Yesterday I celebrated my birthday. One of the presents that my lovely Mum brought for me was this brilliant Floatea Tea Infuser. It's absolutely ace - easily the best invention since sliced bread!
My mum lives at the other end of the country so to save paying on postage twice, Mum sends me the money and I buy the items and my boyfriend wraps them (it's a family effort!).
I had been looking for a really good infuser as I've decided to try and use loose tea as much as possible. I have several of those metal ball type infusers which are good, but, if you have a smaller leaf tea then it tends to leak through the gaps in the infuser and into the bottom of the cup. Not very good to have a mouthful of tea leaves!
When browsing on the Kensington Tea Company's website I noticed that they also sell infusers. I instantly liked the look of the Floatea in red (they are also available in black or green) and so decided to order one.
Firstly, I have to commend Kensington Tea Company for several different reason's. Firstly, the ease of payment is excellent. There is no need to go through three pages during the process, it's all done quickly and speedily. Secondly, they use Royal Mail. I cannot say how convenient this is. Couriers are fine, but if you miss them you can have trouble reorganising delivery, or, have to travel many miles to collect it from their nearest parcel hub. And lastly, they post the items really speedily and only had to wait a few days for delivery.
As a bonus, whilst sorting out the packaging for the recycling bin, I also was happy to see that they had enclosed a sample of tea with the order. I was also happier when I saw what it was my absolute favourite tea: Chinese Jasmine Pearl Superior!
Anyway ... back to the Floatea.
The actual Floatea can take a substantial amount of tea. A good couple of teaspoons if you really wanted to fill it to the top. On this occasion I've used my free sample.
After filling the infuser you replace the handle to it and pop it in the cup. Upon adding water the infuser rises to the top of the cup and bob's around as the tea seeps.
It's really great fun to watch the Floatea dance around in the hot water. I love this because as you can see in the picture there is no leakage of tea leaves into the water. Okay, I will admit, that Jasmine Pearls (when brewed) make for large leaves. But I've also tried the infuser on Twinings Christmas Cake tea, which is a black tea with far smaller leaves and bar one or two stray leaves, my cup was also free of tea leaves. Sadly, this is not so with the traditional ball shaped metal infusers.
Once your tea has brewed you can even use it to stir the tea!
But what I really love is that you can replace the wet infuser back into it's stand - no need for tea and tealeaves to be all over the place (which happens to me!) with the Floatea. The drips collect in it's stand and you can easily wash it up afterwards.
The Floatea is priced at £10.95, and for me it's worth every single penny. Yes, it's more expensive then some infusers out there, but compared to what I have in my kitchen it's far, far better, just for the fact that the leaves do not leak and it's tidy to use.
The Floatea is made from stainless steel and strong rubber. Of course, time will tell if it tarnishes as it's used more and more but, at the moment it's easy to clean and looks really good.
I can honestly say this is one of the best tea related purchases I've made. It makes it just so easy to enjoy loose tea without the hassle of emptying the pot. I have only had this for a day and wouldn't be without it.
I do not regret buying the Floatea. It's a warmly received part of my tea family!
what great little thing. Always fun to find something that makes your passion even better.
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