A FORMER chartered accountant with a dislike of 'drippy teabags' has come up with a gadget that should end the problem of scalded fingers and trails of drips. Dr Martin Almond, of Oaklands Road, Buckfastleigh, is a tidy person to whom squeezing out the 20 cups of tea he and his wife drink daily was more than he could stand. While dismissing the notion that he is a 'gadget person' or at least 'an extreme gadget person', Dr Almond, 60, did admit he was surprised that no one had come up with the idea before. 'I did get pretty tired of drips all over the place and thought somebody is going to come up with a decent device,' he said, sipping a cup of tea. But a computer search revealed that no such device existed and that he had a clear field. He contacted Innovate Designs of Salisbury, and, several proto-types later, he had the finished product which bears a passing resemblance to some unpleasant gynaecological instrument. The plunger-like teatool traps the teabag in a cage of retracting fingers, squeezes and then disposes of it – just like a used teabag. The product was launched at the beginning of the month and so far he has sold 50 through his website. 'It obviously fulfils a need but because people have to visit the website, it limits it,' he said. His biggest potential market, the supermarkets, won't stock it until there is a proven demand. He says that what customer feedback he has had is positive. Now he is hoping that through the drip, drip of publicity, his new invention will take off.
