Brewing Basket, M

When I started looking for a good infuser, I was a little overwhelmed by all the different kinds, and really it didn't look like any of them could keep the loose leaves out of the cup. I came across this almost by accident, since it's listed as a "brewing basket" rather than a tea infuser. I'm so glad I found it! I bought it based on the glowing reviews, and they were right. This is exactly what I was looking for. The basket is big enough for the leaves to uncurl and brew properly, and the mesh is so tiny, there is NO spillage of tea leaves into the cup. Literally none. It made the perfect cup of tea. I like the mesh being all the way around, including the bottom, because it makes it easy to clean. It's well built and I'm sure it will last a long time. The cap is great both as a cover and as a coaster to keep the counter clean. I really love this little thing. When I read all the reviews, I was going back and forth on which size to order. A lot of the reviews said to just go for the large, but the cups I use for tea aren't huge. They are the cups that came with my set of dishes. I ended up ordering the medium size, and it's exactly right. I'm including a couple of pictures in case it can help someone who is unsure of which size to order. If you're looking for a great tea infuser, buy this one! It's perfect.

Used for steeping tea, got another one for infusing coffee after the single cup coffee brewer died. This makes a better cup of coffee with less hassle and more cost effective. I can adjust brew strength via blend capacity in the basket. Design is perfect for cup brewing and for easy clean up. Basket is stainless steel, lid is black plastic (I use it as a cradle to hold the basket after use). I brew 20 ozs of coffee at a time, taking up 1/3 of the basket capacity. Fits into regular size coffee cup and mug.

I'm 61 years old and have been camping and backpacking all my life. At home I'm a very picky coffee drinker but when backpacking, I just need a little caffeine so usually I make do with instant. Now that I'm older though, I don't really backpack much anymore--now it's motorcycle camping and car camping. So I've tried several different products for camp coffee: I have a small french press made from lexan that works pretty good but it takes up space and one more thing rattling around in my cookset; I have a one-cup cone-style paper filter holder that sits on top of my cup but you have to carry papers with you, and again it's one more thing in the cookset; and I have a little espresso maker (I actually have two of these) that will do two shots quickly, but its kind of a PITA. Now I have this Finum basket. What I like is the basket stores INSIDE my plastic coffee mug so I know exactly where to find it. I just put a rubber band around the mug to hold the filter inside, then toss it into my kit. Then, making coffee is so easy. For my favorite mug I know that if I fill the basket (a medium) a little less than half way with coffee, put the basket in my mug, then pour in the water, I'm gonna have a cup of coffee almost as good as a home brew. While it's brewing I can be doing other things. It's really foolproof, and the coffee quality is going to be consistent as long as I do my job consistently. I also like that the grounds fall out of the basket with an easy tap, then just a little bit of water (which sometimes can be scarce at a dry campsite) finishes rinsing out the remaining grounds. I have no suggestions for how to improve this product except I will say that I have no use for the plastic lid that doubles as a base. I leave that at home.

I use it for loose tea and yerba mate. Very good quality. It came inside a box. A free sample of a black tea blend it was included. Item made in Germany. It fits inside a cup, glass or tea pot. I recommend this product because it is made of stainless steel mesh, doesn't release any plastic particles and loose tea is less expensive than tea bags.

My Finum brewing basket came looking used or at least without good quality control. There are a couple scratches on the lid, a part that looks a little melted, and there are areas on the black plastic with the gold paint that was used on the stainless steel mesh. I'm pretty sure the thin linear cuts on one side of the lid are part of the product design but not the two blunt scratches. It works fine, but I ordered and expected a clean new item. Edit: I received a replacement and it has the paint on the same parts. Looking at some of the review pictures, I assume this is just common for Finum's brewing baskets. Only recommendation is that Finum improve their QA/QC.

Both of these one cup infusers are first rate, and reviews reflect that. But which is best for you? Is steeping convenience and easy cleanup most important, or do you prefer an infuser with gleaming industrial design that's a countertop showpiece? The Finum and Oxo both have their advantages. Read on to learn more: We've had all sorts of single cup infusers over the years, all with small annoyances. Recently, I came across the Oxo and was initially very pleased, believing it to be the best single cup infuser I'd ever found. As tea infusers go, it’s stunningly beautiful, Museum of Modern Art worthy, and its solid metal weave is tight so no tea grounds find their way into the tea. The Oxo sits confidently on any sized cup, and most importantly keeps my fingers from getting burned. But a week after getting the Oxo, I began to realize my sculptural gem had a growing issue for me. When shaking out the loose tea leaves, then rinsing under the faucet, a couple of leaves would always be left behind, inside the strainer. Because the mesh is solid, no pushing against it from the outside can help get the stray leaves out. Invariably, I eventually have to dip my index finger in to easily remove extra leaves. When I ordered the Oxo, I had also considered the Finum, the iconic single cup tea infuser that’s proven and well loved. It’s not as stunning, but is still plenty attractive, yet mostly utilitarian in appearance. So, I bought the Finum for a direct “cup to cup” comparison. Sure enough, the Finum is easier to clean. A stray leaf or two can sometimes also stick inside, but a rinse from the faucet from the outside in typically dislodges the leaves. The Finum’s mesh is flexible, and gold in color, but still solidly in place and not likely to become warped looking in time like some other, cheaper single cup strainers. Like the Oxo, its fine mesh keeps tea grounds from entering the cup. A thoughtful, favorite feature for both brands is the inclusion of the cover that doubles as a drip tray. The Oxo infuser sometimes sticks to it’s tray. Something about metal on metal adheres it temporarily but a quick rinse separates the pieces easily. The Oxo’s handles are a little wider and I never feel the heat when lifting off the top of the cup. Because the Finum is not as wide, depending on cup diameter, I can sometimes feel a little bit of heat when lifting it off the cup. But never a burn, and really not an issue. Also, I do get a little more dribbling sometimes from the Oxo and I’m not quite sure why. Less of those pesky occasional drops to wipe around the cup area with the Finum. I do not recommend the balls with chain, or the two piece spoon like infusers. Besides being a pain to clean, your tea leaves will not properly expand and taste will be affected. Thus, although I’m a freak for great design, and a designer myself, function over form wins out this time. I’m keeping the Finum. What a little gem!

Brewing baskets are so much easier to use with loose-leaf teas than tea balls or clam-shell spoon types. Just drop it in your cup, spoon in the tea and fill with water. If you make your tea in the microwave as I do - (I know, I hear purists gasping!!) - make sure the basket is short enough that the 'ears' of the basket sit on the top of the mug so you can fill water to the top of the exposed mesh so it doesn't over heat - a good reason to get the 'medium' instead of 'large'. I rinse it clean in the kitchen sink, sending the leaves into the disposal. The 'lid' makes a good drying rest, storing the basket upside-down. I've been using these for years. I only had to replace my original basket after brewing my early morning cup without any water in the mug!

It works really good for loose tea. It looks strange to see yellow liquid(green tea) with no small leaves at the bottom like I was so used to see but all I see is just a hint of powder in the cup. I also tried coffee. I wasn't so impressed by this. There's a lot of coffee bean silt at the bottom and foamy residue at the top. I'll stick with paper filter for now even though I'm not thrilled by the idea of throwing away disposable paper each time. I thought about deducting one star from this but since I didn't buy it for the coffee, I left it. Over all, it's an excellent product, design, material and built-wise. I brewed tea and coffee then tea again one after another but smell of coffee didn't seem to stay on it. Between each time, all I had to do was rinse it with water, no soap. Now the detailed dimension I wanted to know before I bought it but I couldn't find. Height: 75mm Height to the underside of the top rim(this decides if the basket sits on the bottom of the cup or the top of the cup): 73mm Foot print: 47mm in diameter, quickly tapered(about 45 degree angle) to 52mm(bottom of the mesh cylinder). Top of the mesh cylinder: 57mm in diameter Above the mesh cylinder but underside of the rim(this decides the minimum diameter of the cup when the basket sits on top of the cup): 62mm in diameter. This means, if you have a cup little smaller than 62mm inside diameter at the top, the basket may not go down all the way but maybe partly goes in the cup. Under 57mm, you probably won't get a good result. Far end of the handle to the opposite: 98mm Length of each handle: 18mm This means, if you have a cup between 62mm and 80mm in diameter at the top, the basket sits on the top without positioning. Between 80mm and 98mm, you'll need careful positioning of the basket or the basket will fall in the cup. Above 98mm, it'll always fall, unless the basket sits on the bottom of the cup. *update* (2-20-11) Sample photos have been posted for visual comparison. I hope it'll help your decision making better.

Der Dauerfilter ist wirklich praktisch und hochwertig verarbeitet. Er lässt sich leicht befüllen, schließt sauber und gibt weder Geschmack noch Gerüche ab. Tee und Kaffee werden aromatisch, ohne dass feine Partikel durchrutschen. Besonders gut gefällt mir, dass er sich schnell ausspülen lässt und sofort wieder einsatzbereit ist. Umweltfreundlich, langlebig und eine tolle Alternative zu Papierfiltern.

Very nice tea brewer. The super fine mesh lets me make a cup of almost dust-like Ceylon tea without any of the tea leaves ending up in my tea cup. Perfect!

Good product

È il terzo che compro. Per chi consuma tante tazze di tè, è molto comodo e a differenza da quelli in acciaio non arrugginiscono

Un objet qui (re)donnera tout l'intérêt de déguster votre thé en vrac, sans perte de feuilles dans votre tasse. En sachet, le thé est plus onéreux au kilo que pour le vrac et sa qualité est moindre, car le mode de culture est différent et il y a souvent des arômes artificiels pour relever le goût des débris de feuilles contenues dans les sachets ; à moins d'acheter en bio... Ici, avec cet infuseur bon marché et solide, vous amortissez immédiatement votre paquet de thé en vrac par rapport à la même contenance en sachet, qui plus est avec une qualité optimale ! Puisqu'il faut bien donner un avis négatif je dirai, c'est dommage que le couvercle ne ferme pas une fois posé sur le haut de l'infuseur. Ce n'est qu'une broutille, histoire d'équilibrer mon avis. Assez large pour aller dans la majorité des tasses ou mug moyen, cet infuseur sobre est fait pour celles et ceux qui veulent avoir un produit simple et efficace, facile à nettoyer et qui fait parfaitement ce pourquoi il a été conçu. Mon conseil : pour les thés "blanc et vert", faites frémir votre eau pour ne pas dénaturer les feuilles. Pour vos thés noirs, vous pouvez faire bouillir. Le thé noir n'est qu'un thé vert qui a fermenté et qui demande une température élevée pour pouvoir faire ressortir ses arômes et ses propriétés. En résumé, plus le thé est de couleur clair, moins chaude devra être votre eau, inversement donc quand on s'approche des thés "sombres". Le thé est un formidable antioxydant, nécessaire au bon maintient de nos cellules, responsable du vieillissement de notre corps. Pour finir, le thé étant la 2e boisson la plus consommé au monde après l'eau, il faut privilégier davantage le thé en vrac qui fait vivre dignement les personnes qui les cultivent, bien plus qu'avec le thé en sachet... Écologiquement, humainement, gustativement et pour ses propriétés, le thé en vrac gagne sur tous les plans. Santé, éthique, plaisir pour son choix impressionnant et facilement accessible, le thé en vrac ne se refuse plus avec cet infuseur !