Takeya Flash Chill Iced Tea Maker - Airtight & Durable Iced Tea Maker Jug with Silicone Carry Handle - Leak-Proof & Lightweight Tea Infuser with Patented Flash Chill Technology - 1 Quart, Black

I considered getting one of the plug in style tea makers, but really didn’t want one more appliance to clutter my counters and compete for outlet space. I drink a lot of tea, both and iced and hot, so my stovetop kettle works just fine for me to heat the water for tea, and I can control the temperature better to match the type of tea I’m brewing.This is so easy to use! I just put about 4 T loose tea (1/4 c) in the mesh insert filter, fill the pitcher about 3/4 with boiling water (or whatever temperature is appropriate for your tea variety), attach the filter to the lid, and immerse it for about 5 minutes. (Just don’t do what I did the first time and screw the lid shut while steeping. Leave it slightly loose to keep the steam pressure from building up.) Remove the filter, separate it from the lid.The instructions say to fill about 1/2 with hot water, then after steeping fill it with ice and seal before shaking to “flash chill.” If I need it immediately, I do that, but more often as I finish a pitcher, I wash it throughly and start the next pitcher for later. I make it a little stronger and fill it with more water than the instructions say, then just let it cool a while before sticking it in my fridge to chill. I can fill an insulated cup with ice and strong tea, and sip it all afternoon.My only issue is that it is very tall and narrow, and doesn’t fit on the main shelves of my fridge. Rather than rearrange my whole fridge, I adjusted the height of one of the bins on the door so I could keep it there.

By far my favorite purchase this year. I love iced tea, it is my drink of choice anytime I go out to eat, but I've never been able to capture that same taste at home. I typically do sun tea, but again, the flavor is just never right and the container is too large, and requires me to transfer it to another pitcher. This tea maker/pitcher is perfect in every way. First, it's super easy to use. 2nd, it's the perfect size to keep in your fridge. 3rd and most importantly, the tea is amazing and 4th, it's very easy to clean. I have not tried the "fast chill", but I really don't need to because making cold tea is a breeze. Here's the recipe and method I use....put 8 lipton tea bags, or tea bags of your choice in the filter, fill the pitcher about 3/4 of the way, screw the filter into the lid, then screw the lid into the pitcher. Put it in your refrigerator and leave it over night. Honestly you can probably drink it after 4 hours, but I like the taste to be a little stronger. In the morning, unscrew the lid and unscrew the filter, there is a handy little black cup to put the filter in so it doesn't drip everywhere. Remove the tea bags from the filter, screw the lid back on and now you've got a pitcher full of tea ready to be poured. To pour the tea, you turn the lid so one of the arrow points towards the handle, then tighten it back up after you pour. When I pour my last glass of tea, I just do the process all over again so that I always have tea on hand.

I have a German made refrigerator that’s about the same depth as a built in (i.e., room is limited, especially vertically.). You can put this thing on it’s side in your refrigerator and it doesn’t leak. It was a bit of a challenge to get the loose leaf tea out of the infuser, but I can see that improving as I use it more.

I'm a nut for iced tea really. I drink it all through the winter and go through a quart or more every day when I'm at home/work. (No coffee, this is my caffeine dose.) I've done various things to brew iced tea over the years but none has come close to what this gadget achieves. $25 price might seem steep but it's worth it. The brewing basket is perfectly designed for using only one quart of hot water and then filling the rest with cold (I just top it with water not ice). The lid seals completely. It cleans easily, even in dishwasher if you want. And, to top it off, it has the best-designed pour spout I've ever used. WIth the lid in the pour position or even the lid removed, there are NO DRIPS when pouring! Amazing! I find it totally worth having even though I'm not even using loose tea and have no particular plans to.A couple tiny tiny drawbacks I've noticed over the several weeks I've been using it: It can be a little fiddly to pour the water in then dunk the whole lid/brew basket assembly into there for brewing. There are 3 pieces that screw together if you are using the extended basket. You can assemble beforehand but it doesn't stand up well on its own and is a bit long and unwieldy to set down assembled in my small kitchen. Also the black tea I'm using (it's in a bag, not loose, and maybe that's part of why) stained the mesh of the strainer brown very quickly. I don't think that affects any performance or taste but it doesn't seem possible to remove. I have not washed the strainer in the dishwasher, seemed like that could be a little harsh on it, but all the other parts have been in there and done fine.I make the same tea at work using a simple pitcher and just brewing the tea in a glass measuring cup (don't trust brewing right into that cheap plastic). For some reason, it comes out tasting slightly different (better) at home with the Takeya tea maker I still haven't pinpointed why. I may end up getting a second one both for that and for the convenience of brewing directly into the pitcher and having a completely sealed storage for the fridge. And the drip-free spout. All good reasons to get this!EDIT: Okay so now I'm at 8+ months of using this. I use it daily or nearly so, and I still think it's great. However, I'm going to downgrade it to 4* because of one simple obvious truth: the plastic bottle stains and I've yet to find a good way to clean it. Now, is this not true of every plastic device that you pour very hot water into? Pretty much. I mean, I had an old Mr Coffee Iced Tea Pot and it was one of the things I hated about that too. This is still WAY more useful IMO. It's still very good, and I won't stop using it. But I'm disappointed that running it through the dishwasher won't remove the tea film, using a brush just makes it look scratched, and rubbing down the whole thing with a rag or paper towel would take ages, plus it's a bit narrow to get my arm into! Basically, I use it anyway. I don't think it's doing me any harm, but it's still a little disconcerting to know there is a thin film of tea coating the inside of the bottle that CAN be removed, if only I could figure out a good way. The care guide says for deep cleaning to soak in 50/50 water/vinegar, but I'm pretty sure I tried that and still didn't have a great result. Will have to try that again though.In short, everything I said originally is still true, except for the dishwasher is no panacea in getting it truly clean.

Been using this a month now, I love the design overall, and the way the basket locks into the lid. I've done nothing but cold brew and the shape and size makes it easy to fit in the fridge, being tall and not very wide. Only gripe is that the main clear plastic bit is actually oval in shape and so I can never get it to line up with the handle, not a big deal but it's a thing. The way the lid unscrews a half turn to allow you to pour while keeping it sealed otherwise is nice too.

Delivered in great shape.