Reddit reviews FORLIFE Stainless Folding Handle Tea Infuser with Carrying Case

Welcome! I've never used paper towel, but it could work. I fear it may tear after 1 or 2 infusions.

I've used this infuser and its worked well for me. It's a bit pricey @ $19 though.
http://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Stainless-Folding-Infuser-Carrying/dp/B00FOMKNSI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1457753210&sr=8-9&keywords=for+life+tea+infuser

You could also invest in a gaiwan. Half the price at $8.
http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Clay-Tea-Pot-Gaiwan/dp/B00H98UGCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457753354&sr=8-1&keywords=gaiwan

This video helped me understand brewing process. It's a bit long, but hope it helps!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puldqGnW9P0

I like using a larger infuser like this. There's enough room for the leaves to expand and it's pretty easy to clean. This one is also very high quality, I've had it for years and it's still as good as new.

This is my favorite all around, and I've tried a lot:

https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Loose-Infuser-House-Again/dp/B01N1OTXHW

If you want something a bit smaller and sturdier, but with slightly bigger holes (that will let more tea particles through):

https://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Stainless-Folding-Infuser-Carrying/dp/B00FOMKNSI

Quick start? Buy this which works great in mugs as well as many medium to larger teapots, and then find a company that you can order samples from and start exploring.

What company I'd recommend starting with would depend on your tastes.

If you want to get into single-estate black teas, one company that really got me into tea was Upton Tea Imports. They have small (and inexpensive) samples of virtually all their teas. They have some strengths (black teas, esp. from India, inexpensive black and green teas from China, inexpensive oolongs of surprisingly good quality, herbal teas) and weaknesses (especially avoiding getting Pu-erh from them, their Japanese teas aren't great IMHO).

Harney & Sons is another company I love that also is great for sampling and offers small sample sizes of nearly all their teas. I find them more well-rounded than Upton, i.e. they're more consistently good but don't offer quite as amazing bargains as in Upton's areas of strength.

If you live near a Wegmans, that's a great option, because they sell the tea in a bulk section and you can measure it out in small sample sizes...it's actually cheaper than ordering samples from virtually any company because you have to do the work of measuring it all out. Maybe not quite as good in quality as Wegmans, many natural foods stores stock Frontier Coop and/or Mountain Rose Herbs, sometimes other tea companies, with self-service stations. If the stock is fresh (big if) these can be a great inexpensive way to get started with sampling, again saving a ton of money because you're doing the labor of measuring out all the small quantities.

When you're getting started, I recommend avoiding any company that insists on selling 2 ounce / 50g sizes as the smallest size...it doesn't seem like much tea, but it's a lot of tea if you don't like it, and it limits the amount you can buy. Buying 1 ounce or better 0.5 ounce or 15 gram packets, you can sample a lot more and you can learn much more about tea in a short period of time. And you'll be much more likely to discover all-time favorites that way. That's how I got started...

Then once you get going, and you have an idea of what you like, it can be worth ordering stuff from companies with 50 or 100g, or 2/4 oz minimum sizes.

I'd avoid the gimmicky silicone ones and get something like this or a teapot with a metal infuser. You want the water to circulate well and to have enough room for the leaves to expand. That's why the small metal tea balls aren't ideal for large leaf teas like oolongs.

I agree, but I recommend this one instead. The only reason I prefer it is that it has the tab/handle on both sides. The ones with the handle on only one side tend to fall or sag into the cup, I find.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOMKNSI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=E45EKS8JK8EG&coliid=I3N1BSOVH037VB

I have the teastick, and really don't recommend it. It doesn't leave any space for expansion at all, and it's actually rather a pain to refill. Not to mention, the holes on the teastick are rather big, so any small tea leaves tea will slip though. There's really no winning with this; I can't discourage you away from this enough. A teaball definitely works better than this does.

I would instead suggest these two: FORLIFE infuser with lid and the FORLIFE infuser with carrying case.

I gotcha. If time is an absolute crunch in the morning, then there are a few things you can do to shorten the time spent on tea. Here's something that I do whenever I'm on the move. I use one of these, and keep a premeasured dose of tea in it, ready to be watered. When you happen to move toward the kitchen, turn on your kettle to the appropriate temperature, and walk away. When you're ready to steep, just do it and set a timer. Put pants on, or whatever takes ~3 minutes. Remove the leaves/strainer, close your cup and you're ready to go!

I haven't found a do-everything-automatically fix that doesn't have a major flaw. As far as I can tell, the quickest option is to take time beforehand to streamline the brewing process, so you don't have to think about it when it matters.

TL;DR: Setup everything the night before, and push buttons as you fly through the house in the morning.

Pretty similar, but I prefer this one for traveling.