Are the holes small enough to do loose leaf tea without an infuser basket?
2090821
The holes at the base of the spout are appropriately small, though loose tea would probably go through them. The holes "are not pin hole" sized like you would see on an infuser. Stephanie in Virginia Beach
2090822
No. I use an infuser in mine when I don't use bags. The spout is completely open so leaf will simply pour out.
2250340
I bought it for my husband & he uses tea bags. Hasn't even used the mesh basket for loose leaf tea. I don't think the mesh basket is tight enough to hold a powder tea in. Maybe you could but the powdered tea in cheese cloth & then in the mesh basket?
1915336
Yes, you can use it without the infuser. The infuser can come off-- it screws into the top.
1815216
It can be used without the infuser but I don't know if the lid will fit as well. Have not tried that.
1320981
It would do a decent job with the black tea, since Teavana teas are pretty coarse. If you try the teas with rooibos or herbal or fruit teas you'll likely end up with a cup of debris. The straining lid has circular holes on one side that are about 1/8" on the portion with the smaller holes, so it isn't going to strain fine tea. There are some teapots on Amazon.com which have a staining basket made for tea. This one is better suited for straining peas and pasta.
2080848
Olga - thanks for your question. Our infuser is designed for loose leaf tea. In some cases if your are using ground teas or fine teas with herb or other flavoring that is small you will get some debris in your cup. Also some smoked teas that are brittle and break into small pieces may also have some issues. Hope that helps.
1259082
Ryan, ours did not come with a tea infuser. With the strainer on the spout, you don't need one for the blooming tea which is what we use it for. We haven't tried loose tea but it should work for that also. Amazon has one like we normally use for loose tea.
191504
Yes, I'd say you can store tea bags, no holes. If your cabinets are older, this won't work. If your cabinets are flat underneath- more like IKEA cabinets, it would work fine.
1468882
you can use it with an infuser but it is not required. I put tea bags and let them steep for about 5 mins with hot water .
1468881
I use tea bags with my pot but I would think that you could not just use loose tea with this pot unless you like to read tea leaves. There are several small holes leading to the spout.
654751
I don't think it would handle loose leaf tea well. The slots are a medium size slot.
1618478
I don't see why not although you would have to use tea bags. Loose tea would get through the strainer insert since the holes are not that fine.
1539534
Yes , if it's a very fine leaf tea it will probably leak through the infuser holes.
1764448
No you need to use tea that isn't finely ground. The holes will allow some tea leaves to escape I find that fine ground doesn't work that well.
1297373
The infuser basket is removable. I find that the basket is fine for bulky teas, just let the tea steep for longer and save on herbs in the long run! I do think that the basket could be replaced with a longer one but find it unnecessary do to the reason mentioned above. Less is more. : )
2070564
Yes, the infuser actually screws into the lid so you can use it without the infuser.
1757074
Yes! you can put the lid on without the infuser too....enjoy the blooming tea...I love this pot