The Best Tea Light
Our Review Process
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Our Picks For The Top Tea Lights
If you're looking for a set of tea lights that appear lifelike, this set is your best bet. They are made with an open wave design and have a bright light that flickers. The high-quality lights also run for over 100 hours before needing replacement batteries.
Lifelike LookYou can use these tea lights alone or inside a set of votive holders.
You won't have to worry about a fire hazard when you go with these battery-powered tea lights. Each set includes 24 lights that flicker just like a real candle. The batteries last for over 100 hours and can be changed quickly when needed. Use the lights in your windows, as a wedding decoration or as emergency lights.
Most VersatileYou can get these tea lights with either a warm white or a warm yellow glow.
If you're looking for a decorative option, this tea light set provides a lightweight tin that keeps your surfaces safe from drips. The high-quality paraffin wax is built to provide at least four hours of burn time, and they're unscented to keep your experience pure. The wick is 100% cotton to provide a strong, vibrant burn.
Best for Use in WaterThe lightweight build and sleek tin holders make this tea light set perfect for floating in vases and bowls.
If you're planning a wedding, family reunion or office Christmas party, this tea light set is an excellent buy. It comes with a whopping 250 tea lights, each of which have a 6-hour burn time. The tea lights are smokeless and look great when placed in a bowl of water or at the bottom of a mason jar.
Stock UpThese unscented tea lights are made using a high-quality paraffin wax.
Although the bases of these tea lights are white, they will light up in seven fun colors when turned on. You get 24 lights per set, each of which comes with a battery already installed. The batteries are designed to provide light for a full 150 hours before needing to be replaced.
Safe PickSince this tea light set is designed without a real flame, it's safe to use around children and pets.
Buying Guide
Few candles are as versatile as tea lights, which is why they’ve become so popular for home decorating projects. They can be used on their own or in decorative vases and bowls, making perfect table centerpieces and mantle accents. There are even ornamental holders designed specifically for these smaller candles.
But there are plenty of things to consider when using tea lights. As with any live flame, tea lights can be dangerous if left unsupervised. Many are designed with safety in mind, but a strong wind or accidental bump could bring disaster.
For that reason, many consumers opt for flameless candles, which have advanced over the years to the point that they look incredibly realistic. Some even flicker, creating the same ambiance that you’d get from a candle with a flame. Flameless tea lights are especially useful if they’ll be set up in an environment with children or in an area where they’ll be unsupervised. They can also come in handy for outdoor use since they aren’t susceptible to wind.
With regular tea light candles, burn time is an essential factor to consider. Whether you’re setting the mood for a romantic evening or hosting a party, a candle that burns out in a couple of hours won’t be very useful. You should be able to at least get a few hours out of each tea light, but some can burn for as many as eight.
What to Look For
- The first thing to look at with any candle is the type of wax. Make sure your tea light is made from 100-percent paraffin wax.
- If you’re sensitive to odors, look for an unscented candle.
- The tin your tea light rests in plays a direct role in whether you can set it on a table or other surface without worrying about damage.
- In addition to being safer, flameless candles also produce no soot. However, you can also find flame-based tea light candles that keep soot and smoke to a minimum.
- If you opt for a flameless candle, make sure the flame itself is realistic.
- Tea lights are typically sold in large packs, which means if you won’t be using dozens immediately, you’ll need to store them in a temperature-controlled area for later use.
- Candles can be useful during power outages, but if you need a candle for lighting, a tea light probably won’t provide sufficient light unless you group a large number of them together. Tea lights are more for setting a romantic mood or providing a soft glow in a room with additional lighting.
- In any pack you buy, you can count on having at least one or two dud candles. Prepare for that so you won’t be disappointed.
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