I love a good cup of tea.  What started out as a kid with the bagged Saladas and Liptons has turned into a household with over fifty varieties of teas.  Most of these are looseleaf.  Some are still bagged.

When I first got into looseleaf teas, I had no idea how complicated the world of tea could be.  Tea is like another culture all on its own, and pulls people from all backgrounds together into one large heap of differences and preferences.

Right now I have a small, but growing, collection of teapots, strainers, cups and glasses, gaiwans, spoons, and drip catchers.  I also have a carafe and a water kettle, a couple gongfu-style bamboo trays, and a package of lemon honey sticks as well as a box of sugar cubs to put in their respective teas.  But what is truly necessary for just about any tea, any time?  Here’s my list.

1. -Two teapots, with the deepest strainers I can find.  These would collectively hold enough liquid to serve all the people I might have over at the same time.  The reason I’d want the strainers to reach the bottom of the teapot is so that I can make smaller amounts of tea in the pot.  This is also the reason for having two pots instead of one... the smaller they are, the easier it is to make smaller amounts of tea.  I can also remove the strainers and put them directly in my cups, if needed.
   

1. -Something to heat water in.  If you have a microwave, make sure your teapots are microwaveable, and there you go.  Otherwise, a kettle is best, or, use a saucepan.
   

2. -A small plate or an extra cup.  This is for catching drips from the strainers.
   

3. -Cups.  That sort of goes without saying.  Note:  the shorter they are, the more likely it is you can use your teapot strainers in them without losing them.  However, some folks like LOTS of tea in their cups, so bigger cups might be appropriate.  Good reason to have smaller teapots!
   

4. -Spoons.  I’ve found that a lot of my friends put stuff into their teas.  Even I do on occasion.  Get spoons ready if you need to stir stuff into your tea.
   

My favourite teapot is the PersonaliTea from Adagio.  It’s about 21oz, so it holds just under three cups of tea.  It’s easy to clean, has a good spout, includes a decent strainer, and may even be microwaveable.