. There are many ways to brew tea. The most common is brewing tea in a porcelain teapot. A feature of this method is that the tea leaves are poured into a strainer made of the same material as the kettle. The strainer is inserted inside, and the tea leaves do not get into the tea drink. It is from here that a tea mug with a strainer begins to brew tea and various tea drinks from herbs, flowers and dried berries.
What are they for?
Mugs with strainers are most often used in places where tea needs to be brewed under Spartan conditions, for example, in an office, train, or camping trip. However, some lovers of fresh and rich tea use such mugs and at home. Such a cup is a vessel for brewing tea, inside of which there is a tea strainerhelping filter out thick from liquid.
Such a mechanism was invented for convenience, the tea does not fall into the cup with tea, but remains in a kind of “trap” from which it can be easily shaken out.
From above, the cup is covered with a lid so that the tea drink remains at the desired temperature longer. A saucer and a spoon can be added to a cup with a lid. A saucer can come in handy in order to put a filter, but a spoon will be useful if you need to add sugar or honey and stir the drink.
Materials of manufacture
The most used material for making tea utensils is ceramics. Pottery includes porcelain, earthenware and, of course, clay.
Clay is a natural material, without additional impurities and additives. For the production of such dishes, a variety of red clay is used.This material has absorbed natural strength and purity. The advantage of clay cups is that they heat up easily and cool slowly. Therefore, tea brewed in a clay mug stays warm longer. Clay products are quite light, but fragile, especially if the clay is not burnt, but only dried.
If the product is not glazed, then the liquids brewed in it will eventually accumulate in the small pores of the clay, and the tea drink will begin to lose its taste and color.
Earthenware is a mixture of clay and gypsum, with the addition of other impurities. The cheapest and most common material for the manufacture of dishes. Unlike simple red clay, clay mixed with gypsum sets faster and dries. Faience is always covered with glaze. If the mug is overheated, then the icing may crack. Products from faience are heavier than from clay, but stronger, they do not crack and beat like that. Glazes do not absorb odors.
China - This is a mixture of white clay, quartz and silicate, all this is burned, it turns out a thin, transparent material in the light.
The first country where porcelain was created was China. Therefore, traditional tableware for tea parties is made from this material.
Thin, luminous, sonorous material, with elegant painting gives luxury and charm to products made from it.
Glass is a material obtained by melting quartz sand under the influence of high temperatures. The result is a transparent material from which various products are made. Glass dishes have beautiful faceted patterns, which gives it an elegant look. Glass is a rather fragile material, but depending on the formula, they learned how to obtain glasses less fragile, which further expanded the range of applications of this material. A teapot made of glass, due to its transparency, makes it possible to enjoy the color of the contained product.
A metal teapot with a strainer has won its market niche. A kind of mini thermos has received great recognition among young people.
By keeping warm, it helps to enjoy hot drinks on cold winter days. The mug has a not very attractive appearance, but is suitable for lovers of hiking and travel. It is easy to make tea in a train or around a fire in a forest.
To summarize, we can say that there are many materials for the production of tea mugs for every taste. For the most demanding customers at exhibitions, you can find exclusive models made of wood or other natural materials. These exhibits will be a worthy gift for friends or relatives. However, they are not always practical. More often, such cups are only a souvenir character.
Dimensions
The size range of mugs is represented by various volumes. If you plan to enjoy tea drinking alone, a mug with a volume of 250 to 380 ml is suitable for you. Typically, such cups are made of ceramic, and have a metal filter. Various patterns or ornaments are applied to the walls. Additionally, there is a saucer and a lid. This option is convenient to use in the office.
A saucer will not let drops of tea spill on your desktop. You can also put a filter here so that it does not interfere with drinking tea from a cup.
For lovers of enjoying the tea ceremony in the company, there are 400-500 ml brewing cups. They have a spout for convenient pouring tea into cups. Drinking from such a cup is not very convenient.
Features of the choice of filters
In nature, there are many varieties of tea: green, black, herbal. In turn, they are divided into large-leaved or baikhovye. Herbal teas, depending on the raw materials, can be finely chopped, coarsely chopped or even sold in filter bags.
Well, everything is clear with filter packets, they do not need additional filtering. But if you prefer to drink long tea, which contains small tea leaves, or chamomile, you need to pick up a teapot with a metal strainer. Metal strainers have a fairly dense cellular structure.In ceramic inserts, the water inlet openings are usually quite large compared to metal filter cells. Therefore, in cups with a ceramic filter, small tea leaves can wake up in a cup.
Such mugs are suitable for lovers of large-leaf varieties of tea.
Metal filters darken over time, which can affect the taste of the drink. Ceramic inserts have a glazed coating, similar in composition to glass, which is well cleaned and does not accumulate tea plaque. Combined filters are found in porcelain tea mugs. A metal mesh is inserted into the porcelain bowl at the bottom, and such filters do not allow even the smallest gulls to get into the cup with tea. Porcelain is well cleaned and looks like new every time.
How to use?
To make tea, you do not need detailed instructions, however, there are certain tricks, which will help make your tea party brighter and richer.
- You need to brew tea in a warm mug, for this you should first rinse the mug with a sieve with hot water.
- Green tea should not be boiled with boiling water, because all the useful antioxidants contained in the green tea leaf will be destroyed.
- Green tea loves re-brewing. Brewing several times, the tea leaf is steaming well and gives all the aromas and nutrients.
- Herbal teas should be infused for 10-15 minutes with a closed lid.
- You should not add lemon to very hot tea, since vitamin C is destroyed at high temperatures.
The choice of a teapot with a sieve is quite individual, but we can conclude that the most versatile and common are ceramic products with ceramic filters.
Many people give their preference to porcelain mugs, with porcelain or combination filters.
Glassware for brewing tea with metal filters has a not very high price range, and is also a sought-after product. Everyone chooses their own budget and taste. The main rule is convenience, ease of use, durability and practicality.
An overview of the teapot with strainer see below.
