Norpro Decorative Tea Strainer with Cup

We got 3 of these and then my mother and my husband's mother both wanted one so we had to go out and get more! They seem to be very popular.

This is a well made strainer, and for $4 you can't go wrong.... I use it to catch any stray coffee grounds that may make it out of my french press while decanting. It works perfectly for that purpose.

I purchased this to use as an over-cup strainer for coffee or tea. I figured I would pour whatever I had brewed through this strainer into a mug, but unfortunately, this is much smaller than the typical mouth of any cup or mug and doesn't hold enough tea leaves or coffee grains to be practical. It fills up quickly and you have to dump out the contents into the cup a few times before you get a full cup. I suppose it is useful when pouring from a kettle with a small spout (thus creating a small stream of liquid) and if there are not too many leaves or grains. I re-read the item description to determine if it specifically described the size and all I could see was the length measurement. Perhaps I missed it, but I would suggest that you make sure you have a specific use for this before purchasing.

I love this strainer for single cups of tea and I especially like the little cup to hold the strainer. It's just perfect. This is practical, of a good quality and priced well. At Amazon's price I have bought several so each cup in the service has its own.

Don't pay attention to the reviewers who think that you brew tea in a tea strainer. You don't cook spaghetti in a spaghetti strainer. This is a tea strainer, made for pour loose leaf brews through AFTER you have brewed your tea, so that you don't wind up with leaves in your cup. This works great for Turkish Coffee as well.

So, basically you DO NOT place loose leaves in the wire mesh and pour hot water through it. Place the loose leaves in the hot water and brew them in the tea pot. Pour the tea that you have brewed to your taste through the strainer and into the cup and catch the loose leaves.