Once upon a time, about ten years ago, I purchased a plain white People's
Brew Basket (http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=1597)
from a local store and decided it was a waste of money because it's so
small, it can only be used in a cup, nothing larger, and requires a utensil
to fish it out to avoid dipping fingers into hot liquid. I put it in the
cupboard and let it sit.

After that disappointment, I bought the smaller Teeli Best brewing basket
and was so happy with it because of the handles and lid/drip tray that I
bought the larger basket, too, as well as some for friends, discovering
somewhere along the way that the exact same baskets are made under different
brand names:

Teeli Best:
http://www.teeli.com/englisch/products/main.html#FDAfry

Finum Brewing Basket (now, in colors, too):
http://www.finum.com/permanent-tea-filters.htm.

Finding a traveler proved to be more difficult. Those with metal rims impart
a yucky metallic taste and others didn't allow me to view the agony of the
leaves. I thought the thermal traveler offered by Yellow Mountain Imports
(http://www.ymimports.com/Items/fg-tt110-a) would be the answer. However, I
also drink black tea and rooibos slips through the mesh. I experimented with
making my own (Google this group for "Make Your Own Tea Traveler" or "MYO
Tea Traveler" in Feb - Apr, 2005 to read about it) and packed the result for
my last road trip. My latest MYO version uses the larger Teeli basket for
timed infusions and the RoT People's Brew Basket as a strainer for infusions
that aren't time-critical. This arrangement proved unsatisfactory over a
span of several days because the container was a mug which handle was
inconvenient and rim uncomfortable beside the mug sporting a Green Bay
Packers design (it was a gift) and not allowing me to be entertained by the
visual aspects of my brew.

While in Los Angeles last winter, I bought a Bodum 16 oz travel press with a
nice grip around the middle from a local store finding that, although the
grip and mouth-feel of the lid are very comfortable, rooibos slips by the
seal of the press. Aha! A light bulb went on inspiring me to cut the hard
plastic rim off of the RoT People's Brew Basket and slip the screen of the
press into it. Much better.

Unfortunately, the press and grip effectively eliminated the aquarium effect
I desire. Could I see my tea and drink it, too?

According to Amazon.com, yes. Bodum offers clear travel presses and tumblers
in 16 oz. and 8 oz. sizes as well as those in the 16 oz. size that
encourages one to "Give Up Bad Tea For Good."

Since the contents of my car were approaching critical mass and since I
don't drink hot beverages during warm weather, I decided to wait until I
returned to Oklahoma to order. Besides, I wasn't sure which to get, the one
proclaiming that I was drinking good tea instead of bad? The smaller 8 oz.
clear tumbler for air travel and the 16 oz. for home and car trips? What
about the 8 oz. press? What about my tea-drinking friends?

Last month, I decided it was time. However, Amazon let me know in no
uncertain words for the 8 oz. press and tumbler:

"Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in
stock."

AUGGH! The "Tea" logo tumbler was available through KlinQ.com, but for the
others, the hunt was on. Could I find one U.S. vendor with them all to avoid
multiple shipping costs?

Not as far as I could see. I placed an order with KlinQ for the "Tea"
tumbler only to receive one with the "Coffee" slogan. Somehow, the
description on Amazon had gotten mixed up and only "Coffee" was left. I
returned the tumbler at KlinQ's expense and promptly received a full refund,
including shipping since it wasn't my fault I received the wrong
merchandise. KlinQ was very good about resolving the issue and I won't
hesitate to order from there again should I find something I want.

I next placed an order with HomeClick.com by phone because I had problems
with the website's shopping cart. (It may have been my laptop's settings
because I was also having problems with webmail at the time due to my
fiddling.) Since the website doesn't have pictures for all items, but uses
Bodum's product numbers, I trusted my research to get the right items and
received the 16 oz. clear and "Tea" tumblers I wanted. I just couldn't
resist that slogan.

Another light bulb went on. Why not call Bodum, 1-800-23-BODUM (2-6386), and
ask about the availability of the 8 oz. press that I didn't find except from
Canada? Yesss! Steve ran downstairs to check their stock in the New York
store while I waited and I ordered what I wanted for myself and friends in
both 8 oz. and 16 oz. sizes. However, they sent the "Coffee" slogan instead
of "Tea" which may have been because "C" and "T" sound so much alike over
the phone. Also, the new 8 oz. Picture presses (see below) were substituted
for the clear presses I requested. This is not an issue for me because
removing the template makes the container clear. Unfortunately, one other
item was omitted from my order. Since I received the shipment only recently,
these issues won't be addressed before next week because they are currently
moving the store to a new location.

Product Review (finally!):

I'm very happy overall. They're made of SAN plastic or acrylic (I don't know
the difference) and are spill-resistant. My rimless RoT People's Brew Basket
fits into the tumbler cap to strain my green and white teas as well as
rooibos and other herbal infusions while I sip. It is visible about 3/4"
below the bottom inside edge of the cap. The screen of the press also fits
into the People's Brew Basket and keeps black tea leaf fragments out of my
beverage if I want to capture the few that slip past the seal.

(NOTE: For some reason I don't understand, I've yet to have a tea leaf
fragment land in my mouth. I've gotten leaves in my mouth only with rooibos
and as a result, I quit putting the RoT basket on the screen when I brew
tea.)

The larger Teeli brew basket fits snugly into the both the 8 oz. and 16 oz.
containers and I can dispense with the press if I want. In that case, of
course, I have to remove the basket before I can screw on the cap.

The press and tumbler caps interchange so I can put whichever cap I want on
whatever container although the screen for the 8 oz. press logically won't
go down far enough for the 16 oz. container since the rod is too short and
vice versa. If I had known last winter what I know now, I would have bought
only the 8 oz. press and the 16 oz. clear press along with the "Tea" tumbler
which slogan I can't resist and swapped the press and tumbler caps at will,
packing the complete 8 oz. press and only the tumbler's cap for air travel,
for example. If I wasn't thinking about air travel, I would buy a 16 oz.
press and a 16 oz. tumbler to have the cap. I asked last winter and learned
that Bodum doesn't sell caps as separate parts; you have to buy the whole
thing.

After steeping and depressing the plunger of the press, the instructions say
to add any desired milk and sugar through the drinking spout. I'm not
reporting on how easy or difficult this is because I don't use either with
my tea and haven't tried to do it.

The flip-lids vary somewhat in how securely they fasten. One of mine snaps
so securely that you shouldn't try to unsnap it with one hand while driving
while another is easy enough that it might be safe enough to do. However,
the lids that are more secure are also more leak-resistant. I tried each cap
with a full container of water, turning it upside-down and shaking
vigorously. The more secure lids slowly dripped several drops from the ends
of the hinges before stopping completely while the less secure lids dripped
faster and were less inclined to quit dripping. I don't know why the more
secure lids quit dripping since not much water was lost and there was no
lack, but it's reassuring to know that my car's interior and I won't get
deluged during a sudden stop or swerve although I wouldn't put one in a
backpack with books or papers unless I'm 100%% sure it will remain upright.

One thing I've noticed when I use boiling water is that the heat is retained
so well that it's too hot to drink for about half an hour for the 8 oz.
press and a full hour for the 16 oz. press even when I keep the flip-lid
open as the directions instruct. I thought to see how long the warmth is
retained after I start drinking, but for the 8 oz. press, I keep making the
mistake of brewing tea that I like to drink. As a result, the beverage
hasn't lasted longer than half an hour after the first sip before being
completely consumed. Better luck, next time. (Ha!)

For the 16 oz. press, I close the flip-lid once the drinkable temperature is
attained. The brew has still been desirably warm an hour later although
significantly cooler than before.

Brewing with water at 190 degrees, the cool-down wait is much more
reasonable at around 16 minutes for the 8 oz.. I had to wait about 35
minutes for the 16 oz. The liquid was still warm in the 16 oz. about 2-1/4
hours after boiling and tepid after 3 hours. Because of my drinking habits,
having to wait this amount of time to avoid burning my tongue isn't an issue
for me, but I thought I should mention it in case you think you
might like to buy one for yourself or someone else for Christmas.

I haven't tried the thermal properties with cold tea. I've wondered if
adding a few small pieces of ice and then pressing them down would keep the
brew colder, longer, and eliminate or at least vastly slow the dilution rate
of melting ice since liquor is retained below the seal even after the top
portion is empty.

Something that puzzles me is that I'm used to stirring before straining out
the leaves and I can't see how to do that with a press without having a lot
of leaves swim up above the seal. The brew is obviously lighter in color
above than it is below and depressing the plunger doesn't mix it.

For cleaning, the instructions state that all parts are top-rack dishwasher
safe, but the removable bottom of the Picture presses instruct to hand-wash
only. Since I rinse all my teaware with occasional soaks in solutions of
water with baking soda, I can't comment on the efficacy of the cleaning
directions.

Here's what's available using Bodum's product number. The items are
available from U.S. vendors, but BodumUSA.com doesn't list any of them
except for the press with the grip, the first one I bought in LA. I
recommend calling the toll-free number several paragraphs above to check on
availability if you can't easily find the product you want online and want
to buy directly from Bodum's store in New York City. When I called, I was
offered free shipping if my order went over $50 and the website offers free
shipping for $50+ orders through November 30 for ConUS only. While I didn't
check all the countries, I noticed that when I started at Bodum.com, the
webpages for other countries sometimes acted a little strangely giving me a
different language than what I was reading when I tried to go back to a
previous page without using the Back button on my browser.

The clear containers are old stock being replaced by the new Picture items.
The black bottoms on the Picture containers twist off so you may insert your
own picture between the walls to individualize them. There's a skinny O-ring
in the bottom, presumably to keep your picture dry while it's inside. IMO,
however, the bottom is likely to come off too easily by mistake while
hand-washing unless one is careful about how it's turned while being washed.
Maybe a temporary adhesive can be used to prevent this and permit the photo
to be changed out when the (grand)child(ren) is/are older or when the
GF/BF/SO is gone. I think it would have been better if Bodum used a threaded
screw-on bottom instead of the twist-to-lock design that they did.

8 oz. Mini Travel tumbler, #1105-01B or 1105-01FM-D, clear:
http://tinyurl.com/2os4jo.

8 oz. Mini Travel Press, #1205-01B, clear: http://tinyurl.com/2qsafk.

8 oz. Mini Travel Picture tumbler, #10657-01B: http://tinyurl.com/2mrdcp.

8 oz. Mini Travel Picture Press, #10658-01B: http://tinyurl.com/33euor.

16 oz. Travel tumbler, #1405-01B, clear: http://tinyurl.com/2l2byx.

16 oz. Travel Press, #1505-01B, clear:
http://www.homeclick.com//web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=129331

16 oz. Travel Picture tumbler, #10659-01B: http://tinyurl.com/35cumt.

16 oz. Travel Picture Press, #10660-01B: http://tinyurl.com/2jurj4.

16 oz. Travel Press with grip, #1421-10B: http://tinyurl.com/3c6b4y.

16 oz. Travel tumbler "Give Up Bad Tea For Good," #1405-01FM-T. Looks like
the one for coffee, below, except it says "Tea" instead.

16 oz. Travel Press "Give Up Bad Tea For Good," #1505-01FM-T. It looks like
the one for coffee, below, except it has "Tea" instead of "Coffee."

16 oz. Travel tumbler "Give Up Bad Coffee For Good," #1405-01FM-C. It looks
the same as the press below except it has a cap without the press rod and
screen instead of a cap with the press rod and screen. (Duh.)

16 oz. Travel Press "Give Up Bad Coffee For Good," #1505-01FM-C:
http://tinyurl.com/2msjdh.

Respectfully submitted,