Sweejar Floral Ceramic Teapot with Infuser

This is a real point of confusion. The bottom of the teapot has markings that suggest it may be microwave and dishwasher safe, but multiple reviewers warn that the gold trim is not microwave or dishwasher safe. Gold accents and metallic trim will spark in the microwave and wear off in the dishwasher over time. The safest approach is to hand wash this teapot and avoid the microwave entirely. It's a minor hassle, but the teapot is reportedly easy to clean by hand — the ceramic is smooth and doesn't stain easily.

This is one of the honest trade-offs with this teapot. Reviewers note it doesn't retain heat especially well — it's ceramic without any insulation, so your tea will cool down within 20-30 minutes. If you're brewing and serving right away (like at a tea party or over a conversation), that's not really an issue. But if you like to brew a pot and sip it over an hour, you might want a tea cozy or warmer to go with it. Pre-warming the pot before brewing helps maximize the time your tea stays hot.

It's ideal for someone who wants an attractive, functional teapot for everyday loose leaf tea without spending a lot. Tea-for-two households will love the 24-29 oz capacity. Anyone into cottagecore, vintage, or farmhouse aesthetics will appreciate the floral relief and gold trim. It also makes a great starter teapot for someone transitioning from tea bags to loose leaf — the included infuser eliminates the need for extra equipment. It's not the best pick if you need a large-capacity pot for groups, want to brew blooming tea specifically, or need something that keeps tea hot for extended periods.

Hand washing is the way to go — warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft sponge. Reviewers say it's easy to clean thanks to the smooth ceramic interior. The infuser basket lifts out for separate cleaning, and the wide opening makes it easy to reach inside. Avoid the dishwasher even though there may be markings on the bottom suggesting it's safe — the gold trim will wear off over time with dishwasher detergent and high heat. For tea stains that build up over time, a paste of baking soda and water works well on ceramic without damaging the finish.

Reviewers suggest it's not ideal for blooming tea. The spout on this teapot is unpierced, meaning there's no built-in strainer at the spout opening. With blooming tea, the expanding flower petals can potentially clog the spout and make pouring difficult. If you primarily want a teapot for blooming tea, you'd be better off with a clear glass teapot (so you can see the bloom) with a wider, pierced spout. The Sweejar really shines with loose leaf and bagged teas where the infuser basket does the filtering work.

Absolutely. Several reviewers mention using this teapot with tea bags, and it works perfectly well — you just skip the infuser basket entirely or leave it in, either way. Drop your tea bags directly into the pot, pour in your hot water, and steep as normal. The Sweejar holds 29 oz, so you'd typically use 2-3 tea bags depending on how strong you like it. The fine mesh infuser is really the star feature for loose leaf brewing, but there's no reason you can't enjoy this teapot with bagged tea too. It's a nice bridge if you're thinking about transitioning from bags to loose leaf.

For most people, having a built-in infuser is a big convenience win — and the Sweejar's included infuser is genuinely good. It's a fine laser-cut stainless steel basket that catches even small loose leaf tea particles, so you don't need a separate strainer. The basket is removable too, which means you can pull it out when your tea is done steeping to prevent bitterness. That said, there are two small caveats with this specific teapot: the infuser basket doesn't have its own handle, so it's tricky to remove when the tea is hot, and if you fill the pot to the absolute brim, the lid won't seat properly with the infuser in place. Leave a little room at the top and you'll be fine.

Here's the step-by-step: First, boil your water in a separate kettle and pre-warm the teapot by swirling some hot water inside (this helps since reviewers note the Sweejar doesn't hold heat for long periods). Dump the warming water, place the stainless steel infuser basket in the pot, and add your loose leaf tea — roughly 1 teaspoon per 8 oz, so about 3-4 teaspoons for a full 29 oz pot. Pour your hot water over the leaves, place the lid on (the tab will click into the notch on the infuser), and steep for the recommended time for your tea type. When it's ready, remove the infuser basket to stop the steeping — careful, it'll be hot and there's no handle on the basket. Pour and enjoy. The fine mesh infuser catches even small particles, so you shouldn't get much sediment in your cup.

It's straightforward: drop the stainless steel infuser basket into the teapot, add your loose leaf tea to the basket (about 1 teaspoon per cup), pour in hot water, and let it steep. When the tea reaches your preferred strength, lift out the infuser basket to stop the steeping — just be careful since the basket doesn't have a handle, so use a spoon or let it cool a moment. The lid has a small tab that fits into a notch on the infuser basket, which keeps everything locked in place when you pour. One tip from reviewers: don't fill it completely to the brim, or the lid won't seat properly over the infuser. Leave about half an inch of space at the top.

Sweejar markets this as a ceramic teapot, though the listing also mentions porcelain — in practice, the terms overlap quite a bit for teapots like this. What actually matters is how it performs: reviewers describe it as thick, solid, and heavier than expected, which is typical of quality ceramic. It heats evenly and pours cleanly. The one downside of ceramic versus something like cast iron or double-walled glass is heat retention — this teapot won't keep your tea warm for a long time. But for brewing and serving within 15-20 minutes, it works beautifully.

Pre-warming is especially relevant for a ceramic teapot like the Sweejar. Ceramic absorbs heat, so if you pour boiling water into a cold teapot, the ceramic itself will soak up a good chunk of that heat and drop your water temperature significantly — sometimes by 10-15°F. Since this teapot is described as thick and sturdy, it has more thermal mass to absorb. Just swirl some hot water around inside for 30 seconds, dump it out, then brew as normal. This is particularly important because reviewers note the Sweejar doesn't retain heat especially well, so you want every degree working for your tea rather than warming up the pot walls.

The Sweejar works well with virtually any loose leaf or bagged tea. The fine mesh infuser is particularly good for teas with smaller leaf particles like broken-leaf black teas, rooibos, or herbals that would slip through a coarser strainer. It handles full-leaf teas like oolong and white tea beautifully too. The one tea type to avoid is blooming tea — the expanding flowers can clog the unpierced spout. Otherwise, black, green, white, oolong, herbal, and fruit teas all brew well in this pot.

Steeping times depend on the tea type, not the teapot — but the Sweejar's removable infuser makes timing easy. General guidelines: black tea 3-5 minutes, green tea 2-3 minutes, white tea 4-5 minutes, herbal/tisanes 5-7 minutes. The beauty of having a removable infuser basket is that you just lift it out when your timer goes off. If you're new to loose leaf, start on the shorter end and taste — you can always steep longer, but you can't undo bitterness from oversteeping. With the Sweejar's 29 oz capacity, you might want to use slightly more tea leaves than a single-cup recipe calls for to keep the flavor robust.

No — do not put this teapot on a stove or any direct heat source. It's a ceramic/porcelain teapot designed for steeping, not boiling. You'll need a separate kettle to heat your water first, then pour the hot water into the Sweejar for brewing. Placing ceramic directly on a burner can cause thermal shock and crack the pot. Use an electric kettle or stovetop kettle to boil your water, then transfer it to the teapot. This is true of virtually all decorative ceramic teapots, not just this one.