Bodum Pavina Double-Wall Thermo Glasses

    A cup review….really? Yes. Why not, cups are important. Without cups how would you drink things, ok maybe out of your hands, but try pulling a shot of espresso into your hands. “Warning do not attempt, if you do you’re an idiot, and don’t try to sue me, you have been warned“! Plus you wouldn’t want to serve your cappuccino or a nice cup of Assam tea in a paper cup, we are not charbucks or a gas station. Ok enough of that, on to the review. First off, double wall cups do hold heat better, it has to do with the second law of thermodynamics. The short of it is that heat moves to cold. So how does the cup being double walled help? Well there is a pocket of air. In general air doesn’t conduct heat all that well so it takes longer for it to reach the second(or outer )wall. Verses a regular cup which once the hot liquid is in the cup, it begins conduction as the heat moves from the liquid to the cup and eventually your hand or table. By having only air, and a small rim where the two walls meet you slow the cooling. Also, it works in reverse with cold stuff and there will be no sweating of your drink.
    Ok, I think that is enough science for now. The glasses have a good capacity, in this case 8.5oz’s. They also sell a 2oz and all the way up to a 15oz. They make a good glass for espresso because you can clearly see how much crema you got in your shot, and there is enough room for either a cappuccino or latte. Contrary to the way they look they are quite durable. I have had mine for over 2 years and the only damage is the Bodum name on the bottom has worn away, not really a problem. They are light, but they don’t feel cheap. The glasses feel good in the hand(though I cant help but want to try crushing one in my hand). Also the lip is a good shape, and they are easy to drink out of. They sit rather stable, and you would be hard pressed to tip one. One problem is that there is no saucer made by Bodum. The glasses are mouth blown so each is a little different. I have one that is larger and can hold more than the rest. It’s a little warped, nothing to extreme, but it is noticeable. As for the price its not to bad, two for a MSRP of  $24.00, but they can usually be had for $17.00and as low as $12.00. Over all a nice straightforward glass that holds heat quite well.

And the Pros
1.Stable not easy to tip.
2.Easy to clean. They are dishwasher safe, though I wouldn’t.
3.Relatively strong.
4.Microwave safe
5.No sweating.
6.Holds heat very well.

Yup the Cons
1.Each is slightly different.
2.No saucer.
3.They are only sold in a set of two.
4.Could be broken if you use a metal spoon , as the inner wall is thinner.
5.Kinda of pricey.



Amazon Links:
Bodum Pavina Double-Wall Thermo Glasses, Set of 2

Other places to buy:
greatinfusions 

And
Second law of thermodynamics

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Bodum Pavina Double-Wall Thermo Glasses by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0

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.

Tea Tins

These storage tins are great, they have a uv blocking lid that is hinged with a latch which makes an air tight seal, each tin will hold 17.84Cubic inches or about 4oz of tea in the case of Assam Melody and Ceylon Sonata, with out crushing the leaves. the weight of tea that they can hold will differ with the size and shape of the tea. The over all dimensions are 3.5inches in diameter by 3.25inches tall, as best as I could measure.

You can order them here at adagio

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Tea Tins by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.