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, Raspberry

I bought this one year ago after having electric ones for decades. Love it! This is quick and easy. I know you can brew tea manually, but manually is not quick. With this the container is for brewing and storage. I microwave heat 2 1/2 cups of water in a large mug for 3 minutes. Put ice in the container. You don't have to put ice in the container. The container didn't crack the few times I didn't put ice it in. I just prefer it that way. I put 4 tea bags in the infuser part. You can decide the number of tea bags and what combination. I use 1 black tea and 3 decaf black tea. I let is brew on the counter. I've let is brew anywhere between 5 minutes and 30 minutes. Depends on if I'm late for work. Has always been delicious. When brewing time is done, I suggest putting it in the sink when removing the infuser from the container as the infuser has mesh sides the water does come out the sides. When done brewing/infusing the tea and removing the tea bags, the container can go on the counter. The container has not leaked when pouring tea out of it in to my travel cup. You can leave the container on the counter or put in the fridge. I have the black colored one. There is no rubber grip on the handle. It's easy to clean and doesn't need electricity. Enjoy!

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 purchased both this and the cold brew coffee maker as a way to make my own beverages at home and save some money as well. They are both great products and you might be wondering if they are different at all.First of all, this product works great. Like all Japanese products, it feels high-quality. It is essentially a pitcher with a two-piece detachable filter and an airtight lid with basically two "notch" positions - closed and "open enough to pour," though you'll probably just take the lid off when you serve. The pitcher is oblong, which doesn't come through in the pictures, so you can lay it on its side, though this is only recommended for the cold brew coffee maker and not this one, which is intended to be used upright only. The handle is also big and thick, with a rubberized grip.The differences between this and the cold brew coffee maker are basically that the filter material used feels different. The cold brew coffee maker has a silky, denser mesh, while this one is a more standard, coarse, more open mesh. You can buy replacements for either one. You can either cold brew your tea like I do, which works the same way as the coffee maker, or you can use the "flash chill" method, which is basically a method where you pour hot water directly into the pitcher with the filter and tea inside, seal it, let it brew, take the filter out, screw the lid back on airtight after you drop ice cubes inside the pitcher, and shake it until it is chilled and ready to serve.This method of pouring hot water directly into the maker is only for this, although everything is exactly the same as the cold brew coffee maker except for the filter so I'm pretty sure you can use that method with the coffee maker as well, although again the filter material itself is different. The iced tea maker also comes with a little cup that acts as a holder for the filter, which can stand up by itself when the lid is not screwed on. The coffee maker does not come with the cup. I also found that, in general, tea soaks up less water than coffee, so I had to take out the coffee maker halfway through the brew, maybe before I went to sleep, and fill it up with some more water, whereas I didn't have to do that with the iced tea maker. I did find that the handle part of the pitcher where the lid screws in, the actual colored part, often feels slightly loose and made me feel like I had to tighten it slightly. Please note that only the color of this piece and the lid are different. The two-piece filter only comes in black no matter what color you choose. One piece of the filter screws into the lid and the actual filter part screws into that first piece. It has a flat bottom, so can stand-up by itself, as previously mentioned.Of course, this is a great airtight pitcher in and of itself, even when you're not using the filter and just need something big to mix/shake a drink in and pour it. Some of my favorites to make in this maker have been sencha green tea, which I find works better as an iced tea than regular green tea or matcha, various rooibos herbal teas, and a great maple black tea I found at Trader Joe's. I've needed 5-6 tea bags per pitcher, though the instruction manual says 8 bags. The iced tea maker seems to come in brighter colors than the coffee maker. Takeya also makes a spa water infuser version of this with a more open plastic filter, but you can easily use this or the coffee maker and just infusion spa water by dropping fruit directly into the water, without having to use the filters at all, which will give you a stronger flavor anyway.

I drink a lot of iced tea ever since I gave up sodas a few years ago. And this pitcher is great. It fits nicely on my tall shelf in the fridge. It's easily cleaned by hand or occasionally I'll toss it in the dishwasher.I did throw away the filter apparatus (in the middle) when I got it. I find that the Lipton Iced Tag Bags work great in this! Just use one bag and fill halfway with boiling water. Let steep for 15 min. Then fill up with ice and you're done. Easy Peasy and No Mess!The one flaw is that the boiling water seems to have glazed the clear plastic with a layer of micro cracks on the surface. It doesn't leak, but it's definitely not clear anymore. It's just cosmetic and doesn't bother me at all. It might bother some people if they're using it to serve guests.