Norpro 5517 Cotton Brew Bags, 4 Pieces

I love the mesh of the fabric and they have worked out great for us for making kombucha tea. Several complain about them being hard to clean. I haven't had that experience. We squeeze the bags with a tong to get as much of the moisture out as possible and then let the bags dry a little with the tea still in the bag ... but loosened up to help it dry. Most of the tea will then easily come out of the bag. We then turn them inside out and pretty much most of remaining pretty easily falls off the bag. We then put the bags in a bowl of hot water with a little soap and that cleans out most any small particles that remain ... rinse with a white vinegar and water and then a final rinse with just water. We then let dry and then turn them right-side-out once they have dried. One person complained of loose strings and initially there are a bunch and that's why I'm not giving a 5 star rating, but I trim the strings and now there are rarely new ones. I initially thought this would lead to more rapid deterioration, but that has not been the case. We have been using the same bags now for a couple of months with no issue. Eventually, we know we will need to replace, but we prefer that over using a metal infuser.

I got tired of using disposable teabags as I drink tea almost everyday. I also wanted bags that weren't made of plastic (aka "silky bags) as they release microplastics into your tea. So I opted for something more traditional. They are excellent. Easy to use and clean. A downside is that one of my bags began tearing at the seams, so I had to toss it after a couple of months. Not sure if it was my constant pulling and flipping of the bag when I was cleaning it or if it was just a weak seam to begin with. Regardless, I'm very happy with these.

I use these for making tea for my kombucha. I put four teaspoons of loose-leaf tea in a bag, which is the recommended amount for half a gallon of water (in addition to 1/2 cup white sugar). If you need more tea than that, you should use more bags. The four teaspoons fill the bag up completely when rehydrated. Limiting the amount in a bag allows the tea diffuse more thoroughly.The drawstrings in the bags are kind of delicate though you're not likely to break them unless you're rougher with them than I'm likely to be. I pull them up tight, then loop them around the neck of the bag in a half hitch so that they don't accidentally come loose, but they're still easy to undo when I'm ready to clean them. For cleaning, I turn them inside out and dump out most of the used tea, then rinse the rest of it off under the faucet. Occasionally I'll put them in the dishwasher, but if you do this, be sure to secure them so they don't end up in the bottom.

I do not like the raw edge which leaves me cleaning them and fighting the strings that are coming from the material. I was being lazy and purchased rather than making these, Binding tape would keep the raw edge from being unsightly and difficult to clean. I love the string, which I tie to the handle of the glasses rather than warping around the bag. I wish they were one quarter of an inch longer for this though, and they are beginning to fray. Adding enough length of cotton rope to put knots in the ends will fix that issue. Over all I see my needing to replace them in a few months, once the fraying seam gets holes in it, and I will make my own this time and make the changes needed to them for longer lasting performance.

I wanted a tea bag to leave in my water bottle to cold brew tea. I mainly use rolled tea leaves. But in all it is not super durable but it is durable enough. It is easy to clean especially if you just flip it inside out and rinse it. I was worried it would be hard to clean and flimsy according to the comments, but I have not had that experience. That being said I don't put it in hot water. The only issue I've had was that the synching line unknotted but I just tied it back together, and the issue hasn't occurred since. Obviously not a bag that will last forever but that is why they sell not in singles and for quite cheap. Overall Excellent Buy.

The only thing I can suggest is that the strings on the bag could be thicker. I have not had a problem with them yet but sometimes I do feel like the strings are weaker than the bag and are going to break if I pull too hard.

I didn't realize when I bought these they're just little cotton baggies, not the thin, see-through cheesecloth I was expecting from the description.There are loose strings on the inside seam, and when I open the bag to clean out the herbs, I almost feel like I'm going to rip it. That being said, they've survived 10 or so uses so far and no problems. They serve their purpose and seem durable despite my complaints.

Nice bags. Buyer beware that these are slightly bigger than a tea bag so you can not out large amounts into them. I use it for making spiced wine which calls for clove, cinnamon sticks, and fruit slices. I couldn't fit that all in one bag. Bag held up well after one use. I personally will only use these once but I guess you could reuse if you wanted to try and wash them.