Iced Tea spoons conjure up images of fussy bridal showers and debris you find in the bottom of your cabinets, but they really are a workhorse in your kitchen when regular spoons are just to short.

Use ice tea spoons to:

* Stir the grounds in a French press coffee maker so you don’t leave a dry clump of dry coffee in the bottom.
* Blend sugar, milk and coffee in those tall travel mugs for your morning commute.
* Get the last bit of mayo or peanut butter out of a jar.
* Stir up juice in a pitcher

Ice tea spoons — or parfait spoons, as some call them — keep hot liquids at a safe distance if your fingers are sensitive to temperature, or if you have lost some sensation and can’t tell when liquids are hot enough to burn you. The spoon itself also leaves extra room to grab onto if you need a more solid grip. At times Cait has needed the spongy tubing stuff that physio therapists like to dole out and a regular spoon doesn’t have room for the tubing.

Cait found her first set of ice tea spoons at an estate sale - eight spoons for 35 cents. She felt sorry for them. It was like they were the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of cutlery. No one was interested in them. She’d seen similar sets go unpurchased many times.

Cait brought them home and her partner, Doug — not known for his culinary prowess, or even interest — took to them immediately. Doug found them ideal for his venti-sized coffee cups and French press. Doug also likes to eat peanut butter with a spoon and a glass of milk. Now he gets every last bit out of every jar without getting gooey knuckles.

Eds note: Marty’s favorite long tea spoons are the ones that have a straw built it. Perfect for ice cream floats!