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- Verified Buyer
I'm not sure whether the manufacturing is still the same after reading recent (late 2022) 1-star reviews, but mine have been fantastic (Purchased first one about four years ago and only recently started using the second one i purchased in Jan 2020, just so I could let one dry while having another one to use). No rusting. The inner-basket seam, after a long while, has a small flap that is "sharp" but not sharp enough to cut myself (unless MAYBE if i try super-hard to cut myself on it). If i let the tea dry in the strainer after using, this iPow is easy to clean. I use the "lid" for a bottom plate for the strainer, which has been super useful.This has been a fantastic tea strainer! I think the quality is fine. Seems like even the more premier tea makers sell strainers with even more complaints. But because of the recent 1-star reviews for this iPow, I recently ordered another brand that got better recent ratings here on Amazon (with a partial silicone lid and one handle on the strainer instead of two), and I'm not happy with the new one. At least, iPow strainers don't let yucky silt seep out from finer tea leaves (iPow has very teeny holes) and fits into std travel mugs (such as Contigo and most Starbucks) to steep.I bought one for my young-adult daughter, who said she prefers something smaller (which I'm still trying to figure out, two years after she said that), so I sent her one of those ball-style strainers with a handle, which she likes??♀️ . I bought the ball one for my house when millennials stayed with me during pandemic holiday seasons in the past two years, but this "allegedly big" iPow strainer is STILL my first choice.After brewing hundreds of cups of black tea, there is some residue build-up after almost four years, so i had to scrub it quite a bit with dishwashing soap to get the teeny pinpoint holes to become about 50% unobstructed. Then I tried making baking-soda paste, which removed another 15% of the remaining residue. Next, i could try vinegar, but i hear that will also make my tea taste a bit like vinegar for a while, a trade-off for another potential 10-20% clearance of residue if i let my old strainer sit in vinegar. Even if i had the patience, i don't think my sewing needs are fine enough to poke open these teeny iPow holes to clean them out.I think larger tea leaves are not such as a problem even if there's residue partially obstructing the holes; I cut open a bag of super-fine tea (to avoid the "steeping microplastic" issue of partially-synthetic tea bags), and there was just too much total gunk blocking those teeny pinpoint holes under those circumstances. So glad I purchased a second iPow strainer back in 2020, and it works ok (not perfectly) for super-fine tea leaves. (I think I'm just going to steep a little microplastic and save myself the hassle ? with super-fine leaves.)The inside mesh liner does not look shiny, so it may be aluminum. Alzheimers.org.uk 2022: "At present, there is no strong evidence to support the fears that coming in to contact with metals through using equipment or through food or water increases your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease." ScienceDirect 2021: "Epidemiological evidence linking aluminum in drinking water and Alzheimer's disease is inconsistent."With all the shortages going on, i think car and electronics parts are going to get priority over economical tea strainers in general for a while . . . in case there really is a decrease in quality in tea strainers in this price range, nowadays. But I still love my iPow tea strainers from years gone by!
