Whether you are a regular tea drinker or turn to tea when the weather cools, there are some must-have tea accessories to make your tea sipping most magical.

Hot tea can be your wake-up drink in the morning or part of your bedtime routine in the evening. From Earl Grey to chamomile or green tea to honeybush, your cuppa can benefit from the addition of tools to help you create a better cup and to simplify your tea making process.

If you are just the occasional tea drinker, tea bags and a cup of water heated up in the microwave just might do the trick for you. But for more serious tea aficionados for whom tea is at least a twice or thrice daily ritual, that just won’t work at all, and tea-making tools of all kind are requirements. From infusers for loose tea to electric tea kettles with temperature settings, the marketplace is full of excellent tools to make your next cup of tea a truly sublime experience.

Read on to discover tea accessories you never knew you needed–until now! You just might make the switch from tea bags in the microwave to infused loose tea brewed to perfection.

Must Have Tea Accessories

1. Tea Infuser

Tea infusers of various styles are vital for those who prefer to use loose tea. Using loose tea is more economical and is usually of a higher quality than tea bags. This universal infuser can work with a variety of cups, mugs, and even teapots.

2.Tea Travel Mug

Drink your tea on the go? This travel mug might be ideal, so you no longer have to drink over-brewed tea. This mug only works with tea bags or pouches, though.

3. Infuser Tea Mug

An all-in-one infuser mug is ideal for those who enjoy loose tea, but not the extra step of using a teapot. The porcelain mug even comes with a lid to keep your tea warm while it’s brewing that also doubles as a handy stand for the infuser.

4. Teapot

If you plan on making more than one cup of tea, either a second cup for yourself or a cup for a friend, a teapot is a must. And there’s no need for a fussy teapot when this modern stoneware pot will do just nicely.

5. Teapot Warmer

And when you do make a pot of tea, a tea warmer is a handy tool to help keep the tea left in your pot warm. It’s a simple design that only requires a tea light candle to produce the warmth.

6.Electric Tea Kettle

An electric tea kettle makes the work of boiling water a cinch, but this temperature select kettle is the bee’s knees.  It heats the water to the perfect temperature for the kind of tea or infusion you are making. Black tea can take on boiling water while other types of teas are too delicate. For example, white tea is best brewed with water that is 175 degrees.

7. Tea Ball

A tea ball is another handy dandy loose tea infuser. It’s best to have several infusers on hand in your kitchen (or more, depending on the number of tea drinkers in your home and how often you do the dishes).

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Cup of Tea Image via Shutterstock

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The Sorapot is a transparently beautiful way to serve tea – as long as it’s not made with unsightly bags.

Over the past few years, tea has gone from a drink best known as beloved by the English in the afternoon, and the Japanese and Chinese at ceremonies, to a dizzying array of healthy, invigorating/relaxing/detoxifying infusions: green, yellow, rooibos, jasmine, chai, mint, camomile, ginseng.

And teapots have gone from simple ceramic structures to pieces of contemporary design in themselves. The Sorapot is an architectural shape made of stainless steel and pyrex, a simple form which allows you to watch the age-old brewing process. As the designer, Joey Roth, puts it: “It articulates the ritual of tea making in a thoroughly modern way.”

The Sorapot makes enough tea for two cups, and comes in two versions: brushed and mirrored. The stainless steel used is made by the same process as jet turbine blades and space shuttle components. Its packaging, however, is less high-tech, contrasting with the hard grey metallic object contained inside: the pot comes encased in post-consumer recycled cardboard and moulded pulp, fastened with natural jute rope.

Version II of the Sorapot  is currently being developed, and is sure to be as popular as the original, which is priced at $200 for brushed and $250 for polished – if you’re lucky enough to get a hold of one, as they’re hard to come by. Keep your eyes peeled, and start thinking about the most visually-impressed dried ingredients to showcase in this mesmerizing window.

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Stayed home on Black Friday? Good. Here are some gifts you can buy for the comfort of your own home.

Our favorite eco-retailer, VivaTerra, is having a fantastic holiday sale, just in time for dressing your house up in seasonal, original  fun. These five gems are all 50% off, so you’re within your rights to buy two – one as a gift and, ahem (whisper), one for yourself.

With bijou desserts still all the rage, this branch pedestal server ($87) will display your mini-puds to dramatic effect. Designed as a little tree, it has two levels  – one large and one small – with a butterfly delicately perched on the edge of the upper tray. Besides, we’ve been lusting after it for a while.

Finding a unique holder for those table essentials is always a challenge, which is why we love this chirpy bird salt and pepper set ($12). Their shape is smooth and tactile, with a tiny beak and graceful body – they dispense through a discreet opening on their heads. We like their subtle color distinction.

We’re always on the lookout for new ways to present cheese. This ingenious puzzle board ($29) will make your fromage serving both fun and fabulous.

Having limited kitchen space myself, an all-in-one tower which performs no less than five functions is a winner. This minimalist white ceramic tea tower ($27) features storage and presentation for your teapot, tea cup, saucer, sugar and cream.

These glass numbers are designed to echo familiar shapes: the carton ($12) for your cream and the sack ($14) for your sugar. The Milk carton creamer and sugar sack: perfect for the surrealist tea party.

Images: Andrew Warchy; VivaTerra

The post 50% Off and More from VivaTerra: The Kinder Way to Shop appeared first on EcoSalon.

Is there a hole in the heart of that beloved camel cashmere from your freshman year at Stanford?

Don’t become unraveled! The crafty set – people like Stefanie Girard, who wrote Sweater Surgery – take the green approach to spinning yarns, reconfiguring new objects d’smart from those ratty pullovers that once warmed our bones.

Handwash your old sweater (I like to use baby shampoo) and treat it for unsightly coffee or red wine stains. Then circumvent those Jarlsberg cheese holes in the wool and make something cool!

Here’s a look at 10 reclamations, from Ugly Dolls to pretty petal pins:

1. Stuffed Toys

A favorite project at Brandeis Hillel Day School in San Francisco, parents are asked to contribute old sweaters for the students to conjure their own, arty Ugly Dolls. My own 10-year-old, Lauren, made this creature in just a couple of days and they instantly became BBF’s.

2. Bitchen Boatneck

Deborah Lindquist makes her groovy dog wraps from recycled cashmere sweaters, and you can do it, too. Just find a square without holes and make two for the front legs. Then your pet can walk the walk!

3. Beaded Cuff

I love this upscale take on the 70s tennis sweat band. The beaded cuff woven by Olive Brown is simple to make, by cutting your own elongated rectangle from your rescued sweater, stitching the borders and embellishing with beads or other hot glue glam.

4. Pet Bed

Lately, my pug has taken to sleeping in the laundry basket. Why not take your old sweaters and other scraps and make a patchwork pet bed, like Apartment Therapy suggests? Gather an assortment of old sweaters and a pillow and get working on that soft place for your pooch to land.

5. Pullover Coasters

Olive Brown made these from a shrunken woman’s fair aisle v-neck pullover. The set of eight, sold at Etsy, is something you can also try to make by cutting the circles and top-stitching the front, leaving a zigzag stitch on the back. The edges are finished with an overlock stitch.

6. Snuggly Slippers

Follow the footsteps of Craft Stylish, and avoid booties made from yucky  synthetic materials. These old woolen slippers are stitched with love. All you need is paper, a pen, scissors, an old sweater, thread, a machine, a scarp of yarn and a crochet hook. Have fun padding around!

7. Doll Clothes

If you or your child can knit, this book from Amazon provides patterns and ideas. I always loved sewing my own Barbie clothes from discarded items that wound up in our rag box. Let your kids try their hand at Project Runway ensembles using old sweaters. Try some lederhosen for that Heidi doll!

8. Flower Brooch

Thick rose wool felt from a rescued cardigan is paired with a heavy vintage bronze shank button in this classic flower. Found at Etsy, you can arrange your own floral jewelry with scissors, glue and a pin from your neighborhood craft store. Add a center flourish and attach to blazer lapel. You grow, girl!

9. Cell Phone Cozy

Craftbits is calling! Pick up and read the steps for making your own, fetching felted mobile phone pouch with a key ring at the top for attaching to jeans or your purse.

10. Teapot Cozy

We adore these at EcoSalon and even touted the beauty of the pot sweater for Mother’s Day this year. This one from Etsy is ideal because the pretty blue yarn is washable. Accented by a handknit multicolored flower with a vintage button for the center, it’s about 19 inches around and stretches over a 4″-to-6″ teapot. Not handy with a needle? Ask a friend to help.

Main Image: Amazon

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