The Tea Press

Many of my readers are aware of the accessories available to them for tea drinking. Sometimes however, there is often some confusion over exactly what a certain tea accessory is for and about the proper usage of some of the items.
One in particular is often brought up often enough to actually write about it; so this article will be about a tea press.

The actual definition of a tea press is that it is a type of tea accessory (pot or container) that helps one to brew tea using loose leaves of tea. Why do some use a tea press, while others do not?

First, a tea press is used with loose tea leaves and not with bagged tea. Some people enjoy the convenience of a tea bag, but many enjoy the freedom of using loose leaf tea.

People who indulge in loose-leaf tea often feel that the freshness, flavor, and less processing is what are the three key reasons to not use a tea bag. On a side note, and not to confuse you, loose-leaf tea can be used in conjunction with reusable tea bags that are open at the top to fill with loose-leaf tea and held in the water with another accessory called a tea pin.

Loose-leaf tea lovers even feel that when using loose-leaf they even experience aroma therapy from the waif of tea steam as the tea steeps.

But back to the tea press, its idea is very similar to that of a coffee press or French press but does have some differences as well. The tea press device is an easy to use item and the bonus is that there will be no tea leaves in the tea or in your cup.

When one uses a tea press, tea is inserted into the device and then the tea press pushes the leaves to the bottom.

Tea presses work by placing the loose tea into the inner container and then adding the boiling water on top and into the pot. Then one “brews or steeps” tea for the optimum time of 5 minutes (or more if stronger tea is desired). When one is satisfied with the brew time by pressing the plunger down will engage the tea press. The plunging action pushes all of the tea leaves to the bottom of the inner container. Once the tea plunger is engaged the steeping automatically stops.

The inner container of the tea press has small seeping holes in the top of it and the bottom part is not open in any way. The top part allows for free-through water and allows the tea leaf to slowly open and float freely.
There are a myriad of types of tea presses available today. Some tea presses are very simple cylindrical devices, and some that look like regular glass tea pots. Some are made of stainless steel or even a combination of both. Some are made with hard acrylic BPA free plastics. Some are for single serve or travel and some accommodate upwards to six cups of tea.

Some final words: A French press used for coffee can be used interchangeably as a tea infuser, however, unlike a true tea press the French press does not stop the tea steeping process. Immediately after plunging in a coffee press, pour tea into a warmed tea pot or one will wind up with over steeped bitter tea.

Enjoy discovering tea in a new way!