tea

During hot weather, I drink iced tea by the gallon. I used to press my coffeemaker into service to brew enough iced tea during the summer, but between the odd after taste and the fact that I couldn't really control the strength of the tea, I decided I needed a dedicated tea maker. The Iced Tea Maker from Back to Basics is ideal for the purpose: it was designed with brewing tea in mind and offers several features that will help you to that end. One of my favorites is the tea brew-strength selector: I happen to like my … Read more

Coffee lovers have it too easy. In order to enjoy their favorite brew, all they have to do is head down to the corner. Chances are there will be a caf? on one of those four corners (if not on the way). For those that prefer to make coffee at home, there are numerous ways to go from bean to brew, and once a method (drip, espresso, French press, etc.) is determined, usually all that is required is finding a consistent grind. Not so with tea lovers, the magic in tea is usually unlocked by temperature and steeping time. Since … Read more

While the TriniTEA Electric Tea Maker has an appearance not unlike the coffeemakers that have become standard on every kitchen countertop, its specialty is making the perfect cup of tea. The tea maker was designed with loose leaf tea in mind: where the basket on a coffee maker would be is an infuser section. You can pull the section out and fill the appropriate cup with tea leaves. During the tea making process, the TriniTEA Electric Tea Maker heats water and then releases it into the infuser section. Your tea steeps there before dripping into a pot below, which you … Read more

In college, I was known to swipe extra tea bags from the cafeteria. I had a small travel mug, and I knew where there was hot water in every building on campus. After a while, though, I learned the difference between steeping a pot of loose leaf tea and the Lipton tea bags I typically had on me. I eventually gave up my traveling tea habit in favor of the higher quality taste of loose leaf tea. The Tuffy Steeper, however, makes it possible for me to take it back up again.

The Tuffy Steeper is a collapsible silicone basket … Read more

The Floating Tea Egg caught my eye because it floats: it just hangs out at the top of your cup, brewing tea. You don't have to fish it out of your cup or yank on a hot chain to pull it out. The Floating Tea Egg's handle is always above the surface of the tea, dry and cool. Just pick it up.

But the Floating Tea Egg has other features that make for a great cup of tea. The egg has 145 fine millimeter holes--large enough to brew tea but too small to let even a crumb of … Read more

One of my favorite jobs in college was at a loose leaf tea shop. I had all of the free tea I could drink, and on principle, they refused to serve coffee. The coffee ban made several customers angry (and me too, when I first started to work there), but after several months of serving and talking about tea, I considered myself lucky to have been exposed to its many benefits. To this day, one of my favorite things to do in winter is curl up on the couch with a cup of freshly brewed hot tea.

Any tea snob … Read more

With all the holiday gifting going on, consider taking a little time to treat yourself. This Primula flowering tea set comes with a 40-ounce clear glass tea pot and a canister of flowering teas.

Choose a flower and drop it into the pot. Then boil water in a separate kettle and pour it into the pot. The flower--which is actually tea leaves--blooms in a spectacular burst of color and design. Let it steep for 2-3 minutes as you enjoy the visual display and the enticing aroma. The presentation is spectacular, and the cup of tea is a flavorful bonus after … Read more

Assault with a deadly burger, bar bathroom toiletries, perfect strokes, black balls and boba straws, and Asian gangstas are just a few of the topics brought up by today's guest, Mr. Brian Tong from CNET TV! He usually keeps it clean on his show, the Apple Byte, but The 404 is all about letting loose, and trust us--he does. This might be the most perverted, nasty, NSFW, and all around hilarious show EVAR- OMGBBQ!

I don't even know where to begin. Brian Tong, star of CNET TV's The Apple Byte joins us today for what be our … Read more

As seasons change, my thoughts are turning not only to winter cooking--mmmm, stews, braises, and roasts--but also to the return of hot tea. In that state of mind, I fell in love with this silicone tea infuser and lid while flipping through the pages of the October Bon Appetit. Available in three cheery colors, its shape taps right into my childhood obsession with Strawberry Shortcake.

Cuteness aside, I like that the nonslip silicone stem will stay put over the edge of your cup so you don't have to fish it out of boiling water. And the matching lid doubles … Read more