Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First off, this is beautiful. The glass is even more exquisite than it looks in the box. It's really a work of art. It ships well too, and is in a paper carton that's form fitting to the cup.
The idea is pretty nice - a cup with it's own filter for lose teas, that is reusable. I like reusable stuff. I dig recycling. So, I was down with this idea.
As per the picture, this is merely a glass without a handle. I'm fond of japanese and chinese cups which generally have no handles either, so I figured, no big deal here. Again, while you can see this in the picture, some people in my house did not and complained when I gave it to them to use. So, just throwing it out there. It is thermal, and did not get unpleasantly warm during use.
There was one flaw which was a downer for me. The vents on the insert for the filter as reviewers noted, indeed do let finer tea leaves seep into your tea. Again, having drunk it "old school", a few leaves is no bother to me. However... this prompted my examination of the insert, especially for the review.
This appears to be made out of very lightweight glass, like pyrex but far thinner. If you're used to nice hefty porecelain or stoneware, you'll be disappointed. It's almost feather-light - good for people with hand troubles though, I suppose.
At any rate, staring at the filter, I wondered to myself, how precisely did they cut those holes in the bottom? Rather than being formed, they were indeed incised into the bottom. Not generally a big deal, but there are minute cracks and marks around the opening. No, I don't think you'll get glass chips in your tea, but it seems...well, sloppy. Here's this elegant glass, and they incised holes and left cracks there, although minute...the craftsman in me sort of did a double take. Might just be my tea cup in particular, but I've done some crafting with molten glass, and I only ever see flaws like that from cutting it when it's too brittle. I sometimes wonder looking at it, if the filter was actually an afterthought, and it had a metal one instead.
It's really not a bad tea cup. It's cute, has a lid, and looks pretty. Keeps your tea warm, but it's not optimal overall. When most of us die hard tea fans already have other options for lose tea that are reusable, I can't say I'd go out of my way to buy anything like this for myself again, to be really honest with you. I might for a gift, buy one with some swank loose tea. Overall though, it's in practice not as practical as you might think.
Consider that one of the main reasons you get a thermal reusable cup for your tea or coffee is that you are moving around a lot, or even driving. This is glass - durable glass, but glass nonetheless. This won't be the thermal cup you yank for car trips.
As an aside, one thing it works *great* for are tinctures of herbs and making flavored oils. Since it can hold up to heat, I made a flavored garlic and rosemary infused oil for cooking. The lid is great for storing, and the strainer gets rid of large herb chunks perfectly. Perhaps Bodum should make a version for that too? It actually is sort of useful in lots of ways around the kitchen if you're a foodie. It's perfect to keep small amounts of gravy or sauce warm but off heat, as well, like a hollandaise. The cup is great for eating soup, too, and I found it more useful for that since my tea rarely sits long enough to cool dramatically before it's gone. So, don't just limit it to tea if you get this.
If you enjoy getting unique toys for your tea, then this won't be bad for the collection. It will stand out, and get nice comments when you have company. Chances are though if you're looking for practical specialty tea wares, there are better in general. It really depends on your own tea habits, and what you are looking for. I'd suggest using another filter with it though for fine loose teas, or a tea ball, rather than relying on the glass filter alone if tea leaves bug you.
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