This might be a useful item for some people:

_{Filter bags for tea.}

It is an empty teabag!

You can get them from Daiso stores (other dollar stores, or… non-dollar stores… might have them too, but I haven’t looked that closely).

In Australia the Daiso price is set at $2.80, so that is $2.80 for a packet of 100 teabags, which works out to be a little under three cents per bag.

What use is an empty teabag? Let me tell you how I purchase tea and tisane in all their forms, like a fiend (especially since getting back on caffeine), and that where loose types are concerned I don’t always want to commit to the clean up of an entire teapot- or those annoying mesh strainers (for some reason mesh strainers are really bothering to me).

So you take an empty bag and can put basically anything you want in it (assuming you can get it to fit).

_{Being an unimaginative sort, I stuck with a Toasty Nougat tisane from T2. It smells better than it tastes.}

Next, there’s a flap that kind of folds over the top…

_{Some pillowcases have kind of a similar flap-thing going on… maybe?}

Then it’s ready, put it in a mug and pour on the freshly boiled water.

_{You can wait for it to brew and take it out, or just leave it in and drink around it, depending on how lazy you are. Or, y’know, how you like your tea.}

The bags are fairly sizeable, so you can make it as strong or weak as you like, or even use it in a teapot for multiple servings (say, if you have friends).

Another idea is if you have a favourite loose tea, make up many of the bags at once and store them for later, or like, to take to work or for a picnic or whatever? Man I don’t even know. I’m just a lazy person.

Probably the only other store I spend quite as much time in as Daiso dollar stores would be Aldi supermarkets. Always keep a close eye on their special items. That’s where I got these cute tea-chests:

_{The pantry being so utterly overrun with tea, I figured it was okay to get one of each colour.}

All this talk of tea, we should probably have a nice snack to go with; such as my current obsession- banana bread.

_{Which is really more of a cake than a bread.}

The recipe for which was followed here, though I did a vegan variant using almond milk rather than dairy, maple syrup instead of honey, and flax where otherwise there’d have been eggs.

Result? Deliciously moist and dense. Perfect for breakfast or snacks. Or any meal really because, let’s face it, banana bread is rad.