Tea Blog

As you may already know, the United Nations has declared 2013 the Year of the Novelty Tea Infuser. Well—not exactly. It seems the creators of novelty tea infusers don’t need any official designation to keep producing inventive and unusual designs year after year. If I had kept track over time, one recent standout would certainly be the Teatube test tube-style tea infuser designed for a laboratory-themed brewing experience, which is a clever concept in its own right.

Of course, if you could inhale your tea instead of drinking it, you might not need an infuser at all. According to this report on experimental inhalable tea concepts developed in London, a tea house has explored the idea of vaporizing tea and serving it as a breathable mist. Visitors could experience the beverage by inhaling it through a straw.

While some of the proposed benefits—such as avoiding burned tongues or rapidly delivering antioxidants—may sound debatable, the idea itself highlights just how far experimentation with tea can go. For a related concept, see this discussion of tea used in alternative formats such as smoked or vaporized preparations.

Tea is even making its way into unexpected industries. For example, this article about Lincoln’s luxury showroom strategy using scent marketing notes that the company has introduced a signature fragrance combining Earl Grey tea with floral notes to enhance the customer experience.

For a final example of inventive tea-related design, consider the Tipcup innovative tea brewing device with adjustable steep control. This compact gadget allows users to control the strength of their tea by physically tilting the cup during steeping. Learn more in this overview of Tipcup tea brewing technology and product designs.

Whether practical or purely novelty-driven, these creative approaches to tea continue to show how versatile—and sometimes surprising—the world of tea can be.

See more of William I. Lengeman’s articles in this archive of tea blog articles by the author.

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