Primula 40oz PTRE-4203 Tea Pot review

I found the 40 ounce Primula PTRE-4203 tea pot at a Ross store and the price was right, just $7, in new condition, so I had to buy it. It turned out to be a great bang for the buck general-purpose tea pot!

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The 40 oz capacity is flexible enough, my main tea kettle heats up to 1L (around 34 fluid ounces), so it’s a great match. Half of its surface has a red non-removable sleeve, the other half does not, so if you want to keep the tea warm, you have to use a cozy. Or if you want to keep things even simpler, I just set aside two square microfiber clothes and use them to cover it. They do make a difference in keeping the tea warmer for a few more minutes.

The red sleeve is only on the outside. The inside is only the clear teapot. I do not know what material they use (it doesn’t say on the box).

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WHAT’S INCLUDED

  • the unibody teapot (red sleeve non-removable)
  • two piece lid (actual lid, and base of the lid; both removable)
  • infuser basket
  • three flowering Jasmine Green Tea tea samples

PROs

I think one of its biggest benefits is that you can use it with or without the included infuser basket. The infuser basket fits into the lid mechanism, but the 2-part lid is independent of the infuser basket. So you can have a sealed teapot without the infuser basket, which means you can have loose leaf tea floating in the teapot or tea bags floating in there. Or flowering teas. If brewing loose leaf tea, you can use the included infuser basket, or any infuser or strainer to catch the tea leaves as you pour the tea out. This is great for teas that can be infused longer without turning bitter or can take to multiple infusions.

From what I can tell/guess, this (or something very similar) may sell under other brands as well, so you can find it in more places.

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CONS

The red non-removable sleeve can potentially catch little bits of dirt that may not be easy to remove. Of the two or so years I’ve been using it, it only got some bit of tea leaf once that took a while for time to make it fall off.

The included infuser basket is of meh quality, but hey, it was $7 for the whole thing 🙂 The infuser is too short and not wide enough to be of use on its own with cups, unless you have a very narrow cup. Regardless, over time I am steadily switching away from infuser baskets and trying to have the tea leaves (or even tea bags) swim freely in the available space.

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COMING UP

  • brew the included flowering teas ~ I haven’t “seen” them in a few months 🙂
  • measure temperatures (I have to setup the tea thermometer)
  • pictures of the tea pot (I have to detail it to be respectable enough for picture taking)

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UPDATE

RIP teapot on February 18 in 2018! A cold winter night, distracted while watching a movie, I did not preheat the bowl, and poured boiling water dramatically in it. A crack, and liquid oozing out of the tea pot. The bottom literally fell off. It broke off clean. Into the recycling bin it goes, RIP tea pot 🙁

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