Travel Tea Infuser Bottle, Loose Leaf, Stainless Steel Tea Thermos with Mesh Tea Basket, 16oz

I bought this to replace a Teavana tea tumbler that I had lost. When browsing for a new tea tumbler, I had several requirements: (1) larger than 12 oz, (2) large, stainless steel tea basket, (3) easy lid opening, (4) ability to keep liquids warm for 6+ hours. This product fulfilled all of the above and at a reasonable price.The tumbler itself is good quality. I had concerns with the flip-top lid mechanism especially the small plastic piece that latches the lid as it feels like the least sturdy of the entire tumbler, but nothing has failed yet. As advertised it does keep liquid hot/warm for a long time. I put boiling water in at night at 10 pm and have perfect temperature tea by 8 am the next morning. I haven't tested how well it keeps drinks cool though. It doesn't leak either, I throw it in my purse and have not had a problem.Regarding the criticism about the liquid pooling, that does happen because of how the mouth piece is built. I also find it annoying, but unlike the previous reviewer, I never had a problem with leaking. The rubber stopper prevents that. Like another review mentioned, it doesn't 100% filter tea leaves. I find that needle-like teas are more prone to escape like jasmine pearls, but I never have this problems with wide-leaf teas. I don't mind getting a few tea leaves here or there though.If I could change a few things, I would like to see a rubberized bottom and and all-black mouthpiece because the white mouthpiece and blue rubber stopper are already starting to stain with tea (especially since tea pools in the mouthpiece and stays there). Those are just aesthetics though.Functionally, I find it nearly perfect with a few minor annoyances detailed above. The large tea basket is amazing and really allows tea to expand. I love being to leave the tea basket in and add hot water throughout the day and still retain some, albeit diluted, tea flavor. With the heat retention, I can make tea before bed and have perfect temperature tea in the morning. Finally, I think it provides the most "features" for the price compared to its competitors - large capacity, heat retention, easy open lid, and large tea basket!

I recently purchased a Flying Tea Gourd and I think it is a marvelous tea brewing system and thermal tumbler. It is an exemplar of careful and thorough product design, and performs its functions admirably.The stainless steel tumbler is well-constructed, substantial and keeps tea hot for hours. The tea basket is made from durable rigid stainless steel, not wire mesh that might eventually tear. The top has a hard plastic flip-top 'cup' which is perfectly shaped for drinking on the go, and the container seals tightly and drip free when not in use.I typically brew one cup of tea in the container in the morning, then transfer it to another mug as my wake up tea. I then brew a second container to take with me. (The tea basket has a little wire handle that can get hot during steeping, so I sometimes have to use a fork to lift it out.) I do like that the depending on the type of loose leaf tea used, the basket allows you to easily reuse the tea leaves if you prefer your second cup to be weaker--or like me, you drink ridiculously expensive tea.I'll be donating all my old stainless vacuum flasks and single cup tea brew contraptions to rummage sale. Thanks for the best tea-brewing thermal tumbler ever!I was not compensated in any way for this review. I just bought this and like it. Quite a bit, in fact.Note: I brew black tea and don't like the bitter taste ifit is let to steep too long, so I brew my tea in the basket and then remove it. With other types of tea (or if you don't mind bitter black tea) you may want to put the tea leaves directly in the container and use the basket on top as a strainer.

This is one of the best thermal flasks out there. The tea I make remains hot - actually piping hot after 12 hours. The only issue why I will give it 4 stars is because of the design . So I have to remove the metal infuser when I want to drink tea or else the tea leaves come into my mouth while taking a sip. Since it's a travel model , I'd find it weird that I have to remove the metal attachment and look for a place to keep it , or drain the leaves when I want to have tea. There should have been another stopper for the strainer or a mesh at the drinking attachment to prevent this , and it would have been perfect.

Okay, this is going to sound silly, but this vacuum bottle works almost too well. I put a teabag in the bottom of the bottle, UNDER the strainer, and filled it with boiling water. I left the cap off for a few minutes and then tested the tea. It was so hot that it scalded my mouth. So, I poured a little tea out and put in a couple of ice cubes. And it was still too hot; even after a couple of hours! So, be warned, this little thermos keeps things HOT, even when you don't pre-warm the thermos. It doesn't leak when you close it up tight even if you throw it in your purse and let it bounce around for a couple of hours.The only con is that removing the strainer is hard and it seems like the little handle is going to break. So far the little handle on the strainer has held up just fine, but it always seems like you have to pull really hard to get the strainer out. Of course, it is really nice that the strainer keeps the teabag, or loose tea separate from the drink opening so well and might not do such a good job if it were easier to remove. I do recommend using a gentle hand when removing it though.

I received this yesterday and I couldn't wait to use it. I found it easy to drink from and it definitely keeps your drink hot! With that being said, I bought it to use with loose tea. I did not realize that the strainer did not have a lid, so if you like to leave your tea leaves in the infuser while you drink, you WILL be drinking your leaves. I read a comment that says put the leaves in the bottle and then place the diffuser in. I will do that until I can find a bottle with a diffuser that has a lid at a reasonable price or just buy a diffuser ball to drop into the bottle.