Fred MANATEA Silicone Tea Infuser Fantastic Product !! My favorite animal is the Manatee. When I found out there was a “Penny” tea infuser I had to have it. I drink a lot of tea and haven’t had any luck with the ball infusers, whether they are metal or silicone. I usually buy empty, unbleached tea bags for my loose tea (I mostly drink loose-leaf tea) and pieces always slipped through. Most of my teas are blends that have fine pieces of herbs or whatnot, and this Manatee infuser doesn’t let anything sneak out! He’s SO cute hanging on the side of the cup, and I can still kind of place my silicone lid over the top of the mug to keep the heat and steam in.
If I had a complaint, it’s that the top part of the holes is sometimes exposed, so maybe if his head was a little longer he would hang down lower into the mug. I tend to add sugar, honey and sometimes milk if it’s a chai and need some extra space at the top, so he gets left a little exposed at the top. You also usually need to leave a decent amount of space on top if you’re using a thermal mug with a lid.
Either way, this little guy brightens my days and works well. I usually rinse him out with warm water and give it a little scrubbing with soap; especially with black teas and Earl Grey, as they leave stains and lingering tea odors.
