I received a curious package in the mail last week. It contained “hobs” from Thistledown.com. What is a “hob” you ask? Their site defines hobs as: “a shelf in the back of a fireplace on which to place things to keep warm”; and “hob” is a British colloquialism for a stove top.” Thistledow’s hobs are not shelves in the back of fireplaces, rather — they are cozies for your tea. Not one of those old-lady Victorian style cozies either. It looks cool. They have all sorts of designs on the site. But, the big question… do they work, and if so, how affective are hobs? Do hobs do their jobs? From the website: “HOBs are constructed with two layers of high tech mylar batting. This batting insulates with both a layer of mylar reflecting heat back into the teapot and layers of polyester preventing heat conduction away from the teapot. This material results in superior heat retention.”
“The HOB has a bottom, also with two layers of mylar batting, acting as a built-in trivet. Once on, the HOB completely encases the body of your teapot, keeping your tea hot!”
“The HOB is extremely easy to use: slip the teapot between the two ‘clam shells’, flip over the top and clip together with the buckle. I set out to find the answer. I monitored the temperatures of 2 identical tea pots one with a hob, one without for 2 hours, and I was surprised to find that the HOB kept the water inside the pot considerably warmer for longer.
Check them out here: http://www.thistledownshop.com/hobs.html
