Luticia (no url), recently left a comment here at Tea Party Girl I thought might be helpful to others:
Hello! Love your site – just found it today! My question is: can you brew your tea in the pot or kettle the water was boiled in? Or are they supposed to be only for boiling the water? I’ve just wondered if a teapot was always necessary. Thank you!
No, Luticia, a teapot is not always necessary. I currently use my Bodum Glass Stovetop Kettle
It can be a little tricky because when I take the lid off after the water’s boiling I have to watch out for the hot steam. But it is easier to skip the teapot brewing step, though I do transfer the tea to my carafe to keep it hot once I’ve brewed it.
The teapot addition to a daily tea ritual or tea party mainly serves an aesthetic purpose, like all tableware. Serving tea from a tea kettle just wouldn’t be the same as pouring from a favorite teapot. But remember, the most important part of serving tea is making a plan to keep it hot, either with a tea warmer , cozy, or carafe
Does that help? Anyone want to add a different perspective?
Just popping over to wish you a Happy Independence Day! Cheers!
Several years ago I bought a friend a carafe to keep her coffee warm. I think it will be a nice addition to my Christmas list, a carafe for ME!
(I had been wrapping a tea towel around my teapot to keep it warm, lol. It was not pretty but it worked.)
This is very good to know! I wonder, could I put the loose tea leaves in the kettle and then pour it through a strainer into the carafe instead of using a filter?
A comment to Lisa (stop and smell the chocolates) in regard to loose leaf tea brewed in a kettle. It is possible to pour brewed tea that has not been confined in a tea sac or containing device. The problem with this would be if you were not pouring all the tea out of the kettle at once after it has reached the proper brewing time.
Tea that is over brewed will become bitter and even undrinkable. Timing the tea properly is one of the most important things about making tea.
I’ve never understood why a teapot is needed in addition to a kettle. It does seem like it’s dictated by tradition from the past few hundred years, that the kettle’s on the heat and the pot is on the table. It’s not easy to find a kettle that would be suitable for getting leaves in and out of, now that I think of it. It would be more trouble probably trying to find one than it would be just buy both accessories. –Teaternity