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 - 2 Quart, Blueberry

This is wonderful!First, if uncertain, this is 1 quart size. It is smaller in all ways from what I think of as a "regular pitcher" size. Its geography in the fridge is small on the bottom and shorter bottom to top. Awesome for those with cramped fridge space.Second, that handle: It stretches down top-to-almost-bottom full-hand size even though this is a smaller pitcher. Firm steady grip, whether cold or hot liquid is in it. And even better, covered with silicon!Third, adding boiling water to it was a delight! Truly I eye in suspect even glass pitchers that I pour a little then wait then baby them until finished. It is asking a lot to withstand that kind of temp change, and who knows how or what things are made anymore. But this one, it was smaller, very light in weight, I thought just do it, and I did. All at once, no babying, and it took it like a pro yay! And the seal is tight on the top, no leaking, no worries. To pour, no magic just functionality: Twist slightly until the under-opening parts a little and pour with confidence, not too fast/slow, then tiny bit of twist and pitcher is sealed securely again. I have not tried lying it on its side in the fridge (leaks), or in the door (fit), but what I have seen so far leads me to believe likely no worries.Fourth, the design seems thoughtful. Tight twisty seal of handle-top, with easy tight quick well-seated twist-in inside seal of the nicely-sized filter, feels durable but little weight to it, and floor of it is large enough that as I pour boiling water in it maintains a firm position on the counter.Pre-purchase I needed: Smaller pitcher due to fridge space, that I could make tea, fruid-ade, or coffee in, that went from boiling water to counter room temp to fridge chill until finished, all in a single vessel. 1-4 cups only, for now and maybe later. That wasn't a nightmare of tiny gadgets and attachments to find/use/wash/lose/rust/cut me. The supplied cup at the bottom I will use, and it came in handy for quick and not-messy initial removal of the filter from the pitcher. I found everything here, how great is that!

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.

This iced tea maker is perfect for enjoying a nice glass of cold ice tea. It's compact and doesn't take a lot of space on the refrigerator door. Often times I'll leave the tea bags in the filter, refill it with fresh cold water and voila I have a full pitcher of iced tea without wasting extra tea bags. If I'm using a stronger tea, I remove the tea bags once it's reached full flavor. I put in the tea bags and water and let it soak overnight in the fridge so I can wake up to a great glass of iced tea.

Works great, only need 1-2 tea bags and filter keeps grains out if loose leaf is used. My only problem is that it’s too tall to fit in my fridge. I’d have to lose a shelf in order to make it work. Also have to put on top shelf in pantry for same reason. Would be 100% perfect if top was flat instead of a handle that isn’t really needed. So gave to goodwill as tea needs to be kept refrigerated.