Back in February, I recounted the purchase of a new teapot, made in Japan and rejoicing in the euphonious name of Hario Chacha Kyusu Maru – see my post A new teapot. I have been using it ever since and it has given good service.

I mentioned yesterday that it had been a strange week so far (see Strange week) and this has continued. This time it was the lid of my teapot that caught the bad luck: it slipped from my hand and broke into two pieces.

Coffee press as teapot

For the time being, I brought out my old coffee press which, well washed to remove any coffee aftertaste, makes a passable teapot for loose leaf tea. Next, I found the website of the UK suppliers of Hario products and emailed to ask whether they could send me a replacement lid. That was yesterday.

Today, I received a reply from Hario UK saying that they did not stock replacement parts and referring me to the Hario Parts Shop in Japan. I found the lid I needed and proceeded cautiously to the checkout – cautiously, because I wanted to check the price before committing myself. The final cost, stated in Japanese yen, looked rather large. I typed it into a currency converter which confirmed my suspicions: the price worked out at £22.11! Not only is that a lot of money for a lid but is almost as much as the cost of a new teapot bought from Hario UK (£25 + £2.99 p&p)!

The moment had come for some Edward de Bono-style Lateral thinking!

A while back, Tigger bought some cup covers, made of soft plastic with a novelty figure as handle. A conversation with Tigger via text secured permission to use one of these to make a replacement lid for my teapot. A pair of scissors was the only tool required. Et, voilà:

A new lid

One day, I shall get the itch to buy a new teapot but for now this sporty combination will do. The plastic lid (which is heat resistant) perfectly performs the role allotted to it and that’s all that is needed, not to mention that it saved me £22.11! 🙂