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85
reviewed Stump Teapot by Forlife
24 tasting notes

Perfectly lovely little teapot. Simple design. Basket is big enough that the tea can move around a bit, which makes for a better tasting cup. Easy to clean. Overall good quality.

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98
reviewed Stump Teapot by Forlife
4207 tasting notes

I have three of these (red, green, and turquoise), and they’re fantastic as an everyday teapot! I use them at home and at work. The design is very simple, but comes in several cute colors.

The lid is attached with a hinge, which is very nice for pouring without having to worry about the lid sliding off. The handle is a nice shape and size, with a flat portion on the top side which is perfect for your thumb when carrying. The spout pours well.

It’s also very easy to clean. It is dishwasher safe, but I never put any teaware in the dishwasher. Even the spout is fairly easy to clean.

The teapot comes with a removable infuser basket. I can’t comment on it because I always use my Finum brew baskets instead.

Overall, this is a great small teapot that is a good balance of aesthetics and usability. ❤

Kawaii433

I just bought the smaller model (13 oz) from Kusmi, and unfortunately, it didn’t come with a basket but it’s adorable and so easy to work with/clean. I love it!

Cameron B.

These little teapots are delightful! That’s interesting that the 13 oz. version doesn’t come with a basket…

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99

I have this cup in the lovely mandarin color (which is actually a yellow gold). It was the perfect mug when I had an office job since its strainer is much nicer than most mesh ones I’ve seen and truly does a good job even with roobois. It’s all metal and ceramic and the tea staining would whipe out easily with damp paper towels although I don’t use tea and sugar which might help. I would fill this mug up before meetings and set the basket on the lid once I got there. My only small problem is that the lid does slide around a bit as it is all ceramic and sits directly on the metal strainer. I’ve learned to just keep a finger on top of it while I’m walking which usually isn’t very hot due to the thickness of the lid. Also, a white inside might be nice if you judge your steeping on color, but I got used to it and love the bright color too much to just buy the white.

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100

This mug is without peer (in my limited experience) for making a cupa. The stainless steel basket is a joy, small enough holes not to let the tea leaves and material get through but porous enough to give an excellent steep. The basket also fits snuggly into the top so you have a ready place to put it when you are done steeping. The cup itself is substantial without being too heavy and ridiculously easy to clean. Everything cleans so well that I can safely use very different types of tea in it and not worry about cross contamination. This is literally one of the best purchases I have made in years. If you make two cups of tea at a time this is just an awesome choice.

I would buy the cup in white. My original cup is a gorgeous aquamarine but Den from Den’s Teas pointed out that any color other than white won’t really show the tea’s color properly. I just made some Houji-Kukicha and instead of looking like rich caramel as it does in my white cup it looks like mud in the aquamarine cup. I clean my white cup daily and haven’t had any staining issues.

looseTman

I like that this mug has a ceramic lid rather than a plastic one. Ceramic retains heat much better then plastic, which is especially important for brewing black and pu’erh teas.

ZipRedAcrossBlue

I dropped the Ceramic lid on the floor and it broke. ForLife sells a replacement lid for $12 but since a new cup is $20 it doesn’t seem like much of a deal.

looseTman

Is shipping inclded in the $12? Can the lid be repaired with ceramic glue?

ZipRedAcrossBlue

I’m not sure if the shipping is included but the lid cracked into many small pieces so I threw it away.

For right now I’m using a ceramic lid from a different cup. It’s not perfect but it works. I’ll probably just buy another Curve mug. It is a great cup. Although now my main complaint is its odd size. It’s 15 ozs and because you need to leave space for the leaves it’s really 14 ozs. But most teas give their recommended servings in multiples of 6 or 8 ozs. I know it’s silly. But getting out a calculator to figure out tea amounts is kind of annoying.

I suppose I need a 48 ounce cup and then I would be set. :)

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90

Weekday mornings around my house are fairly frantic. Even though I wake up really early (translation: I don’t sleep much), I wait until pretty much the last possible second to get dressed, feed critters, etc. I also need a low-stress, low-key way to start my day. I have lots and lots (and lots) of teaware. I’ve been trying figure out the easiest weekday morning tea system. Pretty sure I’ve found it.

This mug holds a perfect-for-me 16 ounces. It comes with a nice large stainless steel infuser basket and a lid that doubles as a basket trivet. I measure the tea into the basket, pour in water of the correct temperature, set my steep timer (aka – my iphone) and when it’s done, I remove the basket, shake it into the cup to let it drain, set the basket on the lid where it waits patiently for a re-steep and I have easy morning tea.

More on my blog at:

http://mizzprissy.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/uni-brew-in-mug-with-infuser-and-lid-forlife/

TheTeaFairy

Teaware addict here too… I never seem to have enough!! The tea just tastes better in proper teaware, don’t you find?

MzPriss

I totally agree. I WILL drink tea out if styrofoam if I HAVE to, but I really like a proper cup and a decent way to brew. This set up is pretty nice for western style.

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100
reviewed Brew In Mug Infuser by Forlife
612 tasting notes

I’m digging the new features, thanks Steepster! Especially love the “yes or no recommend” option—I’ve pretty much given up rating teas (not Steepster’s fault at all; I don’t think any attempt to give numeric ratings consistently would work for me anywhere) but the “cut to the chase, would you encourage people to try this” I can probably manage most of the time! And the “who owns, who wants” is great, along with the added options for steeping parameters (the option for leaf by weight, more than an assumed standard cup capacity, yes!). And yay, a designated teaware section (there sort of was one before, but making it more official is great…sometimes I think recs for that stuff are more reliable/helpful really as tea tastes vary widely but tea prep priorities rather less so though there’s still some variation of course). I’m sure it’ll take a moment to get my bearings with insta-recognizing what’s-what when using the site, but that’s inevitable. Do wish as some have mentioned that each tea’s description copy was at the top of its page instead of the bottom, but other than that nothing seems amiss/jarring so far. Appreciate you guys and all you do!

As far as steeping baskets go, this is the one I pretty much always turn to. The only tea making gear I use about as much as is my 8oz glass teapot with spout brake (so I can see leaves unfurl for stuff like oolong). I have the Steepster-popular Finum basket too but the dimensions of this work better for all my teapots, teacups, and mugs and offer more room for expanding leaves, and I rest easy knowing there’s nothing but stainless steel touching my tea (I doubt health is an issue on that front with the Finum but I can’t help but wonder if the plastic might eventually absorb and retain odors, and steel just feels more resilient to me in terms of wear and cleaning). I also prefer the lid caddy on this one. It feels more stabilized, less able to be tipped over than the Finums. Still comes in fun colors for the lid caddy lining so competes fine on that front with the Finum’s colorful options too. And the tab on this one keeps me from burning my fingers when lifting the basket out, while for some reason the Finum’s “wings” are less reliable (the tab also works better for me in terms of fitting teapots, etc.; the Finum’s thicker stubbier multiple tabs don’t play as nicely with other lids and wider mugs). It probably lets in a teensy bit more sediment than the Finum does (I don’t remember ‘cause I rarely use it but it appears the Finum wouldn’t let ANYTHING through) but I’m the sort who doesn’t mind some occasional tiny little sediment particles ( just don’t want actual, y’know, leaves in my cup and that’s not a problem). It also eventually stains but I’ve had good luck bringing it back good as new with the usual suspects (baking soda, vinegar, citric acid, etc.) everywhere except the very bottom of the inner chamber. I pretty much never use my Finum (despite it being alright and all) or any of my cute novelty steepers (my ManaTea!) unless I’m doing side-by-sides of multiple different teas all at once. I just like this one that much.

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60
reviewed Brew In Mug Infuser by Forlife
39 tasting notes

I actually took this out of the Forlife Teapot I had because it is cracked and the infuser works fine. I really like it because it gives my loose leaf tea enough room to dance around. The only reason I gave it a lower rating is because the mesh and holes are too big! It leaves a lot of tea residue in the bottom of my cup. I like a clean cup of tea. I am definitely going to be looking for something new.

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reviewed Brew In Mug Infuser by Forlife
58 tasting notes

I like this a lot for brewing a single cup and then reusing the leaves. It’s a little annoying to clean, but so is my other plastic-cloth-style infuser. I thought it would last forever, but after only a handful of uses, there is a cut in the basket. I’m not sure what happened, or if it came that way and I didn’t notice it, but if you get one, assume that it is more fragile than it appears. I might have messed it up in the drying rack or something, I don’t know.

As for the quality of the steep- it does leave dusty particles in the tea, the perforations are tiny and fine, but some bits of tea will be tinier and finer. It doesn’t bother me, I can just play Professor Trelawney with the dust. But if you’re someone who needs crystal clear tea, this infuser won’t make it.

Late edit: After using this for a long time now, I have to amend my earlier assertion that this is a ‘little’ annoying to clean. This thing is really, really annoying to clean. Fragments of tea leaves get stuck in the perforations and you have to really work at it to get them out. The mesh style infusers are vastly easier to clean.

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94
reviewed Brew In Mug Infuser by Forlife
122 tasting notes

I got this with a forlife mug as a gift. I love it! The mug is nice & tall and the brew basket is large enough that the leaves can really expand. I’m very glad I got this!

It is a little hard to get tiny tea leaves out of the strainer, but it’s a lot better than other infusers I’ve tried. I give this a solid thumbs up!

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99
reviewed Brew In Mug Infuser by Forlife
985 tasting notes

The bulk of my teaware…

I have ForLife Curve teapots (three of them) and ForLife Curve Tall Mugs (five of them). They all use the same infuser.

The 24 oz teapot is my everyday pot. I love it so much, I bought a back up just in case something should happen…. The 45 oz pot is just for big groups as the infuser does not go all the way down into the pot to make smaller amounts of tea. Just remember to buy the size for the amount of tea you need to make.

The mugs are what we use every day. I don’t often use the mugs with an infuser except when I travel or am drinking a tea that resteeps well, but I do pour from the teapot into the mug. I love the handles. There is plenty of space to put your hand in the loop and not burn your knuckles on your hot cup.

The stainless infuser is perfect for loose leaf tea and easy to clean.

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100
reviewed Brew In Mug Infuser by Forlife
10 tasting notes

Best infuser I’ve used – the very flat mesh is very easy to clean. My favorite way to use this is in the Curve Teapot (http://en.forlifedesign.eu/pour-le-service/curve-teapot-1-3l.html#color=15), which is designed to be exactly the right size with the infuser. Lid fits snugly on the top, tea is nicely infused in the pot, cleanup is easy, I’m happy. I’ve used the infuser in mugs and other teapots with success, but having it exactly fit the Curve pot is incredibly helpful.

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97
reviewed Brew In Mug Infuser by Forlife
111 tasting notes

I’ve always used tea-balls but was very frustrated lately with those, as I felt they did not allow for large leaves to really unfold and on the other hand were letting quite a lot of rooibos small parts seep into the pot. When I found this infuser at Dempsey Hill, it just seemed absolutely perfect and I did not hesitate at all before buying it.
I use it generally with my teapot, whose opening is a bit wider than a mug, but the infuser is very stable thanks to the handle. The cover is perfect to keep the water warm during infusion, as my normal teapot cover cannot fit with the infuser in.
The tea leaves have a lot of space to unfold with a cylinder 6 cm long by diameter 6 cm (2 inches 3/8). The quality of the stainless steel and of the seals seem pretty high, and quite up to par with a similar infuser I had seen sold by WMF for 3 times the price.
I’ve used it with different kind of teas and rooibos and am definitely very happy with everything about it. Very easy to use, very easy to empty and to clean, perfect size for my teapot or large mugs, good looking design, no stain on the table thanks to the cover being used as a dish for the user – with the silicon coating on this side, no accident ever when bringing back my tray to the kitchen (and it sometimes feel like I have two left hands…). Last the holes are indeed very very tiny which makes it the best infuser I’ve ever used for rooibos.
On small flaw, if/when I leave the handle above the opening of my teapot and forget to put it on the side, it gets a bit hot, which is not so pleasant to take it off. I never was burned just felt surprised and a bit too hot at the fingers.
And the price is ok, especially for the quality (around 20 USD).
I would definitely buy it again, and may also offer some to my tea-addict friends.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C
Ysaurella

I use this one home but only in mugs, it is a very good infuser

Barbara

I use something very similar from Cha Cult and like Ysaurella only in mugs. When I’m through with my tea, I throw the wet tea leaves out and leave the strainer on the kitchencounter to dry. When it’s dry you only have to shake it to remove the residu (which by then has become dust). Rinse off with a bit of water and soap and/or put it in de dishwasher occasionally and it’s all prepped for re-use.
I love how easy it is to clean and the room it provides for the leaves to unfurl.

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