Customer Reviews

**NEW Design** Glass and Stainless Steel Tea Brewing Tumbler - Large 16 Oz

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

 

 

The container looks great! the Strainer is a bit on the difficult side to put in and take out but it does keep the tea out of the way. If you put the lid on to keep the tea warm you will burn your hands trying to get it off especially if you put it on tight. the glass does get warm when you fill it too. I wouldn't use black teas or any tea that goes bitter if over brewed in this because you can't remove the leaves w/o drinking all of it. I made an herbal Berry tea, I'm sure that if I added more sugar and water it would work as advertised and have a second cup. I like this Just wish that the top didn't get so hot!

This review comes after two weeks of near-daily use of the tumbler. Here are my thoughts:

(1) DESIGN: Love it. Like many that opt for this tumbler and the 12-oz version, I wanted a glass container because of its purity and visual appeal. With the exception of the metallic filter and lid (the latter of which also contains a synthetic substance -- plastic? -- to seal the container and prevent leakage), the entire product is glass. As for the visual element -- it's wonderful watching the loose tea circulate and serves as the perfect container for blossoming tea, should you have any. The metal filter snaps neatly into and out of place, and -- while you can't see it in the picture -- there's a secret handle (imagine the handle of a shopping basket) that allows for easy snap in/out action. My baristas at the local coffee shop got the handle of it immediately. I have yet to experience any leakage problems, even when the tumbler is turned upside down and/or shaken. Finally, I find the tumbler easy to clean due to its big mouth.

(2) TEMPERATURE: The double-glass structure keeps the surface of the container at a manageable temperature; even when filled with boiling water, it's never too hot to touch. The tumbler's stainless steel top, however, can get hot, especially if you fill the container with water well beyond the metal filter. As for the temperature of the tea -- the tumbler, when filled with boiling water, can keep tea hot for approximately an hour and warm for another hour. After that, it settles to room temperature. That's more than enough time for me to enjoy my tea, and if the temperature lowers beyond what I desire, I just add a little more hot water.

(3) PORTABILITY: As a student, I carry this container in my backpack. It fits neatly in the outer mesh pockets of my camelbak, but I tend to put it in an zippered interior pocket when commuting. It's not as sturdy as my former metallic thermos, but for me, it's a trade off worth making.

I wanted a combination travel mug and teapot, which is what the description seems to imply. This is just a glass teapot with a built-in filter. If you use it to brew tea and then immediately pour into a mug for drinking, then you can refill with hot water to steep again. But here's where the problems begin:

1) The 16 oz capacity and insulated walls imply brew once, then pour off multiple cups of hot tea. But if you don't pour your tea off right away, it will oversteep. (One reviewer said he uses it for herbal tea, so that would work I suppose.)

2) Contrary to what several people here have said, my experience is that the top is NOT secure at all, it takes only the smallest turn to tighten or loosen, it's not really screwed on. As a result, it will still dribble all over the place if tipped sideways.

3) While it looks great, again in hindsight at least, glass isn't the smartest material for a travel container. The first time you drop this (and who hasn't dropped a travel mug?), game over. So it wouldn't make sense to even take this to work every day.

In the end, is all this really any better than a stainless steel tea ball?

To be fair, if you have a very specific niche use, like the other reviewer who used it to brew herbal teasans, or if you don't mind your tea steeping for 30 minutes, and you rarely move around with it, then yes I imagine this could work. That's the only reason we gave it 2 stars instead of 1. We'll be returning this.

This was given to me as a gift upon my request, it looked like just the tea steeping glass I wanted. On my first use of the tumbler the glass threads broke and I ended up with glass in my mouth. The metal lid grinds against the threads and at least in my case created an unsafe product to use. I tried to contact Summit Tea via email and phone but they would never contact me back. My suggestion is to stay away from this company and this product.

The double layer glass has a hole in the bottom of the outside layer to allow air to pass through for expansion (I am assuming that is why it is there). This hole unfortunately will also let water or soapy water in when you turn it upside down and put it in the dishwasher. But the hole is too small for the water to drip out. I always ended up having some soapy water left in between the glass layers which will leave a residue even when finally totally dry.

This hole I also believe basically eliminates the insulation ability of the double glass layers, which is why it doesn't really keep your tea hot longer than it would stay hot in a regular glass mug.

What I ended up doing is taking a dremel with a diamond bit tip and drilled a second slightly larger hole (still pretty small) near the rim on the bottom of the outside layer of glass (near the first hole). This allows air to pass through one hole while water drips out the other. So, it drips dry quickly now. But most people will not have a dremel or feel comfortable drilling another hole in the glass.

I will add also that you put the tea in, add hot water, then wait for it to steep. For me, by the time it was done steeping and ready to drink. There was only a couple of minutes left before it started getting cold. So, that is a bit of a flaw in this concept.

Overall it is OK. The glass is very high quality. I had no problem with the lid or strainer.

There is a different brand and type of bottle for tea that is all stainless steel. It does basically the same thing except that the capacity is twice as much and it is a real vacuum bottle, so it keeps the tea hot for hours if that is what you want. But if you want glass, you will have to go with this because I don't know any others with a screw on lid.

I like the way this looks but I can't recommend it. I had a steel travel mug with a tea strainer which I loved until the top fell apart. It kept my tea hot for hours and fit in my car's cup holder. This one I just ordered doesn't fit in my cup holder and doesn't keep my tea hot for even two hours. I had bought two with the plan to use one myself and give the other as a gift. Now I have to find another gift as I would never give this to anyone.

**Notice, I bought mine in 2010. The problems expressed here may have been fixed by now**

Like another reviewer, I found a 2mm hole in the bottom of the cup plugged with a dab of silicone. I have used several of these types of tumblers and this is not normal. I believe this to be a manufacturing defect. The plug fell out after a few washings, and then the inside clouded up. I tried to heat the tumbler on the stove to get the water out, which worked, but did something to the glass and it ended up cracking later. Summit Tea was good about it though and replaced the unit, but the new unit had the little whole also. So on this one, I pulled out the silicone and replaced with a dab of JB Weld, which has held for a year with regular use. But it looks weird to have a little goo on the bottom of the tumbler.

It is possible that this defect has been fixed on current models. Teavana carries a similar tumbler with no hole. So I recommend either getting one of these, or contacting Summit Tea to see if they have gotten shipments without this hole defect.

As for other reviews about the fragility of the tumbler, It is all glass. If you keep that in mind, you will be fine. They will last for years.

As for the review about the metal strainer not fitting well into the glass collar, this tends to happen with use. The trick is to take small screwdriver or pointed object and carefully adjust the snapping pins outward until the strainer snaps into place properly.

I got this for my finace for Christmas. He's a big tea enthusiast, so he loved it.

Unfortunately, just a couple weeks after he got it, it got tipped over on his desk and the inside portion just snapped off. It didn't roll off the desk or anything, just tipped over. The glass shards were pretty dangerous- I got a pretty nasty cut when I tried to take off the metal lid to put it into the glass recycling bin.

Thinking of replacing it, I'm leaning towards the Teavana 16oz tumbler mentioned by a previous reviewer. It's the same price, and if we did have a problem with it we could take it back to our local Teavana store and maybe get it replaced.

UPDATE 2:
I finally took the sticker off the bottom, and unhappily noted that there is a 2mm hole in the bottom of the cup plugged with a dab of silicone. Not a huge deal, but three other double-wall borosilicate containers I own do not have holes or silicone glue plugs. It's only a matter of time before that gets dislodged and stuff starts accumulating between the walls. Other brands have much better construction for the same or lower price.

UPDATE:
Used this almost daily for the past month. It's called "New Design," but they forgot to update some important features: the mesh in the strainer is too fine-gauge and easily distorts, looks as if it will tear or break off the frame soon and is already disfigured; the glass ledge on which the strainer sits is too shallow so that the strainer has been hard to seat at times, and has actually popped through and fallen into the glass on top of my tea leaves, making it difficult to extract. I still find the glass useful (but Teavana now also has a 16 oz. version with larger-gauge mesh and a better seat) and I would look for other options if I had to do this again. Overall design suits my purpose, though.


ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I had to upgrade from a 12-ounce version from Teavana. The glass is satisfactory; the only weakness I would point out is that the crimp in the glass on the inside which holds the strainer is not prominent enough, which makes inserting the strainer just a little more tricky than in the smaller one. It has never fallen out and rarely permits passage of a fragment of tea leaf.

Overall, I use this to brew oolong, green and white teas at work, and decant the tea after infusion into another glass for drinking. In other words, I use this as a portable teapot for some fine teas (I also use a timer and a digital thermometer to optimize conditions for what is really an aqueous extraction), and this works very well even in my cubicle. Some strains of oolong, green, and white teas may be infused multiple times--up to 8 or more--and this tumbler works perfectly for those brewing conditions.

I love this product! It is easy to use. I love seeing the tea leaves through the glass. I just add a pinch of my favorite loose tea, snap in the filter add water and I'm off. I drink straight from the tumbler and the filter keeps the leaves out of the way for drinking. Works great in the car and at work. The tea stays pretty warm. I find myself drinking the tea fast enough that I don't worry about oversteeping. I keep adding water to the same leaves all day. Works great, highly recommend.