The nice folks at Thistledown Cozies asked if members of the Association of Tea Bloggers would be interested in trying and reviewing their new teapot cozies, called HOBs. I said I would and expected to receive 1, but I got 2, along with a nifty little tea wallet. When I first saw them, I thought, eeuw, don't like the colors. Then I immediately spilled tea on it and it didn't show or stain, and I thought, hmm, there's some method here. Actually, the Thistledown folks had been to the big World Tea Expo in Las Vegas this year and discovered the new tea drinkers – young women and MEN - were not interested in their very feminine tea cozies. I have two of them and they are fem, but they are also wonderful, as the spout and handle both stick out from the kind I have, so you don't burn your fingers.
They thought they should design a cozy that had a more universal appeal, both in form and color, so now we have the HOB. The original hob, by the way, was a shelf in the back of the fireplace and then the back burner on a wood or coal stove where you would keep your teakettle warm, every ready to pour out a “cuppa”. When I was growing up we still had a big wood stove and it was the best thing – always warm water, you could burn your bits of trash, keep your mittens, kittens, dogs, and boots dry and warm, all sorts of uses. We got rid of it the week before a horrendous ice storm that left us without power for over a week.
I have now used both HOBs and I love them! They keep the tea warm, the handle and spout cool enough to touch, they don't stain, and if you are a guy, they look like a football or soccer ball when they are strapped together. Personally I would like better colors, to my taste. My only real complaint is that for some of my very short spouted pots, I need to be careful when I pour, but then, I should be anyway, right? Oh, they are also very washable, I washed and dried them both and they were fine.
The tea wallet is a neat little gizmo with six pockets in it, to carry your own purchased or homemade tea bags and packets of sweetener. You then fold it up, snap it and tuck it in your pocket or purse. Very handy if you want to take tea traveling with you in a small space and without those glamorous plastic baggies.
To check all these nifty items out, go to http://www.thistledownshop.com/ and see for yourself.
They thought they should design a cozy that had a more universal appeal, both in form and color, so now we have the HOB. The original hob, by the way, was a shelf in the back of the fireplace and then the back burner on a wood or coal stove where you would keep your teakettle warm, every ready to pour out a “cuppa”. When I was growing up we still had a big wood stove and it was the best thing – always warm water, you could burn your bits of trash, keep your mittens, kittens, dogs, and boots dry and warm, all sorts of uses. We got rid of it the week before a horrendous ice storm that left us without power for over a week.
I have now used both HOBs and I love them! They keep the tea warm, the handle and spout cool enough to touch, they don't stain, and if you are a guy, they look like a football or soccer ball when they are strapped together. Personally I would like better colors, to my taste. My only real complaint is that for some of my very short spouted pots, I need to be careful when I pour, but then, I should be anyway, right? Oh, they are also very washable, I washed and dried them both and they were fine.
The tea wallet is a neat little gizmo with six pockets in it, to carry your own purchased or homemade tea bags and packets of sweetener. You then fold it up, snap it and tuck it in your pocket or purse. Very handy if you want to take tea traveling with you in a small space and without those glamorous plastic baggies.
To check all these nifty items out, go to http://www.thistledownshop.com/ and see for yourself.
2 comments:
Thanks for showing and reviewing the new HOB tea cozy. I like its contemporary look and the unique way it closes. The green would be nice for this season. I'll check out the Thistledown link.
Thank you for taking the time to review the HOB. Yes, the colors are masculine (we designed them to appeal to the new male tea drinkers), BUT your comments inspired us to try this design in feminine colors. Have a look at the prototypes for HOBs for Her at
http//www.thistledownshop.com/hobs.html
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