Editing Teapot (section)

== Features ==
Teapots evolved from the designs where the lid was resting in a recess of the body of the vessel to the lid sitting on top of the body, and then to the modern design with the deep flanges of the lid preventing it from falling out.{{sfn|Ukers|1935|p=438}}

When the tea is poured out, outside air needs to enter the teapot's body; therefore, the design involves either a loosely fitting lid or a vent hole at the top of the pot, usually in the lid.{{sfn|Ukers|1935|p=438}}

The built-in [[Sieve|strainer]] at the base of the spout was borrowed from [[Coffeemaker|coffeepots]] that, in turn, get this feature from the vessels designed for other liquids (the earliest known built-in strainer dates back to 1300 [[Anno domini|BC]]).{{sfn|Ukers|1935|p=438}}

The coffee [[drip brew]] and [[coffee percolator]] were invented at the beginning of the 19th century, and similar designs for tea were developed soon after that.{{sfn|Ukers|1935|p=438}}

{{anchor|Biggin}}Modern [[infuser]]s originated in 1817 when an English patent was granted for a "tea or coffee biggin", a metal basket at the bottom of the teapot. Many more tea leaf holder designs followed,{{sfn|Ukers|1935|pp=439-441}} with [[Infuser|tea balls]] and tea-making spoons arriving in the first half of the 19th century.{{sfn|Ukers|1935|p=445}}

The first automated electric teapot was invented in 1909.{{sfn|Ukers|1935|p=443}}