Tea Strainer
The story
Tea is poured in almost every Indian home each morning, yet the humble strainer drips, clogs and bends. Through surveys, interviews and observation I redesigned it from the rim up.
- 01Mapped seven user pain points: drips, disposal, deforming mesh, flow direction, visibility, blockage and poor extraction.
- 02Inspired by tea bags and infusers — the strainer sits inside the pan while the tea brews.
- 03A wooden rim doubles as the handle; 1 mm perforations improve extraction.
- 04A tripod-like base keeps the mesh clear of heat and obstruction.
- The Wooden rim serves as a handle.
- 1 mm perforations on the product surface for improved extraction.
- On the bottom, there is a structure similar to a tripod support, so the mesh will not be obstructed or heated up, and the extraction will be easy.
- Mesh
The learnings
- 01Research and observation helped me turn an everyday problem into a new direction, then test the idea through physical prototypes.
- 02Moving from a simple aluminium-sheet prototype to stainless steel pipe introduced new challenges in fabrication.
- 03Exploring pipe gauges, sourcing from the right market and drilling perforations taught me how materials and making shape a design.