Timolino (16 oz)

I’ve had my Timolino now for a while. I bought it primarily because I find myself in the lab at 8am, and when I escape hours later any hope of hot tea is gone.

Upsides: It keeps tea hot, like really hot. It’s sleek, and fits nicely into my bookbag. It holds 16 oz.

Downsides: The tea really is kept hot. For a long time. I’ve burned myself a few times, but I’d rather have too hot tea than cold tea. Another downside that really bothered me when I first got it was the fact that the lid is so difficult to clean. The silicone in the lid holds scents, and the worst by far was soap. I soaked it in baking soda, vinegar, hot water, you name it. The soap flavour has gone away over time, but the only thing I take in my Timolino now is black tea. The one time I attempted an oolong I couldn’t even taste the delicate flavours.

I should also mention, that wee silicone bit that holds scents. That piece is what makes it leakproof. Lesson learned.

I picked up another on boxing day, that I’m using for the first time today. I’m going to reserve this one for herbals, since Super Ginger went into it this morning. I don’t think I’d pay full price for another one, but I had no problem picking up a second one on sale.

I have had this 12 oz thermos from David’s Tea since 2013 and it’s probably the best tea thermos that I own. It’s easy to clean, keeps tea extra hot, and is a great size that is portable. Also, it’s durable – there may be one or two scratches, but I don’t think you would guess this thing is 7 years old. I have a perfect tumbler from David’s Teas that is about 6 months old and the paint is being to peel on the bottom. Most of all, the Timolino is leak-proof – it has never spilled in my bag which is great!

The biggest downside to the Timolino is the extra tea compartment. Yes, it is a nice perk to advertise that it can hold extra tea for a later cuppa. However, the seal isn’t waterproof and condensation from your current drink does seep into it. I barely use this feature, so it’s a minor flaw. Also, the tea basket is a little small. Later Davids tea tumblers fix this problem with a longer basket or you can just use a teabag. Overall, this was a great purchase, and I do which Davids’ Tea would bring a similar design back to their product lineup.

I. adore. my. three. 12 ounce Timolinos. Adore them and use them daily. They are light, leakproof, and feel ever so good in my hands. They keep my teas hot forever.

And yes, I also have two David’s 16 ounce carry mugs. Which I also use regularly. I prefer the look and feel of the Timolinos, but I like the 16 oz of the carry mugs.

I bought all three on different sales as David’s in discontinuing them due to now having their own design of the same product. However, the quality is such that I would still buy them at regular price without regrets.

I do not use the steeping baskets of either the Timolinos or the carry mugs. I prefer to steep in my Steeper and pour the ready tea into the containers. The openings are too narrow to use with David’s stainless steel steeper baskets.

I now have 4 Timolinos (two 12oz and two 16oz) and I love these things.
I always amaze my co-workers everytime I bring one of them into work with the way the keep tea hot for about 6 hours.
Usually brew one in the morning and around 3-4 in the afternoon, it is drinkable. These are some of the best purchases/gifts I’ve ever received, that are tea-related.

I received this as a gift when I quit working as a page to pursue other endeavors in the library. I’ve really starting to use this more because I am constantly sipping on tea at work and if it gets busy by the time I get to my tea it’s cold, which I’m not a fan of. This timolino is leak proof (as long as you make sure the lid is secured tightly!) and keeps the liquid hot or cold for hours. Being able to keep the tea hot for that long is its blessing and curse. I can’t drink tea when it’s going to burn my lips off, so what I discovered is if you take the lid off it will slowwwwly lose heat making tea the perfect temp to drink within between 45min after making it and several hours later. So, that’s what I do at work (I used to drink my tea out of an open Tim’s cup or a ceramic travel mug that wasn’t 100% sealed so I have no problem keeping the top open).

Ultimately this is my best travel mug: I can make the tea as I make my morning breakfast smoothie, screw the lid on, chuck it in my purse as I run to catch the bus, get to work, take the lid off, and enjoy hot tea in about 45 min.

Ok, so my Hubby is one who likes his tea and coffee scorching hot, the hotter the better, so finally bit the bullet and bought us each one of these during a sale, “web special” that David’s was having. I had seen so many of you comment on how well these things worked I decided if I was getting one for Hubby, I had to have one too… of course! Plus, it got us enough for free shipping too, bonus!

Hubby tried his first since he had work the next day, and I warned him that they are supposed to keep your beverage hot for hours. He texted me shortly after having gotten to work to tell me that he had burnt his tongue pretty good on the tea he had taken with him. Bad enough it hurt to drink more until it had cooled considerably, which was much much later in the day. He was impressed at how long his tea stayed hot and even with the top lid off.

I have taken to making tea in mine when we are doing something in the afternoon knowing that I won’t be drinking it until it gets closer to evening. That has been great for me as the temperature is dropping so much in the evening I love having something warm to carry with me and sip on no matter where we are. I have also used it at home some to keep my tea hot it, and I can pour a bit out at a time to cool to drinkable temperature & keep what is still in my timolino good and hot. Or, once it reaches a drinkable temp for me while in the timolino, it stays that way for a good while.

I can say we both love these things! I didn’t think we would be quite so impressed since we have bought other insulated products that just didn’t do anything to hold much heat. Hubby raves about them to anyone who asks what we are carrying. The closest tea shop to our area is a Teavan about an hour away so many haven’t seen anything like them before… I know I hadn’t and probably wouldn’t have tried one without all of your input here.

Anyone who is considering making a purchase of one of these, I completely recommend it! I watched and waited for a sale because I couldn’t see one in person anywhere locally.. and I’m a bit frugal sometimes, but I’d have to say, I might jump at a full price one if it were my color ;) I had less color options by grabbing one on sale, but found one that works ok for me.

Keychange.. thanks for sharing with me the differences between the timolino and the carry travel mug. I was sure I would order the carry mug when I finally was ready to do it, but when it came down to true decision time I went with the timolino. Since I couldn’t see the size difference, I was afraid the handle would add too much height for me to put it in my bag if I wanted to. I also didn’t think I would take it with me as much as I have. I might eventually pick one of those up to if given the chance at a good buy.. or as a souvenir for actually making it to one of their stores :) I have since seen Oolong Owls review of the carry mug and I like the extra filter it has on the top too… oh well. I probably should have listened to you rather than run with my last minute gut instinct.. but I guess now I have an excuse to buy another tea goodie!

This weekend has been … interesting.

On the bright side, my fiance and I got to explore our new hometown (of seven months) and try out some local restaurants. This has been on the to do list forever and it was great to enjoy each other’s company and see what the area has to offer. Yay, date night!

On the other hand … we also found out on our way home from breakfast Saturday that he needs a new car. We’ve had issues on and off, but chalked it up to the car being a 1999. It still runs well and we thought that after the most recent bout of maintenance, we’d be good until the end of the year. Lucky us, the transmission ran low on fluid … again … and we were stuck limping the car home. This is the second time the transmission has given us problems in a week and, because of the age of the car, it makes more sense for us to buy a new vehicle than it does to replace the transmission.

We spent the weekend pricing out new cars and figuring out what we can afford to get. I’m not the most patient person in the world (understatement, cough cough) so out came the Timolino for our dealership tour.

I love this thing so much. I actually brewed tea in this, poured it into my tea canteen, then rebrewed in the Timolino and took both with me. The tea stayed hot for hours, I didn’t have to worry about anything spilling, and I had something tasty to sip on while crunching numbers. My only complaints are that this mug is too small for the cupholders in my car (an anomaly because travel mugs are usually to big for my cupholders) and I really would have preferred an all-stainless steel brewing basket. It’s so convenient that it’s hard to care too much about stuff like that, though. Plus, maybe the cupholders in the new car will fit it better. Hehehehehehehe.

We’re making the trade tomorrow, and I’ll definitely have this little gem along with me!

I have two and they rock! I do still love my Contigo autolock mugs as they are a bit easier for drinking on the go but Timolino is the best for tea on the go!