Degrenne Salam Teapot 4 Cup in Cobalt Blue

The cobalt dome is not a lid. It is a felt-lined metal bell that drops over the whole porcelain body, which is a tea cozy built into the object, and Degrenne states it holds temperature about twice as long as a pot without one.

• Insulation you cannot lose The felt lining is part of the cover rather than a separate cloth to find.
• Infuser lifts out Take the leaves out when the brew is right and the pot stops over-steeping itself.
• Seventy centiliters Just under 24 ounces, the middle size in a range that runs from 2 to 8 cups.

What the Bell Does

An uncovered teapot loses heat through its entire outer surface. Dropping an insulated cover over it removes most of that surface from the room. Degrenne puts the gain at roughly double the holding time of a plain pot, which in practice is the difference between a second cup that is still worth drinking and one that has gone lukewarm while you talked. The cover comes off to pour and goes straight back on.

The Infuser Solves Bitterness

Loose leaf tea left sitting in the pot keeps brewing, and tannin is what you taste when it has gone too far. A basket that lifts out ends the extraction on your schedule instead of the leaves'. That matters more here than on most pots, because a bell that keeps tea hot for hours will also keep leaves extracting for hours if they are still in the water.

A 1953 Design, Still Made

Degrenne describes the Salam as its iconic product and dates it to 1953. Seventy years is a long run for a tableware shape, and what it usually means is that the object solved a problem rather than answered a fashion. The proportions have not been restyled to follow anything, which is why a Salam bought now sits beside one bought decades ago without looking newer.

Washing the Three Parts

Can the whole thing go in the dishwasher? No, and the split matters. Degrenne rates the porcelain body and the infuser as dishwasher safe, and says the cover is hand wash only with a soft sponge.

What happens to the felt lining? It is removable and cleaned by hand. Treat it as you would any felt: never soak it, and let it dry fully before it goes back inside the cover, or it will hold a damp smell.

Can the pot go on a stove to reheat? Never. Degrenne is explicit that it must not sit on a heat source, and a porcelain body on direct flame or an element is how a pot cracks in one piece.