The Norpro T-Stix

It's been said that one definition of insanity is this: "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I've often heard this quote applied to single women who keep dating the same sad fellow over and over again and are shocked when the relationship doesn't turn out well. I would say it could also apply to tea lovers who keep buying metal infusers with large holes in them and then are shocked when a few tea leaves slip out.

On the other hand, I am a tea gadget lover, and I've gotten to the point where I am simply going to view these pieces as tea "art" and not as tea "accessories." It makes me feel better. This Norpro T-Stix infuser was another T.J. Maxx find from the weekend, and I used it to make some of my treasured Emperor's Bride Tea from The Tea Room in Savannah. (Not to exaggerate or anything, but it is simply the best flavored tea in the whole entire world.)

I actually had a little trouble figuring out how to open this infuser, and there were no directions on the box. Yes, I knew it had something to do with the latch, but it turns out that this particular latch requires a tricky push-and-shove motion, all at the same time, which was a bit of an advanced maneuver if you ask me. From the picture on the box, I had assumed the ball on the end of this "wand" was used to open it, but it had nothing to do with the infuser's operation. And this is a minor, minor point, but T-Stix sounds plural ("sticks" is plural, right?), so why'd they get all cutesy and not just say T-Stick? But perhaps I nitpick ...