Belated and unexpected birthday surprise from a dear friend! (We used to honor the “two weeks either way and it still counts” rule; now it’s been extended to six months either way. Sometimes Christmas packages get mailed in September.)
Physical properties: Normally, I steep my go-to-work tea in a Tervis tumbler, and leave the leaves at home. But this ToasTEA thing is the bees’ knees, in that it has a steeping basket that screws into the lid. Since the tumbler is tall, you aren’t stewing your brew, and there’s a sipping filter that keeps you from swallowing leaves and allows you to re-steep at will. Add new hot water, flip it upside down, and there you go.
Thermal properties: I’ve been sipping at mine for an hour and a half, and it’s still fresh-cup warm.
Visibility properties: The flippy push-button lid, helpful for maintaining the thermal properties described above, gets in the way a bit when I’m driving. Guess I’ll have to take the route that has more stoplights.
