Not worth the money
First of all, this teapot is so pricey because it is mouth-blown. However, the quality does not match the price. The strainer is a piece of glass with slits cut in it to strain the water. However, the design is poorly made because the tea leaves end up blocking the passage and water does not get through. Secondly, the teapot is made of very thin and fragile glass. A simple tap against the sink will be enough to cause a chip on the infuser. And lastly, the infuser and lid are very loose fitting causing them to wiggle freely around the teapot.
Delightful!
I'm amused by all of the folks that have problems with tea leaves in the slits of the infuser . . . I'm not sure what I'm doing differently, but I have no problem getting the infuser clean. I purchased this with two (bodum) cups and find it a delightful way to have my tea on weekends and in the evenings (I use the ingenuitea (as in "unbreakable") at work). While the water is boiling, I put hot water (from the tap) into the pot to warm it (just like I would with any teapot), put the tea leaves (usually a black tea, sometimes a green) into the infuser. When the water is ready, I empty the hot water, put the infuser into the pot, and add the boiling water directly into the infuser. I let the tea brew for 3-4 minutes while I'm putting everything ... Read More
Great Tea Pot
I got this for work. I fill the main pot with water, usually hot water from a bottled water stand, and finish heating it up in a microwave. Put the infuser in and add tea. I drink primarly black tea with occasional oolong or green. The pot retains heat plenty long enough to brew the tea (for me 2 to 4 minutes depending on the type of tea). If I wanted it hotter I would leave the infuser in while heating the water. With the top on it will retain a modicum of heat for a reasonable amount of time after brewing is complete. At worst I pour a cup and reheat it in the microwave. The infuser is a little difficult to clean, but if I blow through the slits I have always been able to get them clean. I actually really like the slits because you can put almost ... Read More
Watching tea is like staring into a flame
I have had this tea-pot for a year now. It didn't get much use in the summer months, but since it has gotten chilly, I have dusted it off. I use this pot whenever I want to make more than one cup at a time. There are a few tricks to getting this pot to work its best, but it is well worth it because watching the tea infuse with the water is very hipnotic and beautiful. Some teas unravel when they are steeped, and some just put on color shows in the hot water.
Practical guide to using the pot:
First, put your hot water into the pot and your tea into the infuser, then gently put the infuser into the pot. Forcing the infuser into the water may cause a spill. I recommend this method as opposed to pouring the water into the infuser ... Read More
More trouble than it's worth!
I was initially attracted to this teapot beccause of the glass infuser; plastic infusers can turn brown after just a few uses (polycarbonate is a little better), so I decided to give it a try. The good news is that, yes, because the thing was made of glass, it did not stain.
The bad news was... that it was made of glass. Thin glass. This means that it can't retain the heat needed to extract the full flavors of some black teas, but this is something I can live with as I drink mostly oolongs and herbal.
Also, perhaps because of the glass, instead of holes in the infuser, water enters through little slits. This makes cleaning this thing a PAIN! Tea leaves get stuck in this slits, and the only way I could get them out was to actually ... Read More
