HIC Kitchen Tea Bag Squeezer, 18/8 Stainless Steel

Been using this product (Stainless Steel Tea Bag Squeezer, by Harold Import Company, Inc.) for two years (since March 2010) and it is truly excellent! I'm writing this review to refute the criticisms of those folk who seem to have jumped to conclusions without having used the product for very long. It's possible that the one I received, two years ago, was made of a superior stainless steel versus copies now shipping. However, in the last few months, the product has got strong positive reviews, so it seems that they're still shipping the same quality. Yes, it flexes a bit. When I first got it, I thought that it was flimsy, and manually bent the forks a little bit inward. I expected to have to do this quite often. But, in two years I've never had to do it again. The forks flex a little but always go back to exactly where they started. Someone complained of the squeezer being too small. I've used many squeezers before this one, and this one has the largest squeezing area of the good quality squeezers. If someone could identify one with a larger squeezing area, plus the excellent qualities of this one, I'd be most interested! Someone else complained of burnt fingers. There are, of course, several ways to avoid burnt fingers when using tea bags without a string. One way is to use a small dessert fork to lift an empty corner of the tea bag out of the tea, against the side of the cup, just enough for your finger tips to hold. One squeeze for the top half of the bag, one squeeze for the bottom half of the bag, and you're done. When I bought this amazingly cheap item, I thought that the claim of stainless steel was likely bogus, and that it would start showing signs of rust and other corrosion. No. After two years, of being used several times almost every day, it still looks brand new! Forgive the exclamation point. I'm just amazed at the quality of this little item.

While I usually drink loose leaf tea using a tea ball , when making an entire pot would be excessive, a quick cuppa with a tea bag makes a nice stop-gap. This squeezer is definitely firm enough to squeeze all the moisture you might reasonably want to squeeze from a tea bag without heat or mess. In fact, a brief experiment just conducted reveals that it is sufficiently unyielding to allow you to break the tea bag through excessive force should you so desire. Its functional and effective, and the designers have got it about right. Its small and easily rinsed and stored. Its inexpensive. There are a lot of tea drinkers in my extended family and every last one of them has settled on this squeezer (thats 5 households), though in a couple of cases this preference was only established after a certain stubbornness (a family trait) was overcome -- an insistence on trying everything else first! But the bottomline is they've all come around to the same conclusion in the end. So, if you're looking for an effective tea bag squeezer, look no further. My whole clan recommends it!

very good quality, gave less stars because felt it would have been better to be a bit longer.

I was so happy with this style tea infuser that I’ve bought more to use at work. The super fine holes mean less tea leaf particulate in your tea compared to pretty much any other infuser I’ve ever used. There is a simple fix for something a couple of reviewers mentioned. For very fine teas, some leaves can float out the hole in the lid where the chain attaches. However, if you fill your cup with hot water to just below the lid of the infuser and then wait a few seconds, the tea becomes wet and won’t float and most of the air in the infuser gradually escapes. So as you slowly fill past the top, only air comes out that hole - no leaves. Seems some users just rapidly pour the water in the cup so air and some dry tea gets forced out that hole into their beverage. Taking a few extra seconds makes for a really gray cup of tea. This infuser is strong, easy to clean and goes in the dishwasher no problems.

After tea bag is done steeping, squeeze the bag over the cup, then throw the bag directly into the garbage can.. Squeezing gets all the flavor from the tea bag and none of the wet drips. Rinse the squeezer and stand it up to dry. Its ready for your next cup! Also dishwasher safe. I love it and have given these squeezers to other family member tea drinkers.

This thing is pathetic. I've had one that looks like it for years, at home, but I needed one at work, as well, so I ordered this. As soon as I pulled it out of its package I noticed how thin it is -- MUCH thinner than my old one. You can't even get a decent squeeze on your teabag without bending the thing in on itself. Absolutely useless. DON'T BUY!

Great tea bag squeezer that gets every single drop out of a tea bag. The part with the holes in it which actually squeezes the bag is as long as a regular tea bag is wide, so it works perfectly, especially for single-cup size tea bags - larger bags such as those that can be used for tea pots need several squeezes in different spots to get all the tea out. But the stainless steel is pretty rigid so that enough pressure can be applied. Well made and worth the money.

I am so glad I bought this. I was really tired of fragile wire tea strainers that eventually fall apart and are much harder to clean properly. This strainer is sturdy and cov mes apart by twisting the top half off. I can easily get my rooibos out. It steeps well. I had been concerned about the size of the holes because of a coffee strainer I tried using for tea, but the tea infused just fine without letting any leaves out (rooibos is pretty fine). I was also concerned that the chain might get caught in the dishwasher, so I used the hook at the end (which is pliable and can be bent to adjust) to hook up the chain and keep it compact. It worked really well and was still attached when I removed the strainer from the dishwasher. I had to take a couple of leftover tea leaves out after using the dishwasher, but nothing major and they came out easily. Overall, a very good purchase that should last for years. Update: I bought a second one for the office! Love this design.

Muy contento con mi infusor, puedo hacer infusiones de cualquier hierva, asi sea muy pequeña o fina, solo la pongo en el infusor y dentro de mi thermo.

I like it easy to use

The lid's a bit - just a wee bit - tricky to manipulate, but that's my only minor quibble. Holds enough loose tea for a good cuppa and that's all one can ask. Might even hold a pot's worth, depending...

Great quality and good product