The weather was superb the other day – bright and warm without being overly hot, and even the usual stiff sea breeze had died down to manageable levels.

The conditions were perfect for a bike ride, so that’s exactly what I did, meandering across town with no particular agenda, simply following my front wheel.

Suddenly the huge blue and yellow sign of Ikea loomed large, and I remembered that I could do with one of their smaller “Riklig” teapots for home use – I already have one parked at one of the family’s summer houses for use when on a visit there.

Knowing the shortcuts in your local Ikea store can really save you a lot of time – I was in-and-out in under 20 minutes, and would probably have gone sub-quarter-of-an-hour if they’d have had more than 1 checkout open.

The “Riklig” teapots come in 2 sizes – 0.6l and 1.5l. I (once again!) bought the smaller one, which I consider perfect for casual, Western style infusion for 1 or 2 people.

The real draw here is the inclusion of a removable infuser insert. Once the tea has infused to your liking, you simply pull the leaves out of the liquor and you’re good to go. If you want a second or third round from the leaves, just drop the infuser back in and add more water. The infuser has a nice fold-down handle to make removal/insertion a doddle and prevent you scalding the tips of your fingers.

The pot has good heat handling characteristics, and a nice, drip free pouring action.

Not a pot I’d use with the more expensive end of the tea stash, mais naturellement, but for a wake-me-up early morning shot of green gunpowder, or a post evening meal digestif cargo of shou Pu-erh, it does the business.

The 0.6l “Riklig” teapot retails for 59 Swedish Crowns here in Sweden, £6.00 in the UK, and $8.99 in the US. Well worth it.