HARIOChaCha Kyusu "Maru" Tea Pot, 700ml

It was a gift to my aunt, they love how convenience is it to pour tea without having to worry the leafs came out. Also I got them the small size so the leafs don't have to soak in the water too long. Add more when needed.

I usually don't leave reviews for products. Almost never. Actually this might be my first. This should tell you something - to ignore my spelling mistakes and other signs of general illiteracy.But this teapot is fantastic. Some demographic info: I'm a 21 year old man, freshly adult, and recently turned tea snob. So naturally I need a teapot to accompany, nay supplement my loose leaf, nose upturned, calling-tea-color-liqueur lifestyle. Previously I had been brewing my tea in a thermos with a little mesh insert, a practice that if employed by anyone else I would surely mock brazenly.First impressions - I had read almost all of the reviews and some of them had mentioned that this teapot is rather small. When I opened it, I thought to myself "this teapot is rather small". But once I stilled my beating heart and actually made some tea I realized that it's pretty much the perfect size. Filling it close to the top, with a comfortable margin, I get enough tea for two very full mugs, and in my frugally heated apartment the pot keeps the tea piping hot for the second mugful.The basket is nice and large. I've heard others say that this is necessary for the leaves to swim, luxuriate, mingle, copulate, bask in their collective consciousness. Shoot me if I ever anthropomorphise tea leaves like that. But it is nice to have a big basket so that the water actual reaches the center leaves. To that end, it would've been nice if they included a diving board so that the leaves could indulge their inner child (or bud, if you will), but now I'm splitting hairs.It's made of glass, so it's breakable. I haven't broken mine yet, but I reserve the right to in the future, hopefully during the height of an argument. I think it'll shatter very well, but that's just speculation at this point.Only complaint (very minor) is that the handle is kind of hard to grip when the pot is full of hot tea. My hand has a tendency to slip down and touch the hot pot. But I just changed the way I held it, and that's been working well. I'm actually glad, I was getting a little set in my ways.Bottom line - buy it. It's not a samovar, but for one or two people (I can dream, can't I?) it's perfect. Very aesthetically pleasing, functional, the mesh is plenty fine, even rooibos can't sneak through, and I've had almost no stems get stuck. It's top rated for a reason.

Makes great portion of tea and easy to clean afterwards.

****UPDATED REVIEW****We like the small teapot so much we returned to purchase the largest version. I had a chance to use it today while at my desk all day. The fat, round base allows heating on a plate warmer easily. The size is perfect for one person for all day. Now my favorite pots (smallest & largest versions).***ORIGINAL REVIEW****I've spent YEARS trying out different teapots and dislike most. This one is very nicely built and small enough for a personal pot of tea. The included basket is big enough for a personal-sized tablespoon of tea to expand while brewing. The handle is a delight--sturdy but big enough to fit two or three fingers through for stable tilting. One of my biggest pet peeves with teapots is the spout. I despise dribbling because I'm usually using the pot at my desk while I work and don't need important papers wet by dripping pots. So far, I haven't found any dribbling pouring tea from this pot's spout. And an added, unexpected bonus: unlike the similarly shaped pot from a rival company this is replacing whose lid was so flimsy I was always afraid it would break, THIS pot's lid is thick and heavy, with built-in gas exchange rivets so you could pour while the cover is on. I wouldn't recommend that, though, since the lid could slide off and break.I like this pot so much I may replace my other 4-cup glass pot with the large version of this. My present large pot has a little spout that's a mess to clean. This pot's style is VERY easy to clean. Another bonus.

I love this teapot and use it many times each week. It did crack on the handle next to the teapot. But I put glass glue on it and it seems fine now. I bought a second pot.