A Better Cuppa

Running low on loose tea, yesterday I bought a new kind. Lately I've enjoyed a full pot of tea almost every afternoon. But the grocery stores in New Bern have woefully-lacking tea selections. Nice, loose tea in real metal tins? Never! At WalMart, the best deal was clearly a 1/2 pound of Lipton loose tea in a box. So I bought it. The label stated it was orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea. I took it home and poured it into my purple Twinings Darjeeling tin.

I felt like a cheat because I really love Darjeeling. Earl Grey is too strong. I've been drinking English Breakfast, but it's strong as well, especially when the leaves sit in the pot.
I'm here to say that the Lipton was delightful. Not too strong, lovely flavor. I'm sure the Tea Snobs out there will turn their noses up at it, but there you go. I like it.
You'll notice the fuzzy tea cozy above. I made it several years ago. It's okay for a tall teapot, but for that shorter brown pot, it's too floppy and too big. Plus ... well, there's something unpleasant about all that fuzz when you're drinking tea. All that to say, lately I've been wanting a new cozy, so this afternoon I crocheted a new one, designed to fit that black pot. Here goes:

I worked on it with the pot sitting nearby, fitting it as I went along. I watched Foyle's War on the laptop as I did.

Here's my beef with tea cozies. If they drape down from the top, you must lift them off entirely in order to pour. That's why I made that fuzzy one with openings for the spout and handle. I prefer cozies that come up from the bottom, ones that you set the pot on top of and somehow secure above. I had one like that. It secured with a big elastic scrunchy on top, but I've misplaced it. And the scrunchy was a pain to keep track of, being separate from the cozy itself.
I like this one I just made. The two sides come up and attach to the knob on the lid with simple buttonhole-like closures. They slip on and off easily, so I can get into the pot if I need to, but it stays very secure.

I may be making more of these. It fits so perfectly that I can keep it on the pot except when it's in the dish water. Yay!
Update: I was a little unhappy with the fit on this pot -- there's a good bit of exposed pot surface on either end. so I put the cozy on a slightly smaller pot, and ... tada!!! Much better fit! Now I want to make yet another cozy that will fit the pot in the photo above, just right. I'll keep you posted.