I'm going to tell you why your tea tastes like cardboard, but no longer will after using this tea infuser. To start, I became an avid fine tea and herbal infusion drinker 9 years ago in 2011. I am an herbalist, and the tools we use actually matter when it comes to brewing herbal blends that aren't bitter and tasteless yet retain their medicinal qualities.. The vessel in which you brew is VERY important as well, and seeing as 95% of herbs come loose leaf and bulk, not individually bagged, its important to have great tools such as this stainless steel brew basket. Metal brewers leach iron and shavings into your tea reacting with the natural minerals present in the tea! This is NO bueno!

Anywho, I often need to brew a lot of medicinal tea for myself or my clients. I've used mesh strainers, reusable cotton tea bags, silicone tea infusers, the stainless steel ball single cup tea infuser, kettles with the infusion basket inside, etc. You name it, I've tried it. Nothing comes close to how much I absolutely love THIS tea infuser. It fits perfect on my tea cup, which is 3.25" in diameter. PERFECT for a single cup of tea. Not only that, It fits darn near perfect on small mouthed 1 quart mason jars with the lid on!!! That means on the days I want 2.5 cups of tea, I just add 3 more tsp of looseleaf tea into my Teaeer Tea Infuser Basket, put it in my mason jar, pour the water over the herbs, and BOOM. 3 large servings of tea for me, or 2 generous servings of tea for a couple. The silicon finish on the underside of the handles and the rim of the lid are genius. It keeps all the aromatic, flavor bursting, healthful oils in your tea, so you're not drinking flavorless cardboard water. This is very apparent in blends with natural limonene, menthol, and eucalyptol oils found in teas such as peppermint, eucalyptus, lemon ginger, chai, and earl grey. Now you know why your tea was horrid. You let all the flavorful oils out when you brewed without the LID on!!!! The silicon finish on the handles and lid also creates a seal with cup, keeping your tea hot and those precious oils in.

Stop drinking cardboard water and brew your tea with lids on people!!! I'm so grateful this brew basket has this fabulous lid. Use it. On the days I'm crampy because of menstruation, and I need a bunch of red raspberry leaf, I chuck a small handful of the herbs in brew basket, put it in my quart jar, and brew. I have enough tea for the next 3 hours and by then most of my cramps are gone. (Not to mention it tastes like a white tea!)

I use this tea infuser EVERY. DAY. and I don't foresee myself stopping in the summer. I'll just brew extra strong green iced tea and dilute it using this basket. Tea all year made easy!