Teapot for Work?

No experience with those, in fact, I've never even heard of them before. Maybe check Uptontea and something like the Chatsford teapots. They have cool little 2 cup ones up to big ones, they have infusers, and are very popular.

- Dominic

Dominic:

Everyone seems to like Chatsfords. I use one daily, also obtained from Upton's (and get some tea samples from them while you're ordering).

Best,

Rick.

There are a few things to consider:

1. Glass teapot teapot will not retain flavor of strong pu-erhs and black teas and you can wash one out and brew a subtle white without any problem. But glass teapot will not hold the tea warm for as long.

1. Glass teapot is harder to keep clean-looking.

2. On the plus side, glass teapot will require less hot water to pre- heat it before brewing. Clay teapot will need more.

1. Large pot will keep the tea hot for a far longer time, which may be a good thing at work even if you don't need that much tea.

2. Clay pots will typically have metal infusers which I personally find lacking with white and green teas as they impart metallic flavor. At least some glass pots have glass infusers.

1. Chinese stores (like pearl river or kam man in manhattan and many online tea stores) usually have a japanese-made ceramic pot for around . It's made of black ceramic clay and has a colored glazed lid. The pot itself isn't glazed, so you'll run into problems if you brew whites after blacks as I mentioned before, especially if you brew teas flavored with jasmine or something like that. But I have one of those pots and it's good. I'm not sure if it's sold with an infuser, I think I bought an infuser separately in Kam Man.

2. Any small decent pot will have spout on top, I think. Wouldn't putting it in the middle make it effectively half-capacity?

1. Are you sure you want to have an infuser? I find that good teas don't need one at all and make better brew when leaves float freely. Since good expensive teas are still very cheap per cup, and are more reliable in terms of being hard to brew wrong, they seem like a good idea for work. The only exception is darjeeling teas which just don't work well when infused for a long time, except for the best ones which are kind of expensive..

2. If you want an infuser to make it easier to get rid of spent leaves, I found that it's even easier to use one of those strainers that look like a really big spoon with a wire mesh at the end, when cleaning out a pot, I pour in some water and then pour out water with leaves through the spoon strainer.

1. One issue with the ceramic pot I mentioned is that the lid handle is rather small and gets very hot when brewing blacks. A Jenaer glass pot I have does not have this problem, the handle is both large and never gets hot.

2. I don't like those stump pots too much. First of all the lid might get very hot if you touch it by mistake at work.. Second, the part of the lid that you have to push might also get too hot, it seems like heat would transfer directly to it.. A clay lid seems to be more fitting on a clay pot, and also the design is too angly, rounded curves are more suitable in teapot design, but that's just my taste.

hth..

Try the 2-cup Chatsford from Upton's. If you get the cheaper earthenware sort, it will keep the tea warmer a little longer than the bone china. DO NOT forget a tea cosy if you intend on keeping the tea for a while. In a pinch, a terrycloth towel or the padded cloth covers from old HP test equipment will do as a cozy.

I have not used them. There are three questions to ask: do they allow easy brewing with a basket, do they keep the tea warm, and do they drip?

--scott

Not me though! I never used one but I don't like the way their spouts are bending in a way that's too unnatural and funky vs. chinese and japanese pots that bend in a way that water flows, tree branches grow, etc. Same goes for british cups (at least for traditional designs). But that's a matter of taste, of course, and if OP likes the photos of Chatsfords, he'll probably like the pot itself. I'm sure they're good pots, maybe I'm just too picky :P.

I brew all kinds of tea at work - white, Chinese greens, Japanese greens, black, pu-erh, and oolong! I find that what works best for me is a small, ceramic Japanese teapot with a built in filter that covers the spot. You can find a cheaper one with a fine metal mesh. Since this type of pot is made for sencha, which has very fine leaves, it is effective at filtering all types of tea. If you do want to use it for all tea types, it must be a finished ceramic on the inside though. I bought a few in Japan for $10 or $15 on sale. They hold maybe 8 oz or a touch more. I haven't seen them that cheap in the US anywhere though - maybe a local Japanese or Asian grocery store. Good luck!

Mugs + infuser + lid are all over Chinatown for $5. Pot + infuser + lid are in discount stores for $10. Bottom line, don't spend much for what you are describing.

Jim

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Thanks, everyone. For your suggestions.

It seems a lot of people favor the Chatsfords. My only concern about them is the fact that the spout is so low on the bottom. I was told to pick a spout closer to the top, so that you don't get as much residue when you pour the tea.

What's the difference between the 2-cup Eathenware Chatsford > > I'm looking for a small teapot that I can use at work. The teapot >

There is a 2-cup Porcelain Chatsford Teapot with the spout closer to the top of the teapot, shown near the bottom of the webpage at:

hth

at:

It is more expensive. Do you think it's worth the extra money? Is it really that big of a concern?

If you use a basket, the residue becomes really little issue. And the Chatsfords come with baskets.

The older model has been discontinued and replaced with the Series E which is a slightly different shape.

--scott