How to Use a Tea Infuser

Tea infusers are a perfect way to brew loose leaf tea quickly, easily, and mess-free. 

Tea drinkers who buy their tea loose-leaf as opposed to bagged will use tea infusers to steep the perfect cup. Tea infusers can also be used for custom blends of tea leaves and other herbs.

Tea infusers can brew any tea directly into a cup, mug, or tumbler, and are often built for single-servings instead of large batches of tea. Their mesh linings allow the flavor of the tea to steep fully without releasing any of the leaves into your cup.

Tea infusers are often the go-to way to brew loose leaf tea due to their maximized convenience and customizability. Learn how to use one here.

Using a tea infuser requires a few essential items:

• Your tea infuser (of course!)
• Loose tea leaves
• Boiling water
• Your mug or tumbler of choice

When using a tea infuser, the recommended ratio of tea leaves to water is 1 teaspoon of loose leaves to 8 ounces of water.

However, this ratio can vary depending on the type of tea you’re brewing. For stronger teas--like black tea--we recommend sticking to the above ratio to avoid too-strong or over bitter tea.

For weaker concentrated teas like herbal tea, try adding additional teaspoons depending on how much flavor you want in your cup.

If the mesh is fine enough, some tea infusers can also brew ground coffee. In this case, your ratio should be 1-2 tablespoons of ground coffee to 6 ounces of hot water.

Tea infusers come in many shapes and sizes--some sit at the opening of your cup, others drop to the bottom in a vessel. Some even look like animals.

We recommend a simple stainless steel tea infuser that fits directly into your drinking cup. This variety of tea infuser allows for easy cleanup and efficiency.

Swig Life’s stainless steel tea infuser has key features that make for the perfect brewing experience. To brew loose leaf tea in the tea infuser, do the following:

1. Place the tea infuser over the opening of a mug, tumbler, or our other specialty fitted cups. Note: our stainless steel infuser is fitted to the dimensions of our 12oz Combo Coolers, 14oz Stemless Cups, 18oz Travel Mugs, and 22oz and 20oz Tumblers.
2. Load desired amount of tea leaves (or ground coffee!) into the mesh basket of the tea infuser.
3. Pour hot water over the leaves and into the cup.
4. Cover the cup and strainer with the provided silicone cover. Let steep based on your tea’s stated instructions.
5. Once steep time has completed, remove the tea infuser from your cup. To avoid leakage from the wet tea leaves, place the strainer on the silicone cover.
6. Sip and enjoy your fresh brewed drink!

Our stainless steel tea infuser is dishwasher safe on the top rack. If hand washing, wash gently and do not use bleach or abrasive cleaners.