I'm not the type of guy who would normally think of buying a tea chest, but i go through lots of Red Rose both for the occasional hot cup and i make iced tea by the pitcher all the time, so i go through a lot and keep a good amount stocked up. I order Red Rose in bags by as large a box as i can get since stores around me won't stock it for some reason, and I got tired of just balancing the flimsy cardboard boxes on top of an old tube tv in my cluttered apartment, so i decided to cough up some dough for this chest.
I think it's a great value for the price. I was half-expecting craftsmanship along the lines of something like a wood incense burner you'd get at a headshop; roughly hewn wood with cheap, hastily applied stain, and i figured the "window" would be flimsy plastic that would bend and pop out of the frame if you pushed it hard enough. This is not that. It's smooth, straight at the corners and edges, and while the window is indeed plastic, it's fairly thick and solidly set into the wood without bending or shuffling around, and seems reasonably scratch-resistant, though i wouldn't try to put that to the test. (Another reviewer describes hers as glass, but mine is plastic; not sure if something changed with the manufacturing, but i have no complaints). The finish is nice, too. The top closes securely with 2 peg-and-hole closures, and opens smoothly too. This measures 4"H x 7.5"D x 12.5" W, or 9.9 x 19.3 x 31.7 cm for those not in America :) .
There are 8 compartments, and i find i can fit about 22 teabags in each by tucking a stack into the corner and filling in the side gaps with a few more bags standing vertically, so figure on this storing about 176 teabags if you tuck 'em in tight. I have to say i'm really happy with this purchase, and in today's world where it feels like just about everything is incredibly overpriced, this feels like a relative bargain for a good quality product.
