Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Resting Place’

Through my use of the tea tray, I have come to determine that it is a wonderful product.
At first, the tea trays seem a bit frivolous. The question that initially came to my mind is “Why would anyone spend money on something created specifically to hold used tea bags, when they could just as easily use a small plate, or even just dispose of the tea bag straight away?”
So, determined to answer this question, I prepared myself some tea (Tea Forte’s Orchid Vanilla, as the trays were clearly meant to be primarily used with Tea Forte pyramid bags).
Here were my findings:

Great things about the tea trays:
-They’re small, thus conserving the space used on one’s desk/table/etc. (This was especially helpful on my desk, which has a lot of papers and other items on it, and where a small plate for used tea bags would be a waste of space)
-They provide a drip-free resting place in the chance that you want to save the tea bag for another steeping.
-The tea trays are aesthetically pleasing, making them great to give as gifts or to add a bit of decoration at tea time.
-The size of the tea trays is such that they could just as easily be used with other tea bags as drip trays.
-The construction is really solid. These trays are not going to break easily if they are accidentally dropped.

Not so great things (that might not matter) about the tea trays:
-These trays really are not so special and innovative that one would go out and buy them to complete one’s collection of teaware.
-The shallow indentation in the tray was not deep enough, and the excess liquid in my teabag ended up overflowing the lip of the tray’s depression. (I may not have let the tea bag drip off long enough.)
-Because of the shallow indentation, when I picked up the tray to drain it off and clean it, the smallest tilt caused tea to run off the edge.

You can purchase the Tea Tray directly from the Tea Forte website.

I was excited for the opportunity to review this cup, as I had seen it while browsing the Tea Forte website and appreciated the clever-looking design.
In reviewing Tea Forte’s Cafe Cup, I decided to create a simple pros and cons list. This is not a complete list by any means, merely a list of the things which most stood out to me.
Pros:
-Comes with a lid, to hold the heat in while steeping.
-The lid keeps your tea hot, even when you leave it for some time.
-The cup is quite pretty, in a simplistic way.
-The hole in the lid is perfect for the tag and string from the tea bag.

Cons:
-The construction of the cup is such that, because of the heat emanating through the walls, it is necessary to hold it by the handle alone.
-The size of the cup in comparison to the handle makes for a slightly awkward or unwieldy experience when lifting a full cup, especially because it seems the handle is not meant to be held with more than one finger through it.
-The lid gets quite hot while steeping tea, which can be problematic when you try to remove it to drink.

The biggest improvement I think could be made to this product is if it came with a saucer, to catch any drips, and provide a resting place for the hot tea cup, so that items under the tea cup are not in danger of being damaged by the heat.
Over all, it is a very nice cup, and the wooden box it comes in makes for a very nice gift all together.

You can purchase the Cafe Cup directly from the Tea Forte website.