Long time tea connoisseur (not a type of dinosaur) and firm believer this type of tea steeping is the best way to bring out the brightest flavors of your one cup tea. If your tastebuds could, they’d bow down to you for your excellent tea steeping choice. Cast iron tea pots are another story this review won’t get into, because it’s irrelevant. It was time to retire my old Teavana brand tea maker I’ve had since 2012. Yeah, I’m surprised it lasted 8 years! One of the little legs broke as I dropped it, and it could not stand without the bottom lifting up. If this were to become a Disney story, I’d be the Beast who chucked Mrs. Potts down to the floor and was cursed for eternity. I’m also comparing this product to the Teavana brand since most people introduced to the idea of this device come from when Teavana helped make tea drinking a bit more mainstream in the US. Yeah, tea drinking was universal. I’m not saying Teavana introduced tea to the US. I’m saying they helped introduce more people to the idea of drinking real tea and not just raspberry Brisk, or Arizona green tea. I read a few reviews prior to purchasing mentioning how this one was “far superior” to Teavana’s. After receiving mine, I wouldn’t agree that it’s “far superior”, but it does have different benefits. I’m including photos of both so we can all see~ Groshe brand: -The chamber is circular and spherical, allowing easy access. This is great when you need to stick your hand inside to clean. *Let’s keep your mind PG, people. -The mesh filter has an elongated nose pin allowing easy pull out when wanting to remove for cleaning. *Of course, you can’t clean up if you don’t pull out. Tell your kids to use a condom. -The handle has a heart shaped, wide comfort grip. It reflects old Victorian tea ware handles. *So fancy. Pinky up fancy. Teavana brand: -It had an oval chamber and went straight up. Definitely early 2000 plain aesthetics. *Boring, but functional, like the ex you broke up with. -The mesh filter was tight with a small nose pin, but removable. *Being short is one thing. Being small...well... -The handle was thin, but went along the entire length of the tea maker, allowing a secure grip. *I mean, one good trait helps. Getting serious, both chambers are able to steep 16oz of tea, regardless of their shape. Because the Grosche brand is spherical and wider at the top, it’s a little hard to eyeball an amount. I find myself lifting it off my cups more often than doing so with the Teavana brand to make sure it doesn’t overflow. I do love the circular shape more, since it’s A LOT easier to clean and get my hand inside. The lids on both are removable, but the Grosche doesn’t seem as hard to remove and attach. The Teavana one was so stiff and hard, the plastic hinges easily broke off (you can see in the picture showing the handle). Still, be careful when removing and attaching the lid since I’m sure the Grosche may break if not taking precautions. I absolutely love the elongated nose pin on the mesh filter of the Grosche. It’s so easy to grab and pull out to clean. I swear, people who haven’t used the old Teavana one will never know the struggle of squeezing your hand inside an oval chamber, and wiggling out the tiny nose pin from the tightest fitting mesh filter. If your knuckles had a mind of their own, they’d knock you out every time you removed and inserted the Teavana filter. The handle...I HATE the Grosche handle. Heart shaped like a little tea cup?! Sure, I guess you can say it’s cute, but you can only fit two fingers comfortably, and barely have a strong grip when raising it to place on a cup. It also widens towards the bottom, which I find super annoying, because it doesn’t help stabilize your two finger grip on 16oz of hot water. I definitely miss the Teavana handle. That baby made sure you had a secure grip and easily fit in your hand so it couldn’t wobble around unless you were shaking. Overall, the Grosche isn’t bad, and the poor handle shape isn’t enough to dock a star from this review. The handle sucks, but everything else is pretty awesome. Easy to use, easy to clean. Pretty convenient. Tip on cleaning plastic without scratching: baking soda and soap with a cloth or soft side of a dish sponge. Those tea stains will come right off.