Coffee Filters and Tea Bags → All Kinds of Things!

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This started out fairly easy and then got more challenging. I had no problem reducing my coffee waste but tea was a whole other thing. 
Let's talk coffee: I've had a French press for years because it's convenient for camping. I can't speak to how to modify a home pore over, but let's assume you're currently using your standard Mr. Coffee. A French press is just as easy to me because you're still putting coffee in something and then adding water. I have an electric kettle that I use for hot water and I can make as much or as little coffee as I need to at any time. The benefit of this is that the electric kettle is also good for tea water, and I drink both coffee and tea regularly. 
If you have never seen an electric kettle, it looks like... a kettle but it also has an auto-off switch.
My French press is wet because I just washed it (told you I was clean).
If you are dedicated to your percolator, friends of mine have used a metal filter for years and find it convenient. Having no experience with this, I did some Googling and found this post from JavaPresse which discusses the different types of filters (including cloth!) and their impact on taste.
Tea bags have been a challenge as they are portable and convenient for work. I’ve been switching to loose teas and have landed on a variety of methods to handle my tea in various situations. I have some tea pots, but living alone means I frequently only need one cup of tea at a time and making an entire pot would be silly. 
This beautiful Brown Betty was a gift, but is much too large to be useful for one person drinking tea alone.

 The tea basket and cover have worked well for me at home because it allows my tea to flow freely. This is important because I drink a lot of herbal teas that have large pieces of fruit that have not worked for me with smaller tea “spoons” or balls. I am 85% certain that I purchased this from Stash Tea which is also where I get most of my loose leaf teas as well.


It covers the tea to keep it toasty and then it holds your strainer with no mess!

 Similarly, my go-to for work tea is the glass carafe with a smaller tea basket. 
My on the go tea kit - carafe with strainer & canister of loose leaf tea.

For Christmas this year, my sister also gave me an assortment of Tea Drops, which I really liked, but which are relatively expensive for tea. There is no tea bag, but each one comes in an individual little (presumably recyclable) bag so I’m not sure how much you’re saving on garbage. I did like all the flavors in the assortment, but found them a bit sweet as they are pre-sweetened and I usually don't sweeten my tea.
What did NOT work for me has been these smaller cloth bags that I got in the mail with a tea subscription I was using. They are a great idea, but it’s almost impossible to get them clean. I’ve been using them for other things and occasionally as simmer bags for spices in soups, but definitely not for tea. I have also not yet found a tea ball I liked, but I keep hoping. If you’ve had more success, let me know what you’ve done!
No no no no no. Finger for size.


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