The Gongfu2go is a portable gongfu and grandpa style tea tumbler that is able to gravity pour as well as flip tea filter. The double cap and separate chamber action give a lot of flexibility to this tea device. A Crimson Lotus Tea creation!
I was sent a Gongfu2go a few months early to test. It quickly became my car gongfu teaware.
Gongfu2go Specs
- Two 150ml/ 5oz chambers.
- Double-walled borosilicate glass.
- Ceramic twist valve with stainless steel filter.
- Stainless steel lid interiors.
- Food grade silicone lid seals.
- Carrying handle on both sides.
- 9.5” / 24cm tall, 2.75”/ 7cm diameter.
- Hand wash only.
The Gongfu2go is 5 pieces – two glass chambers, two lids with built-in handles, and the central chamber that has a twist-to-open ceramic valve and stainless steel filter.
Lid Enhance!
Ceramic valve in action!
How to use Gongfu2go, Gongfu Style
Admittedly, when I got my Gongfu2go I was confused about how it works. I didn’t have instructions with mine, so I had a full experiment mode. It didn’t take me long to get the Gongfu2Go rolling.
This is the method I like, which Crimson Lotus Tea calls the “Pour-over style”, but it isn’t the only method you can gongfu with on the Gongfu2go.
- Add tea to the top chamber.
- Close the central seal.
- Fill with water and steep.
- Leave cap off! Twist to open the central seal to release the tea. Often you have to tilt the gongfu2go to have it gravity steep faster.
- Close the central seal.
- Choose your path – Instructions say to untwist the bottom chamber, using it as a cup to drink.
I like to put the lid back on, flip the entire thing around, so the filtered tea is on top and then drink from there.
Here is the video of the other method Crimson Lotus Tea does.
How to use Gongfu2go, Grandpa Style
- Add tea leaf to the bottom chamber.
- Leave the central seal open.
- Fill with hot water.
- Optional – give it a full flip to even out of the concentration of tea.
Optional – when you finished a chamber worth, flip, let the leaves strain, and then lock chamber. Now your leaves will stop infusing.
Owl’s Important User Notes & Tips
- To externally tell when the valve is open or closed, look at the little triangle notches. When they are lined up the unit is closed.
- I find having the tea in the chamber with the metal filter facing and not the ceramic valve. Tea gets trapped in between the ceramic valve and the stainless steel filter, which is annoying.
All you have to do is flip that middle piece and the glass chambers screw on like usual. - You can buy extra Gongfu2gos and chain them together to make a gongfu tea centipede.
Pros of the Gongfu2go
You can actually gongfu style with this thing – nuff said.
No pressure issues! This is my rant of most of those flip steeping tea tumblers – no pressure release. I’ve had a number of those spew tea and leak when I flip the device over. Some have instructions to never fill to the top or use boiling water, which limits the use. Since the Gongfu2Go has two chambers and lids, there is enough air in the second chamber, as well as lid options to open and release steam.
Minimal plastic contact with tea – The Gongfu2go has a ceramic valve, stainless steel filter, stainless steel lid interiors, as well as food-grade silicone lid washers. If you dislike tea to plastic contact, this design is awesome. The limited plastic contact also will ensure the unit doesn’t hold lingering tea smells.
Leak-Resistant – For typical use, the Gongfu2go is leak proof. I was suspicious as this device has multiple points to fail, but using it as intended I didn’t have leaks.
I could get it to leak (seepage in middle join) by filling both chambers full of boiling water and shaking it like a shake weight. A controlled inversion a couple times and it was perfectly fine. It is easy enough to open the lid to release pressure.
That said, using as intended, Gongfu2go doesn’t leak.
Fits in the Car Cup Holder – The Gongfu2go just barely squeaks into my cup holder, and I drive a tiny Chevy Spark. Yes, I have gongfu’d while waiting at a red light. I took the photo below parked in a parking lot. Drive safe!
Cons of the Gongfu2go
The Handle is okay – The handle plastic is thin as it is built-in and folds into the lid. I can squeeze the handle and have it bend (also Owl strength +10). This tumbler is heavy double wall glass, clocking up to almost a kilo or just over 2lbs when full. I personally don’t 100% trust it and prefer ignoring the handle. My guess the handle will be the first to break. What I would like is a carrying case which would add some extra padding to the glass and a secure strap.
The filter is annoying to clean – All parts are easy to clean except for the central seal part with the space between the ceramic valve and filter. When I had stupidly got leaf stuck in there, I had to go in with a toothpick with what a blast from the facet didn’t remove. See my tip above so that the filter does the work on the right side of the leaf. My photos have a slight bit of tea build-up, but I have yet to do a deep cleaning since I got it. For a deep cleaning you will need to soak it. EDIT: You can clean behind the filter by removing the seal with a fork, and taking out the filter!
Other Considerations
You need a hot water source handy – this is one complaint I hear from new gongfu tea learners is having hot water on hand all the time. 150ml is a nice big size for one, so you aren’t refilling as much as your typical 60-100ml solo session. Obviously, you lose all portability being tied to an electric kettle or stove, so you’ll also want a big vacuum/ insulated stainless steel/ double-walled water bottle filled with hot water for the go.
I have the 16oz Mountain Tea tumbler I’ve been using for hot water container and I get around 3 infusions, which isn’t that great but serves my needs for car rides around the city. The best option is to have a 32 or 64oz (1 or 2 liter) water jug. All the good water containers will hold hot water for 5-8 hours.
Glass – I say it every time as someone asking me about tumblers will ask some question on durability and looking at glass teaware. Glass teaware, especially double-walled, can’t take the hits like stainless steel can. Be careful with this thing. Glass also has some weird heat retention issues. If you are a min-maxer gongfu tea brewer, this might not get the perfect brewing, but this is the closest you can gongfu without your home teaware as you are going to get.
High User Error – As I stated above, the Gongfu2go doesn’t leak. However, with user error, I had leakage when not all the parts are tightened. Sounds obvious, but there are 4 points you can not have this device tightened. All the directions spin the other way so you shouldn’t be untwisting things when tightening others. There have been some early mornings I’ve derped out and not had all the lids on right.
Filter – The filter isn’t super fine, but it’ll catch all your typical gongfu-able teas. If you were WILL IT GONGFU style Lipton’s/CTC/herbals it isn’t fine enough to filter those particles.
Comments
Crimson Lotus Tea’s Gongfu2go is a nifty tea device that lets you gongfu style brew anywhere you have hot water. I’ve taken mine on the ferry, I drove and gongfu steeped on red lights, I gongfu at my desk with minimal tea wear, and on day trips. The Gongfu2go is awesome for office tea steeping too.
Overall, I love the Gongfu2go and it is a cool device that is much needed for the gongfu tea drinker on the go.
(teaware provided as a pre-release tester, then later for review)
