What do you know about this teapot?

Tha 8oz pot with the infuser is common. Everybody makes a version. It is more of a Western design than Asian. Yours apparently comes from France. Im going to say it is less than 10 years old because of the wraparound slits in the infuser. I didnt see that before until some years back. You can make any loose tea in it. Almost top off the pot with hot water, fill the infuser with tea, lower into pot, then cap with lid. The pots can handle the finer grades of tea for easier infusion better than the larger leaf which might expand. You may have to grab the handle and hold the lid for the occasional gentle swish. I dump the infuser by tapping the infuser on a hardsurface with a napkin.

Youll learn alot more drinking what the rest of the world consumes for tea found in the ethnic stores. Ill say the Indian and Arabic markets have been stable in the commercial brands. Still you wont find a better Ceylon than an Arabic brand like Royal World or a representative darjeeling like Liptons Green Label with the Indian Board Seal of Approval in the lower right hand corner (the gal getting high on DJ or MJ? leaf).

I will say there has been a big change in what you can get commercially from Chinatown which Ive shown in a couple of posts recently.

Jim

Ah - I need to clarify my odd little teapot's structure. The infuser unit does not fit inside the 'teapot' but sits on the rim where the lid goes after the infuser is removed. So it appears to work like an old-fashioned coffee drip-o-later. (Maybe it really is a coffee maker but the bottom serving unit is a classical round teapot shape.)

Timing the brewing will be interesting since I don't know how long it will take for the hot water to drip through. Need to take a deep breath and try it out.

Yes, ethnic suppy houses are amazing in their selections. Here in my upstate NY city there are many Asian and Indian stores, two within walking distance, and more tea choices than I will ever work my way through. Our large home-owned supermarket has a Tea Bar in their flagship store and there are many premium loose teas for purchase as well as tea brewed by the cup

Thanks for your response - hope the structure of the pot is more clear. Jan

There is an Asian pyrex pot where the infuser sits on top. There is a mechanism to release the brew into the pot. I imagine your infuser looking like a funnel. I can imagine larger leaf multiple infusion and one time infusion for fines and the like. Sounds like one of a kind pot. If you ever catch up on teas at the Asian stores the discount stores like TJMax usually have a selection or two of British blends.

Jim

Are you sure it doesn't normally fit inside the pot, but is removed and put on top of the rim after the tea is brewed?

--scott

First, an apology - I don't know how to excerpt previous posts to include into responses which forces folk to read back in the thread. Sorry. And I can't post a photo which would help immensely.

Now as to the odd 'teapot's' structure: the infuser cannot fit inside the 'teapot'. It is a cylinder; the bottom is indented 1/4 inch, and fits exactly onto the rim of the 'teapot' where it rests. The lid fits either the 'teapot' or the infuser. The bottom of the infuser is cut in two ways: the outside is a pattern of small slits, the inside is a pattern of holes. And the infuser has a perforated inside piece which rests on an interior rim about 2/3 of the way up from the bottom. The 'teapot' bottom is the classic fat round shape.

The pot appears to be glazed pottery, off white with a maroon floral and leaf design; very pretty. Back stamp: PV Made in France. I'd hoped the pot was not all that unusual and someone would recognize it and more importantly could tell me how it is best used. At this point I have a sinking feeling that it is, after all, a single serve drip coffee maker which would make it an ornamental oddity in my home!

Thanks for all the help with the puzzle. Jan

Maybe something along these lines:

I found out P.V. stands for Parry & Vieille factory.

Jim

Jim - you did find a similar pot and it is meant for tea! The EBay pot is apparently regular size (10 3/4 in. tall altogether); mine is half as tall, has only an 8 oz. capacity and no handles on the infuser. Thanks for the research and the name of the factory. The EBay pot seemed a bit pricey considering it was rather beat up (my Goodwill find was 2 bucks, perfect condition).

EBay does not support my internet service (webtv) so I could not have found the pot on my own. As it was I was cut off while using the link you supplied. Now to see if I can make good tea with the pot. Jan