Bodum Assam 17-Ounce Tea Press

by Bodum

Product Features

• Brew tea without removing the infuser
• 17-ounce capacity
• Designed for the British Tea Council
• All parts are dishwasher safe
• Heat resistant borosilicate glass, stainless steel lid, polycarbonate strainer and plunger

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.2 x 7.4 inches ; 9.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005LM0Y
• Item model number: 1842-01GVP
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,611 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Who knows more about tea than the British? When the British Tea Council asked Bodum to develop a new way of brewing tea, the result was this unique press that's almost as much fun to look at as it is to use. Simply fill the strainer with tea leaves and add boiling water--a slow process, but well worth the time. (You could also use tea bags, but why would you want to?) The clear jug lets you see the tea as it's steeping, allowing you to customize its strength to your taste. When the tea is strong enough, slowly depress the plunger to stop the brewing. You won't have any tea leaves to read at the bottom of your cup, but there's no mess and no need to remove the strainer before you pour. But be forewarned: the Bodum press doesn't retain heat quite as well as a traditional teapot, so you might want to use a tea cozy if you're not drinking the whole pot in one sitting. It's a shame to cover up such a beautiful design, but that's the way the tea leaf tumbles. --Mary Park

Product Description

The Assam tea press from Bodum is tea sipping at its most elegant. Only a few steps are involved: first, put the desired amount of tea into the center column, pour in hot water then place the lid on with the plunger in the raised position. When the tea has reached your preferred stength, push the plunger down firmly - the tea is now sealed in the base of the column away from the hot, tea-infused water. Brewing is stopped and your tea will remain at its current strength. Bodum Assam Teapot will let you brew a perfect pot of tea, all the while allowing you to enjoy the visual delights of fine tea. The secret is in the plunger mechanism which squeezes the tea leaves down, retaining their presence at the bottom of the pot, to infuse all their properties into the hot water..

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This thing is so cute, April 8, 2002

By 

atmj (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bodum Assam 17-Ounce Tea Press (Kitchen)

Okay, I admit, cute is a big draw, however, as most Bodum products, this is a very functional item.

JUST THE RIGHT SIZE:
This is a perfect size as a personal teapot. It holds a full 16 oz., about 2 mugs worth. For my purposes, it is enough to drink in one sitting of reading a chapter in a book. Though it cools, it does not cool enough to be unpalatable for the 2 mug capacity.

PLASTIC INSERT COULD BE BETTER DESIGNED TO STAY PUT WHILE POURING:
The plastic insert, though it has these ear things to catch on the glass pot, when you are pouring the last bit of tea, is inclined to plop out. You need to hold the top on, while pouring that last bit. It is too bad this does not rotate in, so that it latches better. If you have a cat sitting on your lap while reading two hands are just not available.

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO STOP BREWING MAKE SURE PLUNGER IS ABOVE WATER LEVEL:
I found that if the plunger is below the water level, it quickly drops, stopping the brewing process, you need to be sure to leave it above the water level to avoid this. It is too bad it was not done a bit different to avoid this. I found I had to play with it a bit to get it where I wanted, prior to stopping the tea from steeping. Once it is done it does a great job of stopping the steeping. Just don't try to say that out loud.

DON'T KNOW HOW IT IS WITH LOOSE TEA:
I only used this with tea bags, as I had no loose tea on hand. I don't know how it will do. However the holes in the basket looked a bit large, so a very fine tea may get out; creating sludge.

OVERALL QUALITY:
Bodum does a nice job designing. I liked this tea pot without a protruding spout. It takes up less room, and is not so vulnerable in the dishwasher. I was concerned that it would weep down the side of the pot when I poured, but it did not. I am a tad bit dissappointed in the plastic insert in that it falls out easy, but for the price I think it is okay.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My evening companion, November 13, 2002

By 

J. Crowley "mmcjprof" (NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bodum Assam 17-Ounce Tea Press (Kitchen)

I'd been looking for a small teapot for months when I ran across this tea press. I love having herbal tea on cold evenings, but one cup is not enough and a standard teapot is way too much. This pot is just right. Since it's a tea press, you can steep the tea exactly the way you like it, without having to fish out a tea bag or mess with a tea ball. I have an electric mug warmer on my desk, and the pot fits beautifully. With the tea leaves out of circulation, I don't have to worry about a stewed tea taste, but my tea is properly warm all evening.

I do have two minor quibbles. The first is that the plunger will sink to the bottom of the pot all by itself. I have to tilt it slightly while the tea steeps. The second problem is that the lid fits only when the tea strainer is in the pot, so you are stuck with leaving the strainer in place. I still love my little pot, but it's a four star experience. Fix the lid, and it's five star all the way!!

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Designed upside-down, October 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bodum Assam 17-Ounce Tea Press (Kitchen)

The design is completely upside-down. It should have been done where you lift the tea up out of the water rather than press it into some compression chamber. If they had done it that way they could have had a far finer, more open mesh in their infuser basket.

As it is the infuser basket is very closed off, with only a few hundred holes, of over 1mm in diameter, in contact with the surrounding water (compared to thousands of tiny holes in a wire or plastic mesh infuser). This means that there is very little circulation of the water via convection, and means that inside the infuser basket the liquid will reach saturation quickly while outside the infusion will be far too weak. You therefore must manually circulate it in order to get proper infusion. Some leaves will get through as a result of this pumping and the larger holes.

Furthermore, one simply *must* make the full 16oz or so of tea with this design, as less liquid will not reach the infuser basket because the compression chamber is at the bottom! Duh!

And to top all that off (or bottom it out, as it were), the damn plunger sinks of its own accord, cutting off even more of the infusbale area. There is no simple way to stop this from happening. They could have put a couple little nubs at the bottom and top of the pole, which one would twist into a slot and would firmly keep the plunger up or down as you wanted it. Instead, you have a delicate balancing act.

Worse off yet (if it could get worse), the whole stated advantage of the product is leaving the tea sitting there post-infusion time without it oversteeping and getting bitter. But the glass is beaker-material and while it stays warm OK is nowhere near as effective as the good old lined cast iron teapots that you heat up with boiling water first and then infuse with a proper mesh basket that reaches all the way to the bottom and gets lifted out when done. So with this thing your cold tea isn't oversteeped. Bonus.

The thing is designed to appear clever but falls on its face (or on its plunger). They deserve this wrap on the knuckles.