Trying to travel while taking along your favorite beverage is always a tough process. You can always stop and pick up a $ 4 cup of your favorite beverage. That drink comes in a cheap plastic cup that will sweat all over your car and you. Alternatively, you can shop for a travel tea infuser and be prepared for your next road trip.
No matter if you are traveling 12 hours by car or spending the day shopping with friends. Take your travel tea infuser with you and have your favorite beverage at your fingertips.
I love having the tea I want with me and not having to settle for a store tea that’s made in bulk for the next 20 guests. I can do infused water or my favorite oolong. Whatever I want, I can take with me and not have to worry about finding a drink along the way.
Why use a travel tea infuser?
You don’t have to make long trips and hours on the road to use a tea infuser. I travel approximately 20 minutes to do any major shopping, and live 45 minutes from my children. Every time I get in my car (besides work), I take my travel tea infuser.
I love the fact that I can have any tea I want. While a travel tea infuser is great for loose leaf tea and you can even use your tea bags if you so choose. Then there is fruit. You can use water and add some fruit to make an infused water to enjoy wherever you go.
Why?
- I don’t have to stop and get a tea bag tea in a styrofoam cup with a plastic lid
- It stays warmer a lot longer
- I’m saving money
- Drinking healthier
- Because I can drink my tea, my way!
How to choose the best travel tea infuser
While choosing an infuser to travel with has a bit to do with personal preference. There are other things to consider. Each have it’s own positive and negative properties
There are three main materials that are used to make travel infusers:
Glass
- One of the better choices for a tea infuser. Choose one that is double-walled to keep your beverage warmer longer. It will also allow you to handle the beverage container without getting burned. Glass is also the healthier choice for sanitary reasons and is less toxic.
Metal
- A metal container can be hotter to the touch, thinner, and more lightweight. Of course, it’s not going to break like glass. Yet metal can cause your tea to take on a different taste and can stain more easily.
Plastic
- If you choose plastic, make sure it’s BPA-free. When the heated water comes in contact with plastic, it can release chemicals into your tea. Plastic may also leak the heat you want to save to keep your beverage warmer longer.
How much does it hold
- Travel Tea Infusers vary in size from about 12 to 18 ounces. What works for you? The ones I own are in the middle at around 14 ounces and work well for travel and work.
How big is the infuser
- This is important to get the proper infusion of leaf to water. What a waste to have too small an infuser, and your leaf does not infuse properly. You are throwing away precious tea. Make sure your infuser holds the amount of tea you want to use.
Ease of brewing and removal of the infuser
- If you have to wrestle with your travel mug to get the infuser out, it’s not going to be pretty. Loss of beverage and your leaves can leak into the container. Test your infuser out before you need it. Some infusers can stay inside the container, but you risk the chance of an over-brewed beverage.
Does it leak?
- It’s obvious, it can’t leak. Before you toss your leaky infuser, make sure you are putting the caps on. It’s the number one mistake made by infuser owners. Crooked caps make for a leaky travel tea infuser.
Length of time of travel
- You want to pick an infuser that has the right amount of time for infusion. It also has to stay warm enough for the time you are gone.
Does the container get too hot to handle?
- It’s not fun to touch a very hot container. Make sure your infuser is easy to handle. Does it contain a cover to help absorb the heat?
Will it fit in my car cup holder? (This is a big deal, trust me.)
Things to look for in a travel tea infuser
Infuser size may not be large enough
No room for the leaves to fully brew. Not releasing all the flavor can be a problem. If the tea leaves do not fully expand, then you will not get the full flavor of the tea. There are two ways to control this.
Larger infuser
Use fewer tea leaves
The container does not hold enough
It’s always a consideration about how much tea your infuser will hold. I want as much as I can get. You have to decide how big a container you need and how much it will hold. Make sure that you look at the ounces it will hold. A double-walled container may look the same size as another but may hold less because of the double walls.
The Top 5 Travel Tea Infusers
Pure Zen Tumbler Infuser
This glass travel infuser allows you to watch your tea brew right before your eyes. It also comes with a sleeve to keep your hands cool and your tea warm. I like the way both ends of the infuser come off to allow for easy cleaning. The filter is stainless steel with small perforations. The small perforations keep the tea leaf from seeping into your tea beverage (and mouth).
The size of the travel tea infuser fits in your cup holder. Makes for easy travel.
Easy to travel with and double-walled. The travel tea cup has a thermal sleeve keeping your beverage warmer long. The filter keeps the tea leaf in. You can also use this to brew cold tea. You can also brew fruit beverages by removing the filter and filling the container with fruit and covering it with water.
Pros:
- The sleeve helps keep your tea warm
- Durable
- BPA free
- Easy to remove filter
- Sturdy
- Safe
- Safe for both warm/cold beverages
- Double-walled odor-free glass
- Leakproof
- 1.2 pounds
- 2.8 x 2.8 x 9.4 inches
- Flat Lid (stands firm on surfaces)
- Stainless Steel
- Holds 13 ounces (400 ml)
Cons:
- Have to remove the entire lid to drink from
- May leak if the lid is not secured properly
- Infuser is thin
- Glass is tough, but can break
- O-rings in the cap are difficult to remove to clean
Dounguri Bamboo Travel Tea Tumbler
This lightweight tea tumbler is double-walled stainless steel. The double walls work to keep your beverage hot for 6-8 hours and chilled for 16-18 hours. Toxin-free as well as BPA free and bacteria-free. The infuser is built in for loose-leaf tea. You can also use a tea bag and forgo the strainer.
The bamboo gives this tumbler a natural look as well as a better grip. The bamboo also keeps your beverages temperature and your hands and fingers safe. Tumbler includes a long tea spoon. The lid is double-walled and vacuum sealed to keep your beverage hot or cold as well as sealed.
Pros:
- Easy to use and clean.
- Perfect size to fit in your cup holder and to take on your travels.
- Vacuum insulated
- 100% organic bamboo
- Double walled
- Strong
- Durable
- Leak proof
- No Sweating
- BPA Free
- 18/8 Stainless Steel
- 1.13 pounds
- 10.1 x 3.1 x 3.1
- 12,14, and 18 ounces
- 1 Year warranty
Cons:
- Drinking with the filter can be bothersome
- Bamboo can peel or chip
- The lid can come apart from the bamboo
- Secure lids so no leaking
- Seems to lose some insulation
- O O-ring is not secured in the lid
- No lip to avoid spilling while drinking
Grosche Chicago Soft Touch Travel Tea Infuser
Double-walled and vacuum insulated. They call it a flask. Beverage stays hot for 12 hours and cold for 24. You can use the Chicago soft touch for detox teas and fruit beverages, also. Great for beverages to carry to and from work. Fits perfectly in the cup holder.
The tea infuser is extra long, giving more room for those tea leaves to expand. The infuser is also made of 18/8 stainless steel. Comes with a stainless steel strainer as well. There is a smaller infuser as well. I would fill it with fruit and water and use the small infuser to filter the fruit from the water as I drink it.
The interesting soft-touch design makes it easy to grip both the bottle and the cap. Easy to hold, brew, and carry. Perfect fit for a backpack, bike rack, or car beverage holder,
Grosche supplies 50 days of safe water to people in need for every bottle sold.
Pros:
- Stainless steel
- Insulated
- Double walled
- BPA free
- Easy to clean
- Sleek look
- No Plastic
- Removable infusion basket
- 11.4 ounces
- Soft touch
- 15.2 fl oz ( 450 ml)
- 2.56 x. 2.56 x 9.06 inches
Cons:
- Lid hard to screw on
- Filter takes up too much room
- Metal taste when drinking from container
- Smell comes from soft lining
Santal Living Bamboo Vacuum Travel Tea Infuser
The bamboo look is so natural and pleasing. This is real bamboo and 100% organic. It gives you a good grip and feel as well. The double-walled tea infuser allows our tea or beverage to stay warm or chilled longer. The bamboo keeps those fingers safe from the hot tea you will be drinking a bit. The interior is 18/8 stainless steel. Stainless steel is resistant to odor, bacteria, and stains.
This infuser keeps your beverage hot for 12 hours, and cold beverages stay cool all day long.
This infuser comes with a 2-piece detachable strainer. Easy to brew with, remove it, and your beverage is ready to drink. Perfect size for cup holders. The strainer is right inside the lid and makes it easy to add fruit or tea and allow it to brew. You can add a tea bag and use the strainer to add fruit to infuse into your tea.
Pros:
- 100% BPA free
- Leakproof
- Stainless steel
- Organic Bamboo
- 1.01 pounds
- Vacuum-sealed lid
- Simple design
- 8.8 x 2.8 x 2.8 inches
Cons:
- Metal lip tastes funny
- The lid comes detached from the stainless steel
- Leaking complaints
- The rubber O ring is not secure
- The opening may be too large to not spill while drinking
Aladdin Perfect Travel Tea Infuser
A little different from the glass infusers we have been viewing. This is from Aladdin and made of BPA-free plastic. It’s clear, so you can watch your beverage brew right before your eyes. Comes with an infuser, but you can easily use a tea bag as well. Car-friendly, as this cup will fit into your car cup holder easily.
The infuser fits inside easily, and the flip-top lid keeps the lid in place as you drink your beverage. Make sure to keep the flip top closed to keep the beverage heat in. Tea basket can be lowered to brew stronger or higher to not brew as much.
Pros:
- See -thru
- BPA free
- Leak resistant flip lid
- Dishwasher safe
- Microwave safe
- Sturdy
- Double walled
- 4 ounces
- Plastic
- Easy to clean
- Leak proof
- 4 x 3.5 x 7.5 ounces
Cons:
- Flip flip-top lid can be hard to open
- Has branding labels
- A gasket can stretch over time
- Water flows through the tea with each sip
- Not shatterproof
- Plastic makes a crackling sound
- The tea infuser basket may open mid-brew
- May not fit in all cupholders
Conclusion
There can never be a clear winner when you have some of the best products available. You and your lifestyle are a big factor in what travel tea infuser will work for you.
Do you travel a lot? Do you like fruit infusions or brewed tea? Hot or Cold?
I love the see-through glass of the Pure Zen Tumbler Infuser. You have to be a bit more careful with this infuser, but being able to watch your tea brew is a win for me. The longer tea infuser of the Grosche Chicago Soft Touch Travel Tea Infuser is a bonus as well.
Your needs as well as your wants are important. Make the best decision for you in picking the best travel tea infuser for your tea and beverage needs.
