8 Best Tea Infusers, Tested by Kitchen Gear Experts

OXO Brew Tea Infuser Basket is easy to use and easy to clean, and it performed well in our Lab's testing process. It produced a very flavorful and balanced cup of English Breakfast tea, but we did notice that there was some sediment lingering in the cup afterward. We love that this basket infuser allows for tea leaves to easily move freely and expand while steeping, instead of being compressed inside of a small infuser. One consumer tester said, "In comparison to a ball, I liked that this gave the leaves more space, especially the flowers. This made for a cup of tea with a slightly more robust taste."

This tea infuser features a dual-function lid. Use it to cap the infuser while it's steeping and then as a resting place for your infuser after it's steeped. Silicone was thoughtfully added to high-touch places so that they remain cool to the touch, and all pieces are dishwasher-safe.

The Tuffy Steeper from The Tea Spot is an affordable, compact and durable silicone tea infuser. It comes in four different colors and its lid doubles as a saucer to rest the infuser after steeping. In our Lab testing, we found this infuser was very easy to fill and clean. It produced a cup of tea that was full of flavor, with some lingering astringency, but we did notice some sediment at the bottom of our cup. "I like that it collapses for compact storage and toting," said a consumer tester. "I liked the clever design: The handle for lifting your steeper out of your tea also served as a way to hold the lid in place during travel. And the lid doubles as a drip tray." Another consumer tester did notice that when the tea infuser is resting in a mug, it can be hard to see how much water the mug contains.

A GH Tea Award-winner, this DavidsTea Nordic Mug brewed up a great-tasting cup of tea with its included infuser. The tea was balanced in flavor with barely any sediment at the bottom of the mug. We also appreciated the design of the double-walled glass with an easy-to-grip handle and lid that doubled as a place to rest the tea infuser after steeping. A consumer tester enjoyed that she could watch the dried flowers in her loose-leaf tea bloom by peering through the mug's glass lid. The glass pieces are dishwasher-safe, but the tea infuser requires hand washing. The stainless steel infuser was still easy to clean since tea leaves and sediment didn't linger inside the small holes.

Though it's the most expensive tea infuser on this list, the Tea Maker from Breville has plenty of bells and whistles that make it the ultimate tea-infusing appliance. This electric tea kettle brews your tea at the temperature of your choice, and it features five pre-programmed settings for black, green, herbal, oolong and white tea so your tea steeps at the ideal temperature to bring out the subtleties of the leaves. The built-in timer controls the steep time, plus it allows the user to adjust between mild, medium and strong brews. It features a large removable tea infuser basket that automatically lowers and retracts based on the programmed time to prevent over-steeping.

This teapot from The Tea Spot can hold up to 34 ounces of tea which is about three to four teacups. This stoneware teapot features a satin finish, a stainless steel handle and a large stainless steel basket infuser. In our Lab testing, we appreciated that the stainless steel infuser has very fine holes that strained out tea leaves and sediment well and produced a delicious cup of English breakfast tea that wasn't astringent. There aren't many things we found at fault with this teapot, but one consumer tester stated, "I wish you could heat it on the stove rather than have to boil water separately and pour it in, it adds an extra step."

While you can certainly brighten someone's day with a cup of tea, a Genuine Fred ManaTea infuser can make the gesture even more adorable. This cute silicone tea infuser peers over your mug while it steeps your tea. In our Lab testing, we found that some big tea leaves came out of the infuser, but no sediment escaped. It brewed a very clean-tasting cup of tea. While this infuser is a little harder to clean by hand because of its nooks and crannies, you can simply empty it and place it in the dishwasher.

This GH Tea Award-winning tea-infusing travel mug from Fire Belly is designed to brew loose leaves right in the bottle without an additional infuser attachment — and you simply push down on the plunger insert to stop the infusion. The insert also doubles as an ice holder. In our Lab tests, we liked the markings on the inside of the cup that suggested how far we should fill it for hot and cold tea. It is slim and comfortable to hold and didn’t leak in our tests. It also brewed a smooth and delicious cup of tea.

Our consumer testers enjoyed using this as well. One consumer tester noted, "I did use this item on the go. Once the tea was ready, I was able to put the cap on and take it with me. It kept my tea hot for a very long time." Take note that this mug should be hand-washed and that it has a pretty narrow interior, requiring a bottle brush for thorough cleaning.

While a little different from a traditional tea infuser, a tea steeper is a great alternative for sediment-free tea. Simply fill the steeper with loose-leaf tea and hot water, then let it steep. Once you're done steeping, place it on top of your desired mug and press down to release the tea. In our Lab testing, we found this model from DavidsTea was easy to use and great for making one cup of tea at a time, rather than a whole pot. It produced a cup of English Breakfast tea that was completely clear or sediment or tea leaves — and it tasted earthy and complex. This steeper is not dishwasher-safe, and it requires extra care when cleaning it because of the nooks and crannies in the bottom of the steeper where tea leaves can get stuck. It's also larger than most infusers and requires more room for storage.