Pot-warmer
Tea lights as teapot warmers
A tealight (also written tea-light, tea lites or tea light, t-lite or tcandles), or nightlight, is a candle encased in a thin metal or plastic cup so that the candle can liquefy completely while lit. They are typically small, circular, wider than their height and inexpensive. Because of their small size and low level of light, multiple tealights are often burned simultaneously.
Tealights derive their name from their use in teapot warmers, but are also used as food warmers in general, e.g. fondue. They are a popular choice for votive candles. They are also suitable for accent lighting and for heating scented oil. Tealights may be floated in water, for decorative effect.
The electric teapot-heater
I was really taken by the idea of everlasting hot tea, but a separate pot-warmer and 2 tea-candles a day seems excessive so again I sat down with Google for an hour or so. Initially I thought I'd found the solution with USB cup heaters. They do what it says on the tin, or at least you'd think they did until you read the reviews. Apart from the odd planted review, they were all derisory towards these products, not one, it seems, managed to even keep an empty cup warm, let alone a full one. Next. Well there wasn't a next, until I looked across to my Mathmos lava-lamp. Electric light, thats the answer. Ikea produce a single 12 volt 'tea-light' called Grundtal, we have them in the living room illuminating glass balls to visual effect. They easily get hot enough to keep tea warm, though it might require 15 minutes shed-work to support the tea-pot.
Cost: £7.25 (I'll collect this as £5.00 delivery is a bit steep)