One of the least pleasant aspects of brewing bagged tea is removing and squeezing the tea bag itself. Getting the last bit of water and tea essence often requires squeezing a boiling hot bag with bare fingers, and an unsqueezed bag seems like a waste of perfectly good brewed tea. One elegant solution to this problem is a tea bag squeezer. A tea bag squeezer allows the user to squeeze the last few drops from a hot tea bag without burning his or her fingers in the process.
There are actually several different tea bag squeezer designs available, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. One popular design resembles a pair of flat-bladed tongs, made from heat-resistant and food safe materials such as stainless steel, plastic or wood. The user places this type of tea bag squeezer directly into a tea cup or mug and extracts the tea bag with a pinching motion. The trapped tea bag can then be squeezed over the cup and disposed of without the need to touch the hot bag itself.
Another type of tea bag squeezer is ingeniously design to double as a heat-retaining lid. The tea bag is first threaded through the clam shell hinged lid and placed in a mug or cup containing hot water. As the tea brews, the lid keeps the contents protected from spilling or heat loss. When brewing time is over, the user pulls the tea bag up by its string until it is reaches the lid. The sides of the tea bag are then pinched together, which allows the final drops of tea to fall into the cup while protecting the user's fingers from the heated water. The tea bag can then be discarded and the lid replaced on the mug for insulation.
Some people may encounter a third kind of tea bag squeezer which combines elements of both designs. This small stainless steel gadget has a slot which allows the user to thread the finished tea bag's string through the top. The sides of the tea bag squeezer form a pincher around the bag, and the ends are doubled back to insulate the user's fingers from the heat of the squeezed tea bag. The tea bag squeezer and used tea bag can then be placed on a small saucer to contain any remaining liquid.
