The British Tea Cozy
The British tea cozy (or tea cozy) as it is known in Americas basically a coverlet for a teapot that is traditionally made of wool or cloth but in modern times might be made of other types of fabrics or materials as well. The job of a tea cozy is to keep the teapot warm while the tea bag is brewing inside the pot.
A good quality tea cozy will often come with a lining or insert that can be washed in case tea stains it. Home-made crocheted, knitted or sewed tea cozies are also quite popular in all of the U.K. and sometimes are made with a lining or not. Busy sewers also make their own quilted tea cozies. A very popular present in England is the hand-knitted Tea cozy that looks like a woolen hat complete with a pom-pom on top. Tea cozies can also be made of felt and decorated with iron on felt. Making a tea cozy is often a beginner’s home project.
Vintage looking ones tend to be made out of brocade or heavy linen and they will have some kind of decorative fabric ring or tassel on top so you can pull the tea cozy off without having to touch the hot teapot.
You can buy a tea cozy as a one off or novelty item or you can buy them as part of a matching set that also includes aprons, gloves or table-cloths. High quality ones might boast embroidery or some kind of a unique shape like a duck’s head or a flower. Some tea cozies also come with hidden pockets into which herbs or flowers are stuffed. The teapot acts to warm the herbs and flowers like a potpourri so the scent can fill the room.
The first known use of these teapot warmers was described in the writings of the Duchess of Bedford who was using them in 1840. For decades afterwards the tea cozy was seen as a necessary bit of décor that is also a necessity. Tea cozies probably reached their hey-day during the Victorian Era where they were common on every table.
In James Joyce’s short story called “An Encounter” the main character boasts a tea cozy on his head to play cowboy and Indians. There is a tradition in English literature for characters to wear tea cozies on their heads. In the Harry Potter series the elf Dobby wears a tea cozy as a hat.