Customer Reviews

Brown Betty 6 Cup Tea Pot - Look for "Original Staffordshire Brown Betty" embossed on the base of the Teapot for Quality and Authenticity - Made in England Not China

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased 8 of these teapots in 4-, 6-, and 8-cup sizes for home use and as gifts for friends. I assumed that, since they are labeled as 'Made in England', they would reflect the high quality one expects of ceramics made in the British Isles. However, these are the cheapest, flimsiest teapots money can buy. They were largely unavailable for a month or two in 2007 as the manufacturer made more. Apparently, the company was bought out and taken over by a new owner, who then started manufacturing these cheap excuses for a teapot. When these new teapots were released in early 2007, I noticed they were much lighter and flimsier than those made by the previous company owners. So I put each new teapot on a postal scale and weighed the new ones against earlier versions I already owned. Sure enough, the postal scale indicated that all of the new teapots are appreciably lighter as a result of being made with considerably less clay. I wrote a letter of complaint to the manufacturer and have never received a reply. Long story short - I have already had one teapot develop cracks throughout the inside of the pot, meaning the tea seeps into the clay and can develop mould, and I had the handle break off the other pot. I just started my third of these teapots today - the 8-cup version. I heated the pot with hot tap water to warm the pot, after which I filled it with water from the kettle. Then I stood back and listened to all of these popping/cracking sounds as the glaze began to crack throughout. Sadly, this company appears to be the last manufacturer of British-made Brown Betty teapots, but the quality is non-existent. They're quite cute, granted, just don't expect it to last for any length of time. I'm on my third teapot now in the span of one year. Please don't blame any of the typically wonderful, helpful suppliers of these teapots. I have found sellers to be very good about standing behind their products - unfortunately, both sellers and buyers are being cheated by these poorly made, cheap quality knock-offs of the original brown betty teapots. Instead, direct all of your complaints to the manufacturer, Cauldon Ceramics. In the meantime, please don't waste your money like I have.

Glaze became crazed the first time we used it, teapot is light for its size (1lb 4oz), spout chipped, and then lid broke when lightly dropped on counter. A poor product we've since replaced with a 40-year-old Brown Betty that is in much better shape, heavy for its size (2lb 7oz), with thicker glaze and a sturdier spout and lid.

I asked for one of these for a wedding present and I was thrilled to receive it.

However, this is definitely NOT the Brown Betty teapot of old. It crackled (or "crazed" as I believe it is called) withing the first couple of months. Then, 1 year later, a hole appeared above the spout and it dribbled from the word go (an absolute no-no for a Brown Betty). I don't know who makes these now, however, it can't be the same people who made the one my mother had for my entire childhood without so much as a chip or paint crackle. Very disappointed.

It is with great sadness that I learn of the demise of the Brown Betty teapot, one of the great institutions of tea-making, and of England. An English friend gave me mine fifteen years ago after I asked him how to make the perfect cup of tea. I considered this seemingly humble clay pot to be one of my finest possessions, for its elegant shape, gorgeous glaze, good balance in the hand, and of course, the way in which it made the perfect cup of tea. I treated it with care (my mom taught me always to hold the spout when washing a teapot, as she said that most old teapots have chipped spouts from being hit against the faucet or sink), so that it survived nearly daily use in my sometimes-crazy kitchen. However, it was just broken. I was happy to find what I thought was a replacement. No criticism of Amazon (to which I am grateful for carrying something that resembles a replacement), but the new pot is laughably inferior to my old friend. It has a clumsy, baggy, shape and pitted glaze, and the lid is not even the same color as the pot. It is awkward to hold, and based on other reviews here and elsewhere, I expect that it will not last forever, as my old one might have if not for that one moment. So I am meditating on impermanence, on not trying to find happiness in things, which can be broken. But I wish that I -- and the rest of the world -- had the old Brown Betty teapot back.

The Brown Betty teapot it ok, but it has a problem - it cannot be filled all the way, since the spout is lower than the top - hot water spills out out the spout when it is filled to the top. Other than that, it's fine.

I purchased a brown betty tea pot from this company. It did arrive on time but was poorly packed. The tape was loose and coming apart on the package. The contents were loosely packed. It appears that the packager placed the pot with the lid on it into the box, filled it with styrofoam peanuts, taped it shut and shipped it. When I got it the lid was off the pot, had a chip inside. The packing was in the pot and the lid was loose upon the top of the remaining packing. Upon inspection of the pot, I discovered that the pot was of inferior quality, the glaze was not completely around the inside of the pot, it had a big bare spot about the size of a silver dollar. I did not send the pot back because of shipping hassles living in a rural community. I will from now on take the time to drive into the city 65 miles away from my home to make this type of purchases. I will continue to purchase books from AMAZON.

I have gone through two of these teapots. After the first became unusable I figured perhaps I'd just received a pot from a bad batch, so I bought another. Within a few months of use (several times a week)just like the first, the second pot crazed to the point that tea leaked from it. It's such a shame the company manufacturing these has allowed the quality of an iconic item like the Brown Betty to degrade to such a level.

I am a big tea lover and bought this teapot so I could finally start using the antique teacups I've bought over the years. This is perfect. It's small enough to store without taking a lot of space, I don't need to put it on the stove and wait for it to heat up. I just put it in the microwave for a few minutes and it's fast and easy and doesn't get overly hot like a stove-top would. It's adorable and I think it's a good quality. I know it's not stainless steel, but as long as you don't just bang it around in your cupboards I don't know how much sturdier or well-made you'd need it to be. I think it's absolutely perfect and adorable and I'd definitely buy these for my friends!

I only buy the Brown Betty's with the Staffordshire label embossed somewhere on the pot. The other pots crack and craze, but these are the original made from clay. I have two, and will soon add to my collection. I use mine every day and I LOVE it!!!

I have had this tea pot less than a year and the entire glaze has crazed drastically.
My previous tea pot lasted me at least 20 years and my family has a 100 year history of using Brown Betty Tea Pots without a problem of any kind. This is a big disappointment.
It does not effect the quality of the tea, just looks terrible.