HIC Kitchen Snap Ball Tea Infuser, 18/8 Stainless Steel, For Loose Leaf Tea and Mulling Spices

I purchased this snap mesh tea infuser after I gained a taste for loose leaf tea (everyone should experience tea this way, it is MUCH better tasting than the stuff that comes in teabags) This little mesh ball is big enough to hold about a tablespoon of tea in each side (good luck loading up more than one side at a time!) You can leave the tea submerged as long as you wish to steep it. I will note that sometimes you have to shake the ball a little bit to get the air bubbles to wet out and leg water get to the tea, but that's a function of physics, not really a function of the design of this product. This item claims to be made of stainless steel. I can say that I have used this item 5 days a week for the past 18 months, washing it once a week, and have not yet seen any rust forming. It is fairly easy to clean. I just rinse it out in the sink every day between uses, and wash it in the dishwasher once a week. I have found that this cleans better in the dishwasher if you can keep the infuser ball open during the cycle. I have found the best way to do this is to clamp the infuser down on a fork head, so that the ball is slightly open and facing down. This seems to get the water from the dishwasher in the infuser, and keeps it clean. It is tall enough that I can leave it in a 16oz Tervis cup to steep, and still grab the hook on the top when done. I usually set the item so the rim of the infuser ball is on my cup, and let the water drain out. The only bad thing about a tea infuser is that you need a place to store it when it’s not in use. I suggest something small like a soy sauce dish, or use a disposable cup. I would rank this a 5/5. The price point and the amount of uses I have gotten out of this item make it worth every penny. I would suggest this to anyone looking for a good brew of tea.

Great product. I love picking different loose teas and I know that they're fresh and don't have added ingredients like other brands of largely available manufactured tea bags do. This gives you the convenience of brewing right in your cup and then you just empty the leaves into the garbage or whatever afterward and can wash and reuse this. The only reason why i'm purchasing another one is because I lost my original one when I moved. Otherwise even a year later it still looked and worked like it was brand new.

Another simple product that works as it should. Thought I would try loose leaf tea and used bags for a while. Someone said I should try one of these and I thought for sure it would leave gunk in my tea. Not really. Maybe with cheaper lower quality tea. Easy to clean up, I just dump it out and run water over it, and hang it up. Satisfying when a simple thing doesn't cost too much and just works.

Like a few other reviewers, I wish that this had the option to "snap" open so that you didn't have to hold it open while washing, filling, etc, and so that it could dry on the open setting. Besides that, I like this! The handle is a little shorter than I had thought it would be, so the loop barely pokes up above the water line on bigger mugs. It isn't worth returning for, but this isn't a one-tool-fits-all for your tea needs. It works well, though, and the mesh is extra fine, which I appreciate. I haven't experienced problems with rusting (fingers crossed!). Also, if you're used to Prime shipping, this takes forever to ship and get there, and they use DHL, which doesn't have the best updates (read: no updates).

Works

We used to use those cute little tea stirrers that opened the same way but looked like spoons and have holes cut out of the metal. Have you ever tried to drink rooibos, or the loose leaf tea from the bottom of the bag out of those? You end up being to tell your own fortune at the end of the cut with the amount of tea leaves still left at the bottom! he leaves just float out of the holes. With this one, the netting is small enough, it catches *most* of the leaves. Rooibos is just super sneaky, so sometimes I wrap a paper towel around it before the plunge. I've had the first one I purchased for over a year and we always fought over who got this one and who would be the lucky one that didn't end up with embarrassing tea leaf in their teeth. I had to get another just to stop the kitchen battles! THINGS TO BE CAREFUL WITH: 1) Make sure all the leaves are INSIDE the rim of the scoop before closing the scoop. If a bit is on the rim, it won't close all the way and the little tea leaf prisoners escape. 2) Don't ever dip the scoop in wet (like if you are going for round two!) It makes leaves stick to the outside and it hard to get off back in the bag. You *could* rinse it int he sink, but that would be wasting a very precious commodity!! 3) Don't be lazy like me and when you are done, rinse it out right away. If you let it dry on your tea rest, it glues together and the metal hinges are not quite strong enough to break it free. Just rinse it under hot water to loosen it up again then empty.

Works well enough, but very small. I have a hard time fitting one serving of tea leaves in here, and usually make a mess trying to.

Easiest to use! I drink a lot of loose tea, including Stinging Nettle, which can have quite a bit if fine shake in it. This tea ball is so easy to use; just scoop up some tea, let it snap shut, then remove any bits that are hanging out from the edges. Really, for the low cost and convenience, I cant imagine faulting it for anything. Ive ran it thruogh the dishwasher many times and its still like new. Sometimes, im so lazy that I drink my tea with the Infuser still in my mug; its not much bigger than a spoon. This would be an excellent restaurant item if bought in bulk. Hope this review is helpful.

Good product

Good quality and easy to use. Sturdy

Stainless steel. Easy to use. Nice.

Es un buen producto, funciona como una bolsa de té para las infusiones que no vienen en bolsa. Además, es muy práctico porque no suelta trocitos de la infusión a menos de que la infusión tenga trocitos muy pequeños. Para lavarlo, solo hay que vaciar los trozos de la infusión y usar agua únicamente. No hay mayor complicación.

to small for a portion of tea