Best travel tea thermos with infuser?

I have seen so many travel mugs for loose leaf teas online and was wondering what everyone here has and loves/hates? Thanks!

107 Replies

I can tell you what not to get if you drink loose leaf – Liquid Solution:

http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Solutions-Tea-zer-Brewing-Tumbler/dp/B00125OAT4

The strainer is useless!

I just used mine for the first time and my tea was full of leaves. I had to restrain it with my fine mesh strainer from my ForLife cup (which isn’t a traveler, but is GREAT!) which I’m sure isn’t going to do much for the heat level of my tea. I think I may invest in some sachets for taking tea to school because I don’t want to purchase another tumbler.

Thanks for the heads up, I will steer clear! The Aladdin one posted below looks promising, that’s if you wanna give tumblers another shot! I will post how I like the Aladdin one when I get it.

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aladdin’s essential infuser is the one I use.
http://www.shopaladdin-pmi.com/detail/TCL+10-00753-003

That one looks like a winner, and it’s under $20! Thanks for the link!

no problem, they are a huge seller in my tea house.

Jenny said

I second the Aladdin infuser! I’ve had mine since March/April and I lovelovelove it!

LefTea said

Thirding this recommendation. It’s fabulous!

I am always wary of Aladdin brand. I bought their chocolate colored chrome travel mug and it looked beautiful, but it was a horrible design! The lid always leaked, the chrome flaked off really easily, and when all was said and done I only got two weeks of use out of a $30 mug. It just got too leaky and ugly with all the missing chrome.

Dustin said

Aladdin has awesome customer service. I bought two of their infuser mugs. In one the infuser basket stayed up when you turned the lever and the other one kept dropping it down. I contacted them and they sent me a whole new replacement. I have had the mug for several years now and am still pretty happy with it. Only down side is the basket is a little small for teas that need lots of room to expand. It has stained a little over the years and holds a tiny bit of smell from the tea, but it is still going strong.

Josh said

Sorry for my super late reply, but does anyone have any feedback on how well the aladdin maintains temperature? I love these double walled glass tea infusers, but every one that I’ve tried loses heat within an hour or so. In an ideal world I’d love one that holds its temperature as well as a thermos :)

Dustin said

It has been a little while since I have used it since I’m drinking tea at home most of the time, but I remember it holding heat well. It’s actually a little annoying. It feels like it takes forever for it to cool to a drinkable temp. I don’t remember it holding heat as long as a thermos (those have kept tea warm for 18 hours or so).

Josh said

Thanks Dustin2Dust! I think I’ll give it a try :)

Dustin said

I have since done a review of this mug and a heat retention experiment. I’ll paste that part of it here…
I poured boiling water in the mug and took the temperature every half hour. It was sitting inside my house (kept at 70F) and I opened the part of the lid that you sip through to stick the thermometer in, then closed it again when I got a temp. Here is what I got: @0m/188F, 30m/149F, 60m/130F, 90m/120F, 120m/109F, 150m/98F It won’t keep your tea warm all day, but it will be warm for a couple hours.

Josh said

Thanks Dustin2Dust! Those results seem to match up with the tests I’ve done with a couple of other glass mugs. It’s sad you can’t get full vacuum insulation with glass :/ Somebody should invent a product for that! Anyways thanks again for posting your results!

Gabriela said

I love this one. It is the one I always turn to.

Helen11 said

Anybody know of a company that will deliver this to Canada?

Dustin said

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Transparent and clear you can watch your tea unravel and delicately paint the water:

http://www.wisemantea.com/teaware.html?pid=57#run57

That one looks nice too, although I’m wondering if you have to use teas that taste great when you leave them in the entire time you’re drinking them or strain the tea into another cup?

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AJ said

I have a tea Libre.

http://libretea.com/

Which is basically the same as Wiseman’s, but it’s designed so that tea can also be placed between the filter and the lid, and then inverted for a specific steep-time.

HannahJoy said

How well does this thermos keep your tea hot?

AJ said

Well enough—it’s double-walled. But nothing like some of the heavier-duty, vacuum-sealed/metal thermos’.

I’ve never straight-up timed it, though.

Azzrian said

I don’t think it keeps the tea hot at all – luke warm at best.

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I think this one may edge out the Aladdin one! I like the fact that it is glass on the inside, I’m thinking that probably eliminates the problem of strong flavors and odors from one tea clinging to to cup after cleaning and messing with another teas flavor. Thanks!

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I second the Libre Tea one! I had my first one for over a year, and it is fantastic!

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I just put an order in for the Libre Glass n Poly, it won over the Aladdin mug because the inside is glass. I can’t wait to get it!

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For those who’ve used the Libre (or the Aladdin, really), how leak-proof is it? Would I be able to toss this in a backpack (with hot tea) and know things will stay dry? That’s been my biggest problem with tea tumblers :( hot tea always seems to get around the seal when they’re jostled.

Jenny said

I use the Aladdin and it’s fairly leak-proof. I always just toss mine in my backpack or purse and my textbooks and stuff always stay dry. One thing I would recommend though is that if you first add the hot water and seal and you hear a “whistling” sound, that means that there’s too much pressure from all the heat so you should open it to let all the pressure out and then close it again.

Thanks, Jenny! That’s really helpful.

Stephanie said

I have to say that the Libre leaks. At least mine does as do the other two I bought as gifts. It has something to do with the plastic gasket in the filter-lid part as well as the thick plastic-lined neck. I was sent new, thicker gaskets from the company when I emailed them about it but they still leak. :( Maybe the three I bought are a fluke? But it was still a disappointment. The glasses are really lovely otherwise.

Boo! Thanks for the heads up though, Stephanie. Is that on the plastic&glass model?

AJ said

Really? That’s so odd. I’ve only had the occasional problem with mine leaking when I flip it upside-down to brew, and didn’t make sure each piece was EXTRA tight before doing so. But other than that, I’ve had it in on it’s side in bags without a problem.

Stephanie said

@teabird: Yeah, I got the poly ’n glass ones when they had a special sale for them.

@AJ: Maybe the one I have is defective. It constantly dribbles—liquid seeps through the filter-lid part—when I drink through it normally. I’m not even flipping it over! Very annoying. And I’ve followed the directions to the letter—making sure that the parts are clean and dry, that I don;t overfill it, that each piece was on tight, that I let time pass by so I don’t screw the lid on when it’s too steamy, etc . But it still dribbles. :(

AJ said

Weird! That sucks.

Libre Tea said

@ Stephanie – If you are still having problems with your Libre Tea Glass please contact us again. We will solve the problem!

TeaForMe said

I really liked the idea of Murchie’s Libre infuser, but after about 10 uses, I’ve had to give it up. I burned myself three times with water coming out after i’ve inverted the unit to get the seeping process going. I even tried the tip of opening the top part to release some of the pressure, but that took more strength than I have, and needed another set of hands to hold the tumbler steady. I’m disappointed at the quality of the seal—I’ve never had a bad experience with any products from Murchie’s, but I strongly recommend against investing in the Libre unit.

Libre Tea said

TeaForMe please contact us at [email protected]. We will make sure you have a working Libre Tea glass.

The Aladdin one is pretty good for warmth. I haven’t done any tossing it into anything, but I love the steeper basket, but the size is a little small. And the whole ‘whistling from too much pressure’ had me thinking I was crazy when I first got it. Hearing it and not knowing where the noise was coming from. So thanks for warning this shopper lol.

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It’s here it’s here! My Libre just came in the mail today and I’m brewing my first glass of tea upside down, so far no leaking! The mug itself is beautiful too, I’m impressed! I will update if I have any problems.

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Spot52 select said

I like the Libre, but I am having trouble parting with 32 dollars. Can anyone convince me that this is a worthwhile cost? I am a little cheap at times.

AJ said

Really? It only cost me 21 dollars (Canadian). However, I did buy it in a local Murchie’s, so that was no shipping or anything. I’m surprised Murchie’s didn’t mark it up. I haven’t checked Libre’s site’s costs.

Spot52 select said

32 includes the 8 dollar shipping charge. On the website, the base price is 24 dollars.

AJ said

Aaaah.

Libre Tea said

Libre has a sale starting tomorrow 15% off with ‘shareLibrelove’ code.

Spot52 select said

I was kinda hoping for that. Thanks for the heads up.

AJ said

You guys got in a new item too, I see. I like the looks of that stout travel mug. I might just end up waiting for it to come to Murchie’s or Tea Desire, though.

Have you guys seen the thread from Harney and Sons discussing a new tumbler? They seem inspired by the same design, although the top steeping chamber has its own window so that you can still enjoy the look of the tea when you reverse the the unit to steep. I thought it’d be neat if Libre did something like that; I’m generally more inclined to support Canadian companies.

TeaForMe said

Here’s what I told all my friends: “don’t do it!”. The packaging is attractive and the idea seems good—but it doesn’t work.

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