Customer Reviews

Bodum New Kenya 17-Ounce Tea Press, Black

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

 

 

I purchased the Bodum New Kenya tea presses in both the small and the medium sized models. I really enjoy good quality loose tea, and the tea presses make it very convenient to brew this way (although the tea presses do also accommodate bagged tea, according to the instructions). For the small press I add about one and one half tablespoons of loose tea to the strainer, and about three tablespoons for the medium sized press. The amount you add, as always, will depend on your own preferences.

I would have given the New Kenya presses 5 stars, but for one feature that I believe has the potential for eventual failure, due to extended use. The plunger portion of the tea press is surrounded by a soft plastic gasket, to seal it closely to the basket when pressing the tea leaves. Because this gasket is made of such a soft material, I can see that it has the potential to wear out over time, much in the same way that other gaskets can become worn.

It doesn't appear that this gasket comes off or separates from the plunger, so I imagine that if it does wear out, the entire lid and plunger assembly will have to be replaced. Potentially, that could be costly, but with the reduced price that Amazon currently offers these models, it might be a moot point. The New Kenya models are the first Bodum tea presses I have purchased, so I do not know if all of the Bodum models have this same type of plunger assembly.

Perhaps I am being overly cautious, but I depend on the reviews of others many times when making purchases, so I want to be as honest as possible. (You can decide whether or not my concern is important to you!)

The most significant points are that this press is simple to use, allows you to control the strength of your brewed tea, and is also very easy to clean. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that it makes one heck of a great cup of tea!? Cheers!

There are some things to really like in this little tea press and others that have me looking for a replacement. Let's start with the pros:
+ great size, 17oz is just right for about two mugs of tea
+ good value
+ easy to clean
+ good looks
But here's my cons:
- plastic filter doesn't stick well in the pot; if you pour tea you really have to hold it in with a finger or two or it will pop out and cause a mess
- the filter's holes are too coarse - if you like green or herbal teas or any very finely ground tea leaves, the will get out of the filter and into your cup. That's my biggest complaint with this
- the filter has about 1/5 of it's length without any holes. That's where your tea leaves will be after you depress the plunger. Unfortunately, that's also where most of the leaves are while brewing, so the exchange between tea leaves and water is very poor while brewing. For the same reason, making just a 6 oz. small tea amount is very difficult - the water barely reaches the tea leaves!

The glass is extremely thin and fragile. I haven't broken mine, but it would be easy to do. The thin glass loses heat VERY rapidly. There are no marks to indicate volume, and the actual filled volume is approximately 24 ounces, so unless you have pre-measured the water good luck brewing to the correct strength. The infuser basket itself doesn't have holes in the bottom (intentionally, according to the design) and isn't particularly effective. Bottom line: there are simpler, easier to clean, and more effective ways to brew a small pot of tea.

i was about to buy the 17 oz. bodum kenya tea press since i typically have only one big mug of tea in the morning. however, the oversized mug i use holds more than 20 oz. - this unit wouldn't have filled it.

i then measured the capacity of a few "standard" size coffee mugs - each held close to 10 oz.

bodum makes wonderful products, but there's a chance the volume of tea you can make at one time with this 17 oz pot might not be all you need, depending on how much you drink.

i ended up ordering the 34 oz bodum kenya tea press instead, since "too much is never enough."

This tea pot is great. It's easy to clean. Easy to carry. Makes perfect tea almost every time. I blame the bad pots on operator error due to lack of caffeine.

I like the pot. I want to love it. But the filter doesn't filter very well; the holes are big enough that I end up eating a lot of leaves. It's fine if you like tea with very big leaves, but I'm trying out all kinds of teas and the filter just cannot contain rooibos.

Also, I've only had it for a week, but the plastic is already discoloring.

I would adore this teapot if it had a metal filter, but as it is I'm already shopping for a new pot.

My wife got one of these for me at Target a few years ago and I used it almost every day. It got knocked off the counter and shattered causing us to find that, lo and behold, they're hard to track down in stores now. Amazon came through nicely at a comparable price to the original one and I'm back in business!