I really, really loved using the Chinese tea thermos that I purchased a few weeks ago, as relayed in this previous article. I found that Dragon Well and Yunnan Green both worked exceptionally well for multiple infusions throughout the day. However, I did not pay enough attention to the vulnerability of the glass and I transformed it into something more akin to a kaleidoscope. I am certain that it would be very easy to keep one of these vessels from breaking, and I intend to get another one to prove it, but I made the mistake of letting mine roll around in the backseat of my Suzuki Samurai, which is pretty close to the roughest, bounciest ride of any passenger vehicle ever made. The poor tea thermos didn’t stand a chance. It broke at the vulnerable place, where the inner glass connected in a ring to the outer, thicker glass, and then the inner section broke into smaller pieces as it crashed against the walls and bottom. The outer glass and the lid remained intact, safely containing the fragments and wet tea leaves inside, which I suppose is at least a better situation than it might have been.
So, while I still highly recommend the glass vessels over the easier-to-find plastic ones, some additional care is necessary. I was very sad to see what I had let happen, but I will be more careful with the next one. I can not think of a single instance in which I broke any nice tea things at home, but the back-and-forth from work requires more attention. Lesson learned.