Mountain Rose Herbs Celestial Tea Strainer

I've never been an avid tea drinker, especially when it comes to herbal teas. But recently, I was reading about the many health benefits of spearmint (click for more info.) and began buying pre-made organic spearmint tea bags from our local food co-op.
                                                                                    

Having always used tea bags, I must admit I was skeptical about making tea any other way. Too messy, too much work and time involved. But those tea bags DO stack up, in the compost bin. And more and more, it seemed like such a waste to continue to make tea in bag form, instead of from loose leaves. That string, paper and excess packaging had to go!

I happened to find this interesting and informative video over at YouTube: How to Make Tea with Loose Herbs and for me this was the incentive I needed to finally kick my tea bag habit!

Not only is it easy to make tea from loose herbs, it's also a big $$$ saver. I had been buying 20 organic spearmint tea bags for $6+ a box. I bought a pound of organic spearmint leaves for $9. at Mountain Rose Herbs!

I'm guesstimating I'll be able to make the equivalent of 200+ tea bags with the bag of spearmint tea I now have on hand. A pound of tea is much more than I expected! But it came in a air-tight resealable bag and I drink a cup or two of spearmint tea every day, so it should all be fresh and flavorful to use. The fragrance that came from the package when it arrived at our door was so nice too! Not like the usual "unscented" mail. LOL ;<)

So, on to the gorgeous tea strainer pictured above. This beautiful gadget is also from Mountain Rose Herbs and is featured in the video.  It is so much nicer than those tea balls and plain tea strainers that are the norm.

Works great too. It has a wide rim that fits even a large cup or mug and it is made of stainless steel. I've also used it with a teapot when I'm making more than one cup of tea. I let the tea steep for 10 minutes covered; then remove the strainer. Easy to clean and it only costs $7. A very good value.

Here is some additional information about this tea strainer from the Mountain Rose Herbs site:

Celestial Tea Strainer: Savor tea in style with this versatile stainless steel tea strainer warmly decorated around the rim in a beautiful celestial motif.
Equally suitable for all sizes of mugs, and fits well on small tea pots. Simply place a small amount of material into the steel mesh canister and submerge into a cup of hot water to brew your favorite infusion. Dimension of the actual infuser meshis 2" and dimension of outer rim is 3.75"

If you've been holding off kicking the tea bag habit, do check out the video above and also take a browse over at the Mountain Rose Herbs website.  I'm very impressed with the quality of the products they sell and their company's many green initiatives are commendable and far-reaching.

This tea strainer would also make a wonderful gift. Perhaps to go with a package or two of favorite tea/ blend. Mountain Rose Herbs has many wonderful teas to choose from. Also herbal cosmetics and remedies, essential oils, tea pots, herbs, spices, bulk ingredients....it's definitely worth a visit!

                          

Overall rating for this product: Excellent. 5 out of 5.