Luci Infuser by Tea Forte

It's bigger than the cup!

This is going to be pretty short, but since I have to head over to the post office to chuck it in the mail I need to get some thoughts down before I go "Return to Sender" on it.

Round meets flat... not so stable.

I purchased this on Amazon as an early birthday present, but it was a big disappointment. The lovely modern lines have hid some significant design flaws, and I would rely on my tried and true mesh ball infusers before I would trust this thing in a cup.

When I first opened the box, the size was a shock - it's about 5-1/2" tall, with a base that's over 1-3/4" wide. I can wrap my hand around it and over two inches of handle still peeks out.


Now, that might be a plus in a taller cup (I may be guilty of nearly scalding fingertips rescuing an infuser in over its head) but unfortunately that heft doesn't come with stability. The handle is very wobbly, and the infuser basket will detach with only a slight 1/2" rotation. I don't know about you, but visions of messes are running through my mind just looking at it. Even as tight as it can go there's still some worrying give back and forth... kind of like a bell. When I think about ringing in the day with a nice cup of tea, that's not quite what I have in mind.

All that holds them together... and the curious hole.

The lack of stability was made even more painfully clear when I tried to place it on the little ceramic base it came with. It doesn't fit. It's actually a little curved, which is perfect for it to tip over and cause havoc. I barely caught it before it toppled but apparently, sometime before I received it, someone else wasn't so careful. When it arrived, the box looked pristine, but somehow the handle had a three-inch scratch or crack.

And it's cracked.

Now the handle does have some heft, but not enough for me to feel very secure around it. It feels too light, and there's some kind of plastic-looking seal on the bottom, where it will meet the tea leaves. That's always a no-go for me when it comes to infusers, and not something I was expecting from a supposedly straightforward ceramic and metal infuser.





If it hadn't arrived broken, I would have enjoyed testing it out. As it stands, I have to send this little sucker back for a refund. I've been eyeing it for a while, and I really like the look of it, but teaware really has to have function as well as form. I don't think I'll be replacing it.