Teaware Review: Teaglass

I love collecting teaware, and always look out for unique pieces. I recently started seeing a company called Teaglass posting pictures of a strange looking drinking vessel on Instagram. The vessel was originally created for yerba mate, to mimic drinking from a mate gourd and bombilla (straw) but the creators realized you can use the vessel with loose leaf tea as well. They reached out to see if I'd like to review one of the vessels, and I was curious to give it a try. Here are my findings...

The Appearance
Out of the box, it looks a little bit like an oversized pipe, similar to something Sherlock Holmes would have used. The glass is basically a cup with a built-in straw and strainer, meant to replace the mate gourd and straw. The vessel holds about 200ml, and the cup is constructed of double-walled borosilicate glass to keep fingers nice and cool. The whole idea reminds me of my beloved The Wall tea steeper that is also made out of glass with a glass strainer.

The Pros
It's portable and fits nicely in my hand. I don't usually drink yerba mate, but I imagine this is a bit more convenient than the gourd and bombilla.

The glass allows the drinker to observe the tea leaves and color of the brew. The double-walled cup keeps fingers nice and cool so you can use teas that require hotter water temps.

The glass strainer allows drinking 'grandpa style' tea (putting the leaves directly in a glass with hot water, and filtering the leaves with your teeth as you drink), where you can keep adding water and sip all day long. The cup is on the small side, but this also ensures the leaves won't be sitting in the water too long, assuming you drink it right away.

It's definitely a conversation piece! I've only used this at home, but my family were instantly drawn to it. I'll have to bring it to the office and see what the response is.

The Cons
My issues with the vessel are fairly small ones. Although I think the filter is good, you just need to make sure to use leaves that are large enough not to pass through the filter (which isn't a problem unless you are drinking CTC). Again it's designed for yerba mate, which is cut fairly small. And really, what's the big deal if a bit of tiny leaf gets through?

Another small issue is this style of vessel limits the types of tea you can use with it. I wouldn't put anything that steeps up quickly, as it would get too strong and bitter. But any tea you'd like to try grandpa style would be great for this vessel.

It's easy to clean, but be sure to shake the vessel upside down a few times after washing, getting all the water out of the bottom piece. I noticed a little bit of water remained at the base of the straw unless I turned it upside down a few times.

The Verdict

I can't judge how the Teaglass would work with yerba mate, as I don't typically drink it. But for tea, overall the Teaglass is fun to use! My kids immediately loved the idea of sipping from the built in straw. They also enjoyed watching the liquid go through the cup into the straw. It felt a bit strange to sip hot tea from a straw at first, but after a few tries I found I enjoyed carrying it in my hand, and taking a few sips. I don't think this will replace my usual brewing methods but it's a unique vessel to use, especially when you'd like to change things up. Thank you to Teaglass for providing this item for review. To learn more about the product, you can visit their website.