Only problem was I didn't have a tea strainer. The answer to that problem - and where to buy all sorts of things you can't get anywhere else as well as things you hadn't realised you needed but now desperately want - is Cash Hardware.
It's a traditional ironmongery shop in Mumbles that has been there since I was a child. Growing up it never occurred to me that Cash Hardware wasn't the name of the owner of the shop. Across the road was Chanters' Decorating Shop. That was owned by the Chanter brothers, family friends. Up the road was Selwyn Shute, the greengrocer. I never stopped to think that Cash Hardware was a strange name for a man.
So, I went there today. I had to choose between a tea strainer and an infuser and opted for the infuser on the grounds that it would be easier to dispose of the tea leaves that way.
P.S. I've now found out that some manufacturers are using plastic-free teabags, including Clipper, Pukka, and Teapigs.
9 comments:
I had not heard about tea bags containing plastics, how awful. Not only would the plastics get into the ocean, etc. but they would get into us. I will read more about this as I drink 2 cups of high quality tea each day. You found a great solution with the infuser.
The way this story was reported in Canada was that only the fancy-shmanchy, expensive "silk looking" teabags had significant plastic in them. The implication was that regular old "everyday" teabags were fine. So now I'm not sure which version is true or not.
My understanding is that only the “fancy sheet-like” tea bags with a plastic string are the ones that have the plastic. Old school ones that look like cheese cloth and have a real string are fine. But, in regards to tea.... what is wrong with a few remnants of leaves in the bottom sip? I tend to like the additional flavor and texture. Same with coffee grounds... I never mind a bit of that in the bottom either.... in fact, for me I consider tea leaves and coffee grounds to be a bonus feature! Maybe I am just weird?
PipeTobacco
Over time we will discover all the stuff we’ve ingested for years. The loose tea is my favourite too and I will make it more often.
There were those metal 'spoons' you could buy, probably still can, that had no plastic in, or Scandinavian boxes of one hundred empty tea bags made of fine netting in various sizes? If neither these nor teapots work anymore , then we're all going to have to drink gallons of tea, endlessly again.
I don't mind... but then , I'm retired
I will report back on how the infuser works, Terra.
Debra, PipeTobacco, from what I've read the main supermarket own brands still contain plastic, not just the fancy ones.
It's amazing to think of what we do probably ingest, Marie.
Yes, I saw a spoon in the shop too, Sonata, but it was specifically for a mug and we always use a teapot.
Good news, that non-plastic tea bags are available. My paternal grandmother, only tea-drinker in the family, poured boiling water through a fine strainer with a few tea leaves in it into her cup. That's how I learned to drink tea - very weakly. Like you (and Grandmother), I don't drink coffee - can't tolerate the odor.
Cop Car
I come from a tea-drinking family, CopCar, and I much prefer a teapot to tea made in a cup. But I love the smell of coffee, and when I read all the tempting descriptions, I wish I liked it!
I know a lot of teabags contain plastic, but as yet I haven't made any serious attempt to track down tea bags that are plastic-free. I don't recognise any of the brands you mention but I shall do some more serious searching. We have a very famous tea and coffee merchants nearby (S D Bells) - they might have a plastic-free alternative.
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