The tea burner guide
Keep the pot warm.
Let the afternoon run long.
Plain-English guides to teapot warmers, chakoro tea burners and the small flames that keep tea hot.
What is a tea burner?
One name.
Three small flames.
"Tea burner" is what most people call one of three tealight-lit objects. Which one you want depends on whether you want to drink warm tea or smell it.
For most people, the answer is a tealight teapot warmer. It's cheap, it needs no plug, and one candle keeps a pot hot through a long, slow afternoon.
Read the teapot warmer guideTeapot warmer
A stand with a tealight or an electric plate under the pot. It keeps a full pot hot for an hour or more.
Teapot warmers For scentChakoro
A Japanese ceramic burner that gently roasts loose green tea until the room smells of toasted tea.
Chakoro guide Often confusedOil & wax burner
Not for tea at all. A tealight warms fragrance oil or wax melts. It's named after the candle, not the drink.
Oil burner guideCandle or plug?
Both keep a pot hot. The difference is where it lives and whether you can walk away from it.
Find the right one
Match it to your teapot.
- Keep a pot hot at the tableTealight warmer
- Keep tea hot at a desk, no flameElectric warmer
- Watch the tea while it stays warmGlass set
- Keep a cast iron teapot hotCast iron warmer
- Make a room smell of roasted teaChakoro
In India and South Asia, "tea burner" can also mean an LPG stove burner for chai stalls. This site doesn't cover commercial gas equipment.
Frequently
asked questions
Read the buying guide
What is a tea burner used for?
Usually to keep a teapot warm using a tealight candle underneath it. The term is also used for a chakoro, a Japanese tea incense burner that roasts loose tea leaves for their aroma, and loosely for tealight oil or wax burners.
Is a tea burner the same as a teapot warmer?
In most cases, yes. A teapot warmer is the specific name for the stand that holds a teapot over a tealight or an electric heating plate.
How long does a tealight keep tea warm?
A standard tealight burns for roughly 3–5 hours, depending on size and draft, so one candle covers a long tea session.
Not sure where to start?
The buying guide covers every type, what to check before you buy, and the one mistake everyone makes.
Read the buying guideHere for the scent, not the sip?
A chakoro roasts a pinch of green tea over a candle. It's the quietest room fragrance there is.
Discover chakoro