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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 26 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
79 of 81 found the following review helpful:
 Don't waste your money on these cheap, poor quality teapots Jan 17, 2009
By Nicola
"Nicola"
I purchased 8 of these teapots in 4-, 6-, and 8-cup sizes for home use and as gifts for friends. I assumed that, since they are labeled as 'Made in England', they would reflect the high quality one expects of ceramics made in the British Isles. However, these are the cheapest, flimsiest teapots money can buy. They were largely unavailable for a month or two in 2007 as the manufacturer made more. Apparently, the company was bought out and taken over by a new owner, who then started manufacturing these cheap excuses for a teapot. When these new teapots were released in early 2007, I noticed they were much lighter and flimsier than those made by the previous company owners. So I put each new teapot on a postal scale and weighed the new ones against earlier versions I already owned. Sure enough, the postal scale indicated that all of the new teapots are appreciably lighter as a result of being made with considerably less clay. I wrote a letter of complaint to the manufacturer and have never received a reply. Long story short - I have already had one teapot develop cracks throughout the inside of the pot, meaning the tea seeps into the clay and can develop mould, and I had the handle break off the other pot. I just started my third of these teapots today - the 8-cup version. I heated the pot with hot tap water to warm the pot, after which I filled it with water from the kettle. Then I stood back and listened to all of these popping/cracking sounds as the glaze began to crack throughout. Sadly, this company appears to be the last manufacturer of British-made Brown Betty teapots, but the quality is non-existent. They're quite cute, granted, just don't expect it to last for any length of time. I'm on my third teapot now in the span of one year. Please don't blame any of the typically wonderful, helpful suppliers of these teapots. I have found sellers to be very good about standing behind their products - unfortunately, both sellers and buyers are being cheated by these poorly made, cheap quality knock-offs of the original brown betty teapots. Instead, direct all of your complaints to the manufacturer, Cauldon Ceramics. In the meantime, please don't waste your money like I have.
31 of 31 found the following review helpful:
They don't make 'em like they used to May 17, 2009
By Immanuel Kant
Glaze became crazed the first time we used it, teapot is light for its size (1lb 4oz), spout chipped, and then lid broke when lightly dropped on counter. A poor product we've since replaced with a 40-year-old Brown Betty that is in much better shape, heavy for its size (2lb 7oz), with thicker glaze and a sturdier spout and lid.
26 of 26 found the following review helpful:
 Disappointed Brit! Aug 18, 2009
By Spiralgoddess
I asked for one of these for a wedding present and I was thrilled to receive it.
However, this is definitely NOT the Brown Betty teapot of old. It crackled (or "crazed" as I believe it is called) withing the first couple of months. Then, 1 year later, a hole appeared above the spout and it dribbled from the word go (an absolute no-no for a Brown Betty). I don't know who makes these now, however, it can't be the same people who made the one my mother had for my entire childhood without so much as a chip or paint crackle. Very disappointed.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
The end of an era Sep 23, 2010
By Laurie
It is with great sadness that I learn of the demise of the Brown Betty teapot, one of the great institutions of tea-making, and of England. An English friend gave me mine fifteen years ago after I asked him how to make the perfect cup of tea. I considered this seemingly humble clay pot to be one of my finest possessions, for its elegant shape, gorgeous glaze, good balance in the hand, and of course, the way in which it made the perfect cup of tea. I treated it with care (my mom taught me always to hold the spout when washing a teapot, as she said that most old teapots have chipped spouts from being hit against the faucet or sink), so that it survived nearly daily use in my sometimes-crazy kitchen. However, it was just broken. I was happy to find what I thought was a replacement. No criticism of Amazon (to which I am grateful for carrying something that resembles a replacement), but the new pot is laughably inferior to my old friend. It has a clumsy, baggy, shape and pitted glaze, and the lid is not even the same color as the pot. It is awkward to hold, and based on other reviews here and elsewhere, I expect that it will not last forever, as my old one might have if not for that one moment. So I am meditating on impermanence, on not trying to find happiness in things, which can be broken. But I wish that I -- and the rest of the world -- had the old Brown Betty teapot back.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Only one problem with this teapot Dec 06, 2009
By J. C. Freeman
The Brown Betty teapot it ok, but it has a problem - it cannot be filled all the way, since the spout is lower than the top - hot water spills out out the spout when it is filled to the top. Other than that, it's fine.
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