Various
A 0.1 g Scale: twelve dollars to make every tea recipe correct
Every brewing instruction written in teaspoons is wrong, because leaf density varies enormously. A cheap scale fixes all of them permanently.
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The problem
A teaspoon measures volume. A teaspoon of rolled gunpowder green weighs roughly three times what a teaspoon of fluffy white peony weighs. Every recipe expressed in teaspoons is therefore right for one tea and wrong for the rest — and it is wrong in the direction that makes delicate teas taste like faintly flavoured water.
What to get
0.1 g resolution, a tare button, and a flat surface wide enough for a gaiwan. That is it. This is a commodity item and the twelve-dollar one is fine.
Training wheels, not a lifestyle
Weigh your tea for a week and pay attention to what three grams of each tea looks like in the tin. After that you will eyeball it accurately for the rest of your life. The scale earns its money in the first fortnight.
The verdict
The least exciting purchase in tea and one of the two or three most useful. Buy it with the infuser basket.
Best for anyone who has followed a brewing guide and still got a disappointing cup.
What works
- Makes every published brewing ratio actually work
- Tare function for brewing straight into a vessel
- Cheap and universally available
- Also fixes your coffee
What doesn't
- One more object on the counter
- Cheap units eat batteries if left on