Hey, new here, not new to woodworking. I’ve made some furniture and have average hobbyist skills. I want to make a draining tea tray like the one pictured. Mine will probably look different, but this is just to show you what I’m talking about. The idea is that making tea with certain pots can get messy and this will catch the (hot) spills and then you just drain it afterwards. I’ve found them for sale online, but haven’t found any info about making one. I’m fine coming up with the design and construction but not sure what finish to use. It needs to be able to have very hot tea come in contact with it and hold up reasonably well. It would be drained in less than an hour. I’m still deciding on wood species.

Basically, I realize this is not an ideal situation for a wooden object, but I’m going to make it regardless and just want to increase the life of the finished product (even if I have to accept it will have a limited life). Also, I’m okay with relatively expensive wood for this as it’s not terribly large. I’ve thought about teak, or something similar. My favorite overall species is walnut. Oh, and I am familiar with using marine epoxy if that could work. I’ve done a little light boatbuilding but never really needed for it to be as thin as I’d want here and then there’s the hot water issue.

Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks.

-James