ingenuiTEA

No more bits of tea at the bottom of your tea! Fantastic product!! Could not recommend this more. Strains tea very well, easy to clean, does not leak out without pressing the bottom as intended. The only possible negative is dumping tea into garbage is difficult without water -- the leaves stick to the inside of the cup. Minor inconvenience. I show this to a lot of people, and everyone loves it!

I've had brewers like this in the past of a different brand, but the tea shop that was near me closed. :( So I turned online, and recognized the Adagio brand as a tea that I enjoy quite a bit! Pros: Once and for all, because this was a major holdup of mine before I purchased this strainer based on other reviews, the filter at the bottom of the brewer IS removable. That's a game-changer. This will brew a BIG BAD BOY cup of tea. The reason these style of brewers are so wonderful is that there's all this space for the tea leaves to unfurl and get exposed to the water, and it develops the tea's flavor so much more fully than if it were loaded into, say, stainless steel reusable tea bags for example. The tea taste better and you can't put a price on that: it'll enhance any brand of loose leaf tea. Cons: At first, I thought other reviewers were right and I could NOT get that filter down at the bottom of the brewer to come out. I thought "great, that ruined this product for me." I filled it with boiling water to sterilize it before use, and after my first cup of tea out of this brewer I started to clean it out without taking the filter out. It was a hassle and I was already seeing a 2-star review in my future. But after some scrubbing I realized that the filter was beginning to rock back and forth a bit: it took a much more firm hand than I was ready to use, but with a little elbow grease I saw that the filter pops straight up and out! It's simply a very snug fit, and I think the hot water expanded the plastic enough for me to take the filter out much more easily. If you are having trouble removing this filter, fill the brewer with hot water and wait 5 minutes. Dump the water and pull on that little stick that is poking up through the middle of the brewer: rock it back and forth, pull the dickens out of it. It does pop out, I promise, and after that first removal it'll be easier to take out to clean. :) I'd buy this brewer again for certain. The only reason I hesitated was because of the filter: but now that I know it's removable it's a total win-win

I was a little worried when I bought this because of some of the negative reviews I've read, but I am very happy with this purchase. The strainer at the bottom is tightly fit and I have never had an issue with it floating up or coming loose. In fact, at first I thought it was permanently attached. Just make sure that when you put it back after cleaning it that you push it in all the way. Once it gets filthy beyond repair, a replacement filter can be bought from Adagio's website for $3. It is VERY easy to clean and it certainly does not take several minutes just to get the tea out. To dump out the tea I turn it up side down over my trash can and use a spoon to help get most of it out. Then I use water to rinse out whatever tea residue is left. The lid IS detachable. Just open the lid and pull back at the hinge to remove it. All of the parts of the Ingenuitea can be detached which makes cleaning it really easy. Just be careful when taking it apart. To remove the bottom part I like to remove the strainer and then push the white rubber bit down until the bottom comes off. When you put it back you should see that there are little nubs that you need to align with the body. It is small so if you have big hands you may want to consider buying something else as it will probably be a bit difficult to remove the strainer since you need to stick your hand in there and pull it out. It is made out of plastic so it will stain. To get rid of the stains without using nasty chemicals, I suggest soaking it in lemonade. I think it's the acid from the lemon juice that cleans the stains. Also, the smell of the last tea you brewed does linger (I hand wash it, I'm not sure if it's the same if you run it through the dishwasher). However, the flavors don't leach so this is not an issue for me. One more thing to note is that they do not sell this with a coaster any longer. Teavana's teamaker still does so you may want to consider that as an alternative.

I purchased this as a gift for someone who enjoyed tea but didn't love the mess loose leaf tea makes (I got them a 1/2 box of lipton loose lead tea with it which is fantastic) and they love it so much it is all the ever use anymore. I decided to get one for myself and try it out. I am SO impressed. The item has been updated since it was original made and I will list the updates (all but one are good) and how I use this. 1. The item is now BPA free which is listed clearly on the box. 2. The filter is not removable and is a very sturdy metal with less plastic. 3. For some reason they no longer include the plastic circular try you sit it on. While your tea is steeping you MUST put it on a hot pad to keep it as hot as possible. The tray worked in place of the hot pad and I;m not sure why they no longer include it. Use: 1. I add 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea to the teapot (just drop it right in). 2. Using my keurig (most have the now and they make boiling water instant and a breeze). Place the teapot under the drain and open and close the lid (as though you were putting in a cup but don't). 3. Depending on the size of the cup you are using you are going to need to experiment with the amount of boiling water you use. I set mine to the largest cup setting and hit brew. This fills it most of the way. If you want it to the very very top once it is finished but it on the smallest cup setting and hit brew. It will fill it to the teapots very fullest. 4. Close the lid and put it on a hot pad. I steep mine for 5 minutes. For stronger tea steep longer. 5. Simply lift the teapot and place it centered on top of the mug/cup. It will drain out of the bottom like magic. IF you have added too much water and see that it is going to overflow just lift the teapot and it stop instantly. Magic. So easy to use. If your mug opening is very very large (I haven't found one this won't fit) then hold the teapot over the mug and on the edge of the bottom push up and the tea will come out. (this is also how I clean the filter using soapy water) 6. You're tea is done! No mess and NO TEA GROUNDS. None whatsoever. Loose leaf tea used to be such a pain and so messy but not anymore. I recommend the 16oz of this and not the 32. A 16oz makes a nice large cup of tea for one person and it is very easy to fill up and make another one. 32oz is just too big and the tea will get cold, it is much easier just to make more. To clean I just invert and dump the tea leaves and then wash using soap and water. The lid is removable (carefully!) and I clean the filter as mentioned before. I highly highly recommend this. It makes a perfect gift and works wonders. So easy to use and works perfectly.

This is one of the most amazing things I've ever used. Period. It's incredibly simple, but so, so, SO useful. Truly. (I opted to purchase it on Amazon over Adagio for the shipping.) This can also be used for hot tea, not just iced! It's so easy to put the tea in, boil water, pour the water in, and let it steep. It's how it should be. It's like that with any tea maker, but it's so much easier with this one. Compared to the old infuser that I used to use, this is a lifesaver. When my tea finishes steeping, I just have to pick up the infuser, place it on top of the mug, and let it empty. That's it. Fine bits of tea rarely, if ever, get through, and it's so much easier than having to pour. (I don't need to worry about burning myself, or tea somehow pouring down the side.) I use glass beer steins from Ikea for my tea (glass doesn't stain, and my girlfriend hates stains on mugs), and this fills up about one full one, and one half one. Depending on how many mugs / glasses you're filling, the tea might taste a little different, so what I do is fill up one glass with 1/3 of the tea, the other with 1/3, and fill up the first with the other 1/3. (It balances out the flavor.) Cons- (they're mild to me, but they might have a bigger impact on someone else) -The stopper sometimes leaks, but it's only a drop or two, and only after I take it off the top of a mug, which is totally understandable. (Just a warning to anyone who really, really hates droplets.) -It can be a little difficult to clean, mostly depending on how fine your tea is. I'm able to get everything out by dumping it into the trash, and then rinsing it a few times. -It's plastic, so remember that it might begin to stain over time.

This is easily a five-star, high quality product. It makes great tea, it is fun to use, and it is a hit if you're entertaining guests ("Cool!" my friend said). The bottom line is that the quality of tea is fabulous. But it is a great product that needs an instruction manual. If you haven't had experience with a similar tea device then I don't know how you were supposed to figure out how to use it or clean it thoroughly. Reluctantly I have to subtract one star for that. The difficulties that I had in trying to take it apart to clean it with no instructions were too much of a headache. For me that meant searching through their website and YouTube for help and then misplacing one of the parts after I was finally able to take it apart. (There is a gasket, that I didn't realize was a separate part, which fell down and hid in a kitchen corner.) Maybe it's okay not to have instructions on the outside of the box, although I do not think so. I remember the first time I use one of these tea makers that it took a bit to understand the process. But no instructions on the manufacturers website? Maybe they'll get around to that, maybe even put their website on the outside of the box. I do want to share one specific suggestion for you in taking it apart. If you are more delicately formed, with less wrist strength (or maybe you have a justifiable fear of breaking something), know that this is one of those products where you're going to have to force it, somewhat more than you feel comfortable. But if you do realize that, know that pulling out that basket at the bottom out may require what feels like excessive force. The basket is positioned below all of the tea water and has a nipple at the top. After I succeeded for the first time in popping that loose I am now able to pull it out easily by applying minimal force on the nipple at about a 90° angle using only one finger. If you normally use one teabag in an 8 ounce cup of tea, I suggest at least 2 teaspoons and maybe even a full tablespoon of bulk tea, for a maximum of five minutes. That makes strong, clean tea that is not bitter. I don't even use bags anymore. I break them open and then put that tea into this tea maker instead. Much better taste. The tea maker claims this makes 16 ounces, but be sure to leave some room at the top, don't pour boiling water to the brim. So in practice it makes more like about 13 ounces of tea. Also the customer support was great. When I told them that a gasket was missing, they were very prompt and helpful in supporting their product. They were willing to replace it altogether when I said that the gasket was missing. And then they were also helpful by politely excusing my clumsiness when I reported that the gasket had popped off and wandered.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Our story begins in Summer 2013, which is when our main character, henceforth known as Downstairs Neighbor (DN) makes his existence known to us. After I come back from a long-ish summer vacation, DN feels compelled to inform the building manager of my existence, including hearing my footsteps. Listen, I walk with purpose, but I am no Stampy and you would think that someone that chooses to live below someone would anticipate hearing them, I don't know, breathe occasionally. After building manager relays this message, I feel bad for being a nuisance and try to be more quiet. Soon I realize that I'm not the problem: it's the DN. His actions include calling the police on a crew that the building hired to replace the building roof, which was as noisy as you'd expect it to be but calling the police on the crew is not the solution (the foreman dropped by to ask me if I was okay with the noise and told me about him calling the police). DN also has not one but TWO disabled parking spots (he lives alone) but regularly parks in one of the regular spots when his disabled parking spots are sitting open. My building doesn't have assigned parking but it's also not like AMPLE. A couple of summers ago, I decide to have a summer garden and at some point while watering my one and a half springs of parsley and half cucumber plants, I do so while he's outside and water drops land in his vicinity. Heavens! Naturally, management gets a phone call about this. They ask me to go down and apologize to him and I refuse because this is how 68% of horror movies start. Instead, I write DN a note and ask management to pass along. So at this point we are all on the same page that he hates me and I hate him, right? Okay. Fast forward to New Years' Day On 2017. I wake up at 7 AM from a really loud banging noise. I assume the next door neighbors who like to get it on at 4AM and have woken me up so many times that I have started wearing foam earplugs to bed are at it again. I ignore it and try to go back to sleep. The banging happens on and off (one example was at 6AM after I went to sleep at 2AM after traveling literally all day). At some point, I can't take it any more and ask the management to talk to the next door neighbors to cool it. Except.. PLOT TWIST! It's not next door neighbors. It's DN! Who apparently told management that since they are not doing anything to fix the "problem" he was going to take things into his own hands. The problem? Me showering "late"; as in, showering around midnight after traveling all day long (because come on! you have to shower if you've been traveling for 9+ hours). So we learn that DN literally throws his shoes (or other objects) at his own ceiling whenever I dare to deviate from his rulebook of my behavior (at this point I'm willing to put up with it, just give me a copy of the rulebook)!!! Currently we are at an impasse where I don't shower after 9PM and don't report it to the management when he is blocking in 8-9 cars by parking 2 cars on the driveway and he doesn't toss his belongings at the ceiling. Fast forward to today: I'm expecting the delivery of this wonderful item which i expect the post office will leave in front of my doorstep. Except no! Amazon is delivering it. Naturally, they email me approximately 5 times and even call me once telling me that they cannot find a "secure" location to leave the package. I provide instructions to leave on the porch (hoping they'll just leave it in front of my door) but they refuse. I ask them to take it to management office; they refuse. After approximately 5 attempted deliveries between 12 and 4, I finally get a notice that it's been delivered! Hallelujah!! There is even a picture to prove that the package was left in front of my door!! Except that's not my door and I don't know whose door it is!! Before running around all around the building looking for my package and have to field questions from neighbors about what exactly I am up to, I go to the management office and ask them if they can ID the door. Reader, it's the DN's door. Which of course you probably guessed at this point. Management calls DN and asks if they've seen a package. Not only have they seen and brought in the package, they have also opened it and decided that they're not into tea as much as I am. The package, now opened, eventually makes its way to my door and me and my newfound tea obsession live happily ever after. The teapot itself is great.

I drink a lot of hot Japanese loose leaf Green Tea. A couple of months ago I was introduced to the Ingenuitea Teapot by a friend and I just had to have one, ordering it within the hour. I love it! It's the easiest way to brew your tea...it's a bit easier than using a French Press, which is what I was using, and this is easier to clean. If you brew a lot of loose leaf tea, you really need to purchase one of these. Having said that, I will offer a word of caution with this plastic pot. Three days ago, my wife came home from a business trip with a box of loose leaf Market Spice tea; Cinnamon & Orange. After one infusion, the inside of the teapot...and the inside of the lid.... are permanently etched. I dumped out the tea leaves and rinsed out the remaining leaves before hand washing it, and noticed the inside was mottled-looking and very cloudy....it just looks nasty!! I can only guess that it was a bad reaction between the plastic and either the oils or citrus from the artificial flavorings in the tea....I'm not a big flavored tea drinker as it is, but my wife brought it home for me and so I had to try it. The lid never came in contact with the liquid, but the inside of the lid is also etched, apparently from the vapor. I'm now wondering if I should even be drinking this tea!! I used a kitchen Dobie pad to see if anything would come off but it didn't even phase the coating...and the smell of the tea is also infused in the plastic. I made Green tea tonight and that cinnamon-orange flavor is in my tea. I have just ordered another unit because I really like this teapot, but this new one will definitely be dedicated to my Green Tea. THIS INGENUITEA TEAPOT WILL BE THE BEST LITTLE TEA INFUSER YOU'LL EVER OWN.