I am a tea drinker from a family of tea drinkers. Actually we are a family of tea and coffee drinkers so I apologize for rambling, its the caffeine. Anyway, Perfect gift to myself and for my whole family, right? ehhh, wrong. I like everything about the thing, you put the tea in, you add water, brew real loose tea at your desk (you can use a tea bag in the little cage too but why then would you need this mug???). Anyway, then after 3-5 min you can choose to take out the tea or leave it in depending on if its green or black, you can actually leave it in regardless because after 3 sips, you will have suspended the tea from the water. Good loose tea will not go through the strainer. That crushed junk at the bottom of the bag can be saved for some other brewing contraption. Anyway, so it sounds like a 5 star device, whats the problem? Well, the problem is that this is a tea mug for travel/work but it is more useful for only occassional tea drinkers. I keep my mug at work but my mom/dad take their home back and forth. I used to use this daily (2x daily), until after a few months one of the tabs on the strainer broke. I can still twist it into place, but now it only has one sturdy hole to hold it in place so its more delicate. The strainer basket is pretty thin plastic and the hot tea warming it up and cooling it off really does a number to it. I also rinse it with hot water daily and wash it it with soap weekly. After the first tab broke, I have been using it less as I am afraid that the other side will brake and it will be useless. The entire cup is also heavily stained with tea stains. I clean it often enough that I know it is clean. Tea just has a tendency to stain things (especially black tea). And the glass/plastic cup area is still pretty clear but the green lid is completely stained all over as well as the tea basket (the one that is also broken). I just feel like it should hold up to 2 months of use (even from a heavy user such as myself). I dont put it in the dishwasher (or know if it is DW safe) but my dad does. His has some type of cracking that runs vertically through the cup and his basket is pretty worn too. It is not physically cracked, it just looks cracked, it is still usable but looks ugly. His is blue so it covers up the tea stains better but it still looks stained like mine. I dont know if it is supposed to be dishwasher safe, but either way, I would suggest not using one. The lid is also a little bit of a nuisance. It seals very well but its hard to clean and it gets the worst of the staining because of all the little nooks in it. Anyways. I said one improvement would make a big difference... that little basket. That little ratty stained and broken basket is not worth buying a new cup every few months. My dad, mom, sister and myself can all tell you that the little basket will not outlast the cup. Mine is broken, all 4 are heavily stained and my parents' strainers have fractures from the dishwasher (again, not sure if they are supposed to be used in the dishwasher). Also, I would prefer to have a different basket for my green and black teas so I dont have to mix the flavor (although ideally they should have their own cup... and it shouldnt be plastic I guess... but anyway, not the point. If copco would sell replacement strainers in bulk (like a pack of 20 for 10 bucks) then I would be cool with it. Or they could make them of higher quality (although I dont see a good alternative design for such a basket). The cup or at least lid should also be black to hide the tea stains. But as I said, only a serious tea drinker will brew their own loose leaf tea on the go or at work... and any serious tea drinker will have some issues with this since it doesnt hold up to daily use. Otherwise the cup is pretty good. The grip is very grippy, the lid is sealed very well (its a twist on lid, not a friction lid), and the flap for the hole makes a watertight seal. Maybe once the tea basket completely breaks, I will demote it to a coffee mug.
