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Innovative Teapots

We tested small teapots with unusual strainers and dispensing mechanisms that promised to make dealing with loose tea mess-free.

Published Mar. 1, 2009. Appears in America's Test Kitchen TV Season 10: Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cake

See Everything We Tested

What You Need To Know

We tested four small teapots with unusual strainers and dispensing mechanisms that promised to make dealing with loose tea mess-free. In each case, we used the same tea and a four-minute steeping time. The glass model we tested, which makes two cups per pot, presses tea like a French coffee press—but it traps the strongest tea inside the solid, closed bottom of the press insert, producing weaker tea than the other pots. Another model was fussy; if the lid of this one-cup brewer didn’t click perfectly into place, tea leaked out the bottom valve. The lowest rated pot couldn’t brew even one full cup and didn’t contain loose leaves well. Our favorite met all criteria. It brewed good, strong tea and kept loose leaves in check with its ultra-fine-mesh strainer. To use, add tea leaves and water, let steep, and then place the pot over a cup to automatically open a bottom valve—brewed tea will flow into the cup below.

Everything We Tested

Good : 3 stars out of 3.Fair : 2 stars out of 3.Poor : 1 stars out of 3.
*All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.
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Reviews you can trust

Reviews you can trust

The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.

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