Tea Infuser Balls

Tea infuser balls come in two main types, Mesh balls and perforated balls, both are relatively cheap and are a great way to bre loose tea in single cups or a pot.

Infuser balls were originally used to allow brewing of broken tea leaves, or fannings (the left overs bits of leaf from higher grade teas), but they work equally well with any loose leaf tea, and allow you to brew a cup to your specific strength.

Mesh Tea Infuser Balls

Mesh Tea Infuser balls are more suited to fine leaf tea, as the holes are too small for individual leaves to pass through, but they allow normal water flow.

Mesh balls are more delicate and can be harder to clean, and they do not allow a huge amount of room for the leaves to unfurl, but they are a great way of infusing tea for a single cup or when you are travelling and have limited space.

Look for one with a spring loaded opening mechanism for ease of use, otherwise filling the ball can be quite fiddly.

Perforated Tea Infuser Balls

Perforated balls are normally made from stainless steel and often clip, or screw together in two halves, they are very robust an easy to clean but better suited to large leaf tea, as fine leaves can often pass through the large holes in the infuser.

The infuser balls are normally attached to a chain or solid handle, handles are obviously more robust but they transfer the heat of the boiling water better so han be hard to handle after being left to brew.