Teapots

A kettle boils the water. A teapot steeps the tea and keeps it warm while you drink it. Most households need both, though our borosilicate pots blur the line: because the glass handles direct heat, several can be used on the stove to boil and then to brew, which saves a vessel and a step. If you only want the boiling half, the Glass Stove Top Kettle is built for that.

On gas, electric and glass-ceramic, yes. Borosilicate glass handles thermal shock in a way ordinary glass cannot, which is why it is used for laboratory glassware. It is not compatible with induction, however, so check what you cook on before you buy. Three other practical points: never heat an empty pot, make sure the burner is not wider than the base so the handle does not overheat, and use a cloth or oven glove even so, because glass conducts heat. Check the individual product page as well, since not every item in this collection is stove-safe.

Boron oxide in the mix, which lowers how much the glass expands when heated. Ordinary soda-lime glass expands unevenly under sudden temperature change and cracks. Borosilicate barely moves, so it copes with boiling water poured into a cold pot, or a pot going from stove to bench. It is also harder-wearing than standard glass, though it is still glass and will break if dropped.

Think in cups rather than litres. A small pot suits one or two people and keeps the tea from going cold and stewed before you finish it, which is the most common reason a large pot disappoints. A mid-size pot covers a household. The large end is for having people over. Each product page gives the exact capacity and how many cups it pours.

Only if you drink slowly or brew for more than one person. A warmer sits a tealight beneath the pot and holds the temperature for an hour or more, which is the difference between a second cup and a lukewarm one. Take the infuser out first, otherwise the leaf keeps extracting and the pot turns bitter, particularly with black tea. Our stainless steel teapot warmer comes in two sizes to match, and several of our pots are available as a set.

Less work than ceramic, in practice. Nothing soaks into the surface, so a spiced blend one morning does not turn up in a delicate green the next, and you can use the same pot across your whole range. The infuser lifts straight out for rinsing, and all our glass teapots are dishwasher safe. If you use a pot on the stove, wipe the base while it is cool so nothing bakes on. There is more on caring for glass across the rest of our glass teaware collection.

Leaves need room to unfurl. A cramped ball strainer holds them compressed and the water only reaches the outside of the clump, so you get a weak cup from good leaf. A wide basket infuser, which is what our teapots come with, lets the leaf open fully and the water circulate through it. There is more in our tea infuser collection.

Chai is simmered with milk rather than steeped, so a glass teapot is the wrong tool. Our Copper Chai Pot and Milk Warmer is made for the decoction method, with a brass handle and a pouring lip. The method is set out in full in our guide to preparing chai and chai latte, and the blends are in our chai collection.