Making a great cup of tea can be tricky, considering the factors that can ultimately impact the result. Aside from the quality of the tea, steeping time, and water temperature, using the right tea accessories can make a difference between an awful and a good cup of tea.

Besides, the right tool will significantly help save time and effort. Some teas are easier to make than others. Making a cup of tea with loose leaves requires specific tools to steep the tea, like a tea infuser or a tea strainer.

If you don't know which accessory to use, here's a comprehensive guide on the difference and which one is best for you.

Tea Strainer Vs. Tea Infuser 一 What are They?

Some teapots feature a built-in strainer to allow tea aficionados to steep loose leaves inside them. However, most luxury and vintage tea sets lack strainers.

On the other hand, tea infusers are perfect for brewing finer tea leaves without leaving particles behind. The leaves remain in the mesh ball while it expands slowly as water circulates. This tool is available in varying sizes and is suitable for use with most tea. Even better, they can be re-steeped for another cup of tea.

The Differences

# Tea strainers hold the loose tea leaves while resting on your teacup or teapot as you pour hot water, meaning you cannot fully immerse them in water for an extended period like tea infusers.

# Tea strainers feature large holes, which makes them only suitable for sizeable loose tea leaves, unlike its counterpart, which have no issue holding both small or sizeable loose tea leaves. However, the latter has a small capacity limiting the number of loose tea leaves you add.

# Another significant difference is that tea strainers keep the loose tea leaves from your tea when you brew, while the tea infusers are great for steeping the loose tea leaves since they hold them in a mesh ball.

# Tea strainers are designed to trap loose tea leaves while pouring your tea into the teapot or teacup. Conversely, tea infusers allow you to steep them in your teapot or teacup for better flavor.

# Lastly, tea strainers usually come in handy when making a large quantity of tea to serve a crowd. On the contrary, tea infusers are an excellent option to make a cup of tea for a guest by steeping the flavored teas and tea blends once.