Customer Reviews

Bodum Teabowl

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a beautiful example of Scandinavian design, Danish, specifically. It's funky but functional--I keep mine out on the dining room table so guests see it, and no one fails to comment. It has a "double hull" to keep water warm in it for about 20 minutes to half an hour. I have no idea why another reviewer felt like it didn't keep tea warm long enough; that has not been my experience whatsoever. It *is* true that the metal tab on the wire mesh insert that holds the tea leaves (which tab you use to pull the mesh out) can get very hot if you need to remove it right away after pouring hot water for some reason, but this hasn't been an issue since I steep my tea a good three minutes and it's cool enough to touch at that point.

I recommend it for looks alone--it's a great piece. But it's also highly functional. This is what's characteristic about so much Scandinavian design, really: practical function and innovative form go hand in hand. If you're not an innovative-design person, get a boring old traditional teapot. But if you are a design person, this is the teapot for you.

The Bodum Tea Bowl is wonderfully designed for making and enjoying tea. The handle is comfortable to use. The infuser is large enough to allow the tea leaves to be surrounded by the hot water. Also, the infuser may be easily lifted out of the pot with a spoon, thus avoiding scalded fingers after the tea has brewed.

I purchased this teapot around two years ago. Before then I was only brewing bagged tea. Oh how blind I was, hahaha!! Then I discovered loose leaf tea!! Wow, the difference is night and day, no doubt.

I must specify that I drink massive amounts of green tea on a daily basis, and this teapot is the PERFECT teapot for that! Lets start with the basics.

1) A sleek stylish design (beautiful stainless steel that still looks gorgeous after 2 years, cleaning of the inside rim and inside necessary though)

2) A full 43 oz. capacity, which WOW!!...how great is that??


And of course all its fabulous functionality conveniences:

3) A large stainless steel fine mesh insert for the tea leaves that comes close to touching the bottom of the teabowl itself.
Which is an absolute must for brewing loose leaf tea as the water level needs to be able to cover the brewing tea leaves. This also makes it possible for you to brew a half a pot, should you choose not to brew the full 43 oz.

Should you desire a wonderful place to purchase your tea, (that is if Amazon lets me include this in my review <wink> ) the place where I get all my loose leaf tea is www.specialteas.com. I've tried several other tea sites, and I found this place to have the best quality with very reasonable prices. However if Amazon doesn't like the fact that I included this info in my review, feel free to remove this portion only. =P

Yes there is a bit of additional mess, but if you're a tea snob like me and ONLY drink loose leaf tea, theres always going to be a bit more of a mess than with bagged tea. But the taste and quality FAR surpass any bagged tea I've ever tried, so its worth it to me to deal with that. And I do mean a bit, considering if bagged tea was all that I could drink, if I had to go back, I would probably only drink water. =P

As far as dripping from the insert is concerned, I personally use a spoon to press out any additional water, and then rest the insert in a bowl shaped spoon holder (although any small bowl would do). That way it doesn't drip whatsoever.

Seriously guys, if you're used to tea being bland and flavorless, then you've never tried loose leaf tea. I can't possibly express in words the huge difference there is.

My point for specifying all this is, you NEED this teapot if you decide to take the wonderful journey that is "loose leaf tea"!! I drink so much tea, I would not know what to do with myself if I didn't have this teapot. It's been worth every single penny I paid, and then some. If I had to purchase it again, I would probably be willing to pay even more for it than I did.

As far as a concern another reviewer had about the temperature of the metal tab to remove the mesh insert, I've never had to use a spoon to remove it. Of course I also brew green tea which is brewed under the boiling point (180-190 degrees Fahrenheit, boiling point is 212).

On the rare instance that I do brew something at boiling point, I grip the metal tab on the sides of the flat metal surface, and I've never burned myself. Should it be that big of a concern for you, simply use a spoon to remove or the corner of a towel. Besides, any other teapot that has a removable insert isn't going to differ a whole lot as far as this problem. Whatever insert you may have in another teapot is most likely going to be just as hot when sitting in boiling water for several minutes =P

I think I've covered everything. When pouring, the teapot only drips if you brew so much tea in it, its just about to overflow hahaha!! And then I've managed a way to pour it so that it doesn't drip that way, either.

Again, I HIGLY recommend this teapot and I would buy another in a heartbeat and recommend this item to anyone who brews tea. I can't imagine the horrid mess I'd have of trying to brew loose leaf tea without it.

THANK YOU AMAZON AND BODUM!!

It makes tea and will certainly produce a crop of questions along the lines of "What on earth is that" It has, however, a number of drawbacks. First and most serious, the tea becomes cold very quickly since the teabowl has no insulation. Secondly, the strainer must be physically removed from the pot to stop the infusion. Since the strainer is then full of wet tea leaves these tend to drip causing a mess. In addition, the tea strainer cannot be removed by hand if the tea is hot. This means that either a spoon or some other utensil must be used to remove the strainer, not as easy as it seems.
I can't recommend this item.