FORLIFE Stump Teapot

    Teapot? Yes a teapot, you cannot make tea without a teapot. Ok you could make tea in a mug, I did that for a while but it is a pain, especially when you try to pour it, a quarter of it ends up on the counter. I personally like to have a  dedicated tea brewing device, I looked at some other teapots like the “Bodum Assam” but I am not to sure of the glass being able to hold on to heat, as it is not double wall like most of  Bodum’s wares(I will buy one anyway and get back to you). There is also the Japanese style Cast Iron Teapots to consider, but they are expensive, well at least the good ones, they will run you about $50+, so I found the forlife company, they have other designs for teapots but I liked the Stump which comes in 12 colors, I got the black graphite. Unfortunately you cannot order from the manufacture directly, you can order “some” of the products on amazon but they don’t carry all of their stuff and finding the color you like is a pain (trust me) , why yes, in theory they have 12 colors, “but the question is are you feeling lucky….. punk”. The pain of finding the one you like aside, the Stump tea pot is a great way to prepare your tea .

And here are the Cons. (ya I put the cons first)
1.The "Stainless" Steel lid, well it stains because of the tannins in the tea.
2.You will need a strainer if you don’t use the infuser.
3.Only serves a max of 2 maybe 3, depending on the size of "cup" you use.
4.The tea infuser is way to small and really should not be used(however I do use it as a strainer when I pour my tea).
5.Kinda hard to get the tea out after brewing.

Now the Pros.
1.Easy to clean.
2.Holds heat well.
3.Comes in a lot of colors.
4.Very durable. Lead-free glazed porcelain
5.Holds about 16oz of water which is perfect for me.




How-To brew Tea
    I use one rounded teaspoon of tea, whatever stays on the spoon goes in. Not the measuring tsp. but the one you use at the table. You could also use weight, but for tea I don’t. For every teaspoon of tea use 8oz of water. Always bring your water to a boil no-matter the temp you use, if you need water cooler than 212 just let it cool down. Also, always preheat your tea pot or infuser that you use, run some hot tap water in to it.
    First, place your tea in the tea pot or whatever you are using , then pour your water in on top of the tea. Next, allow your tea to steep for the recommended amount of time. You don’t want to stir the tea while it is infusing, you’ll just make it more bitter. Finally, pour the tea through a strainer. You don’t have to use a strainer if you don’t mind the leaves in your cup, the tea will sink to the bottom.
    One more note on tea. I personally think that you shouldn’t use an infuser basket. Why? Well tea needs room to bloom which is required for a good extraction. Yes, I know loose leaf tea looks so small. Wait until its wet, it will become as much as 10x the original size, especially with oolongs.

Ok the Time and Temp varies for each tea but in general:

Black teas should be steeped in boiling water that is 212F or 100C for a brew time of 5 minutes.

Oolong teas should be steeped in off boiling water that is 180F or 82C for a brew time of  4 minutes.

Green teas should be steeped in off boiling water that is 170F or 76C for a brew time of 3 minutes.

White teas should be steeped in off boiling water that is 170F or 76C for a brew time of  7 minutes.

Now remember that these temps and times are only rough guidelines only to be used if your tea did not come with any brewing instructions.

I hope you found this review/ How to useful.

I did some of the searching for each color and hear is what I found:

Amazon
Stump Teapot w/ SLS LID & Infuser 16 Oz. - BLACK GRAPHITE
Stump Teapot w/ SLS LID & Infuser 16 Oz. - RED
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Turquoise
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Lime
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Marine
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Gray
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Carrot
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Sage
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - White

Other places
forlifedesign 

Red,White,Black: Harney and Sons

Red,Aqua,Chartreuse,Black: cookinstuff  

For the UK and some European countries, they do not ship to the US: sympathyteas  

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FORLIFE Stump Teapot by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.