It’s not a secret that many people like tea. Some of them even have certain traditions concerning tea drinking process. Yet, it doesn’t mean that no innovations are needed in this domain. People try to change everything in order to simplify their life. And that’s not an exception. A Chinese inventor Lee Yuen Qin designed tea “stick” – a new type of disposable tea bags. The production of this item is almost the same as that of usual tea bags, because materials used are similar. The only difference is its design. The main idea of Chinese designer consists in a will to combine two processes: brewing and stirring. But at the very beginning there was a serious problem – Lee Yuen Qin didn’t know what material this “stick” should be made of. In case it was soft, the stick wouldn’t be able to keep its shape. If it was too dense, no brewing would be possible. The solution for this problem was found unexpectedly – while designer was drinking coffee. He suddenly understood that a small plastic stick can be put inside the bag in order to prevent changes in its shape. After that Lee Yuen Qin patented his new invention. Now it’s prepared for the commercialization. It’s quite an interesting innovation, isn’t it? I think a lot of people will find it funny to use tea “sticks” instead of tea bags. Moreover, it seems that they are easier-to-use.
現今喜歡喝茶的人越來越多，甚至許多人遵循著傳統飲茶文化。然而，這並不意味著這塊領域不需要創新。人們總是嘗試各種方式來簡化生活，當然飲茶也不能例外啦！
來自中國的發明家李秦元於是設計出「茶棒」- 一種新型的沖泡茶包，和大部分的茶包幾乎沒什麼兩樣，所用的材質幾乎一樣，唯一不同的地方就是他的造型拉。這個玩意的發想來自於設計師一開始想將攪拌和沖泡這兩個步驟融合在一起。
一開始，設計師就碰到了一樣難題，他不知道這支「茶棒」要用什麼材質製成，要是利用柔軟材質，棒子很容易會變形；若太過於稠密，茶就不容易泡開。最後的解答最令人意想不到，某日當設計師啜飲咖啡時，忽然發現塑膠攪拌棒可以放置在茶包內防止茶棒變形。設計師李秦元已經為這項發明申請專利拉，目前正在準備商品化。這真是一項有趣的發明，不是嗎? 我想當消費者發現他們可以使用茶棒而非茶包時，應該會會心一笑吧！除此之外，看起來似乎比傳統茶包更易上手使用呢！