I am a tea aficionado. What other people have with coffee, I have with tea. I love trying different teas, different brands and different flavors. I have my favorites (Twinings & Pukka are my ultimate number ones), but with a love for tea, doesn’t just come the product, but also everything that surrounds it. From mugs to tea cozies, and from strainers to measurements: over the years of my tea loving existence I have gathered quite the collection.
Tea mugs & other tea accessories, click to see more
These are the products I would like to show you today. I have gathered all of this over the years and most of it will no longer be available. Some were gifts, some were bought by me, but I still use all them regularly. From my favorite tea mug that I keep using over and over to my trusty kettle: I will try to find the items and link them down below. If there is no link, the item is no longer available.
This tea pot I bought from Xenos last fall. My old tea pot randomly dropped from the shelf one day and of course broke into a million pieces. I was in the market for a new one and I decided on this one. If it looks a tad dirty: tea pots are best not cleaned very often, and definitely not with dish washing liquid. It alters the taste of your tea, so a good rinse after every use will do. If it gets too dirty, it’s best to clean it with 100% pure lemon juice. That’s the best way to get rid of tea stains of off everything. This tea pot is very fragile to boot, so while it looks pretty, cleaning is a bit of a hassle.
Tea caddies aren’t a must, but if you want to present some tea to your visitors, a tea caddy adds a little something. I keep the tea in this tea caddy specifically for my visitors. I will barely touch the teas in here. It contains mostly black and flavored teas, a little bit of rooibos, some white tea and some green tea. They are all very basic, but I like my teas a bit different and special than this. The tea caddy is by Pickwick which is a Dutch tea brand that is sold every where. My mom bought this for me with some coffee & tea points that she and my grandma saved up over the years.
You will need something to make your tea of course! My kettle is one of my cherished possessions. I got it for my birthday a few years ago after having used a simple and basic kettle for years. Naturally you can also boil some water in pan or use a kettle on your stove, but why I wanted this one is because this kettle has a number of temperature settings. For some green and white teas, it’s best to not boil the water as it will influence the taste of your tea. Also, if I want to make tea and not have it too hot, then the medium setting is ideal. I mostly use it as a standard kettle though and it is well loved as you can see.
A tea cozy may not be the biggest must have, but if you make pots of tea while powering through stacks of exams, then a tea cozy can be a life safer. Again, my mom got me this as a present with her points and I’ve had it for years. I only use this when I settle in for the day, but it works wonders and definitely keeps your tea nice and warm.
Mugs! Glasses! I just went through my cupboard and found my favorites. The glasses at the top left were again gifts. I use to have two of the bigger ones and they can fit a lot of tea. The other ones have a double layer which means you can hold them without burning your hands. The double edged ones are by a brand called Spiegelau. My two favorite mugs are in the top right corner. I use that cupcake mug ALL the time. The other one is my back up.
At the bottom are two novelty mugs. The one I took apart is a porcelain mug I bought at a Van Gogh exhibition and comes with a tea strainer and a dish to put the strainer on when you’re done. The other mug is from Urban Outfitters and I used to take this with me to work before I bought my Sigg mug. It is also 100% porcelain and I love the blue & white design.
Finally there are a few smaller knickknacks that I keep around for when I am having loose leaf tea. I have a number of tea strainers. The egg shaped ones I have had for years. The big one is for making pots, the small one is for making one cup. My favorite has to be the yellow submarine. Did you get that reference?
My life changed however when I found the Teeli tea bags. You just fill them up and you can use your loose leaf tea in such an easy way. And when I bought the measurement it was even more perfect. The measurement is from Dille & Kamille and says: 1 cup of perfect tea. So one measure makes 1 cup of tea. I usually add as many cups as I plan on having to a bag and make a pot of tea. Perfection, every time.
Let me know in a comment below what tea paraphernalia you keep around!