· By Nicole Maddock
At-Home Tea Station Roundup
Technically you only need good tea, hot water, and some sort of infuser to brew a delicious cup, but so much of enjoying your tea is wrapped up in the experience of, and feelings surrounding the process. A quickly brewed cup of tea on the go may taste well enough, but it certainly won’t give you the same experience that an intentionally brewed cup in a calming or joyful surrounding will. Why not enjoy your tea to its fullest potential?
Here are a few products that will help take your tea brewing to the next level:
Every tea station needs a good brewer, and we LOVE a bottom dispensing brewer. These allow you to brew a larger serving of tea than a normal infuser, and there is something magical about the process of watching the tea draw down into your mug.
This funky parrot brewer is not only joyful and fun, it is also perfect for creating larger batches of iced tea! Simply infuse tea at double strength and dilute with plenty of ice. You’ll be set to keep it in your fridge for about a week!
There’s just something about a glass mug. These colorful borosilicate mugs are equally modern and playful, and allow allow you to drink the tea with your eyes.
There is no shortage of beautiful, hand-made ceramics online. We particularly love these mugs from Brooklyn-based Wilcoxson because they pair a funky shape with a warm, muted color palette. Plus, they comes in a set of 4, so they’re perfect for a tea party!
The best way to elevate your at-home tea game is with a high-quality milk frother. These automatic frothers are hands-off and produce much higher quality foam than the little immersion frothers you may be more familiar with. And it doesn’t hurt that the Smeg frother comes in a variety of beautiful colors, either.
Every at-home tea bar needs a good water kettle. These electric kettles heat the water to boiling in minutes and automatically shut off when they reach temp, perfect for herbal teas and even black teas.
Want a bit more control? These kettles offer variable temperature settings, meaning you can heat your water to precisely the correct temperature for any tea you plan to brew with just the press of a button.
This gorgeous set, created by two Chinese-American women, makes it simply to enjoy tea in the Chinese tradition (gong fu style). This style of tea brewing is meant for oolong teas, but can be enjoyed with any tea variety. Check out Three Gems Tea for more information about gong fu style brewing.
Your tea station will need a few crates for storing and organizing your teas, sugars, infusers, and whatever else you may have laying around. We love these crates from Hay because they not only stack, but they also fold up nicely when not in use.
Having a few tea towels around is always a good idea.
We also love the calming color palette of this tea towel.
It’s a good idea to have a few simple syrups on hand for crafting delicious tea lattes at home. Royal Rose has a wide variety of flavors that will allow your tea creativity to shine! This Lavender Lemon syrup pairs particularly well with our Rainy Bookstore tea.
Of course, you can never go wrong with a high-quality raw honey from a sustainably raised bee hive.
Once your tea station is set up, don’t forget to stock up with high-quality loose leaf teas!