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To Keep the Tea Warm

In the cold depths of winter, the harsh truths of thermodynamics are brought home to us more starkly than at other times. In other words, my tea has been cooling far too quickly of late.

Obviously, it's time to make a tea cozy!

A tea cozy has one purpose: to keep the tea in a teapot warm. As long as that criterion is met, all other attributes of the thing are secondary, and so there are a plethora of designs, ranging from the simple semi-circular quilted cover, to the cozies designed to look like little cottages, to the ribbed, knitted sort, tied at the top with I-cords. A Pinterest search will reveal a multitude of tea cozies in a wealth of innovative design.

I want to make the sort that allows the tea to be poured without removing the cozy. In practical terms, this is a bit of a trade-off, since the handle and spout must be exposed to the cold air. (There is probably a pattern somewhere for a tea cozy with a buttoning flap over the spout to avoid this problem, like those convertible glove/mitten hybrids.) I think, however, the inconvenience and inherent danger (since I'm not unlikely to tip the whole thing over) of removing the cover each time I want to pour outweigh the slight thermal advantage to keeping the whole thing in a cozy, quilted dome. I'm also leaving the top open, for brewing ease. This is another thermal loss; however, the design I'm contemplating will also involve padding under the body of the teapot, which should simultaneously protect whatever surface the tea is sitting on and keep the heat from transferring quite so quickly to said surface. I think this will be good enough. Besides, I like my tea not quite so piping hot as others in my circle of acquaintance. This should do nicely.

So, here's my proposed plan:

I'm going to make a circular base or trivet for the whole thing, using the base of my teapot as a template. To this will be attached two rectangular panels for the sides, which will be gathered up cozily around the lid by means of drawstrings.

I have an old felted sweater that should do nicely for the outer layer, and plenty of flannel for an inner layer.

I'll report back on whether it actually works or not.



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