Many tea lovers, in search of the perfect single cup, turn to tea balls and mini basket-style infusers, brewing choices that give loose tea leaves full exposure to hot water. But now there’s another option for getting the same full-flavored cup: a teastick, designed to brew single servings up to 12 ounces. We got the kettle going and brewed black, green, and herbal teas with six different models. Here’s the rundown on our favorite.
Gadget name: The Teastick by Gamila
Price: $18.00
It looks like: Something you’d encounter at the dentist’s office: a perforated, stainless steel rod with a curved edge that could fit between your teeth—or grab the edge of a mug.
How it’s supposed to work: This model’s mesh screen slides back to reveal the tea chamber, which doubles as a scoop. Scoop the loose leaf tea into the chamber, slide the strainer closed, and add to a hot mug of water to steep.
How it actually works: The tea stick’s large openings in the screen gives the tea plenty of exposure to the hot water, and the screen at the top of the chamber lets air escape, which means that the leaves are completely submerged.
Drawbacks: The elongated cylindrical chamber held a small amount of tea, resulting in a less flavorful brew and packed leaves that were difficult to scrape out after steeping.
My favorite part: Fortunately, cleaning this tea stick is as simple as using it: It’s dishwasher-safe.
Overall: Our one complaint doesn’t overshadow this product’s simple, straightforward design.
About the Author: Lisa McManus
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This can’t work as well as the Adagio Ingenuitea infuser. That gadget costs about the same, allows full exposure of the leaves to the water, and cleans with just a rinse out at the sink.