The Highwave Brewfish

I just got my Brewfish in the mail yesterday and tested it out today at work. My work space consists of a emergency room on wheels (ambulance) so it is tough to get hot water (let alone the right temp) all the time.

First off- I like the design and the way the BF fits in my hand. It feels solid and is very minimal for parts. The plunger is a soft rubber and the container is a double wall glass. I had it in my lunch pail today and did notice that the rubber on the plunger will pick up scents ( i had a banana aroma on the unit for a while today).

I started off with filling it up about 7/8 ths of the way with water and brought it to a boil in the microwave and then added some Lapsang. By placing the plunger just past the rim to seal in the heat I did notice that it will tend to lean and slide into the cup if you do not keep a watchful eye on it (not a big deal). I let the souchong steep for the time needed and gently pressed the plunger down to the bottom. I did have a very small amount of sediment come up, you can release the plunger and do it again to try to keep the leafs down. After the plunger seated it amazingly kept the tea in the bottom and did not add any bitterness to the finished product which I thought for sure it would continue steeping turning out way too strong or bitter. It did keep at a good temp for about 45 mins. I would say the cleaning of it is a breeze, a touch of water in the bottom loosens up the tea from the bottom and it comes right out. I did find out that anything more than 1.5-2 scoops of tea in the bottom will not compress enough for the plunger to do its job and keeps the top cap from seating. Drinking from it is clean and simple. I would recommend it to anyone that needs to steep on the go, but it does take some patience and time. Overall i give it a 7/10.

Just a note about borosilicate glass-

It is by far superior to regular kitchenware in terms of exposure to heating and cooling, for use with tea. I love it for that. It is the long-term standard in laboratories for a reason!

But there is a trade-off. It is also a lot more brittle than regular kitchenware glass. It is more expensive to produce, and product design tends to be thinner-walled rather than thick. From what I can see on the highwave website, it is thin.

For example, a few years ago, I had a brand-new borosilicate cup/mug (actually a laboratory beaker being used as a mug). I had it in the sink, filled with soapy water & soaking. My husband was not aware of the special care it needed, and he put a metal knife in it to soak. He did not throw it in, just dropped it in, as you could easily do with any other regular glassware. Well, it was enough force to crack the bottom (note- borosilicate glass does tend to crack/snap, not shatter like regular glass. So when it breaks, it is a lot less messy & safer!)

But I would still recommend it to purchase. I do not want to deter anyone from it, just make everyone aware that it does take a little more gentle handling. From my experience here in the lab, the silicon base added to a lot of the Highwave products will go a loooong way in protecting the glassware from the most common breakage incidents.

Okay- one more side note- then I promise to shut up.

I see on the website where they incorrectly compare their products to Pyrex.

Pyrex is no longer made with borosilicate glass. Corning sold off the brand a while ago, and current manufacturers have opted to go with the less expensive, less durable soda lime glass. So if you want the good old stuff, you have to look in thrift stores or eBay. Wikipedia has a good side-by-side comparison picture to tell the difference (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrex).

Crazy and interesting looking contraption!