JTH Vacuum Travel Thermos

JTH Vacuum Travel Thermos with Built-in Filter and Aluminum Cup

Jesse Says:

I made this thermos because I got a similar one as a gift and it was so useful it wound up using it in a lot of my videos. People kept asking for it, so I found the manufacturer, and here we are!

I usually use it for one of two things:

1.  Keeping hot water with me at all times, in a backpack or bag, and then using that water with my travel teapot set;
2. Drinking “grandpa style” tea by , using the cup that also serves as a lid to pour myself tea through the filter.

I also find it’s perfectly sized for one tea resin, and that’s my go-to plane tea. I bring the thermos in empty, get hot water after security at a machine or from a cafe, and drink the resin on the plane.

Thermos Specs:
Volume: 500ml / 16.9 oz.
Cup size: 125ml / 4.2 oz.
Thermos Size: 23.5 x 6.9 cm / 9.1 x 2.72 inches
Material: 316 Stainless Steel Interior
Color: Super Classy JTH Green with White Teapot Logo

Can I control the steep time?

Not really, but I’m not upset about that.

There are lots of thermoses that allow you to control steep time by either tipping the tea area of the thermos upside-down, having a “push button” drop through area, or removing a filter by hand.

I personally, though, find them to be bulky, finicky, and not enjoyable to use. I own some and I never use them.

After trying many types of thermoses, I personally would either just bring a travel teapot with me and use a nice set for the tea and the thermos just for hot water storage, or just accept that I won’t be able to control the tea steep time, use a small amount of leaves and let them steep as long as I’m out and about, and just pick tea types that react well to over-steeping.

I think asking a thermos to make perfect tea and create a gongfu-style experience is just asking to be disappointed. It’s not there to be perfect, it’s there to let you either make gongfu tea the way you want with a second tea set, or to do a decent job of making pretty good tea while admitting it will oversteep.

This thermos does both of those well. If you use it just for the hot water, the spring-loaded top makes pouring into gaiwans/teapots super easy and safe. If you use it for grandpa-style tea, the built-in filter works perfectly every time even with small leaf tea, and the aluminum cup lid is a great size for small-to-medium size portions that makes teatime feel a bit more like gongfu tea.

Also, eliminating all those extra parts makes these cheaper. More money for tea!

Making tea in the House of Representatives with the vacuum thermos and travel tea set

Thermos Highlights:

Spring-loaded opening lid opens at the touch of a button;

Excellent heat retention;

High-quality built-in filter in the lid;

Lid screws off to serve as a cup.