Nagao TM-500 Tsubame Sanjo Teapot, 16.9 fl oz (500 cc), 18-8 Stainless Steel, With Vine, Made in Japan

I bought this same teapot in both 500 cc and 300 cc volumes. The smaller one I keep in my office to make green tea at my desk, and this larger one I keep at home and use it at my breakfast table for making green tea using a teapot warmer with a tealight candle. It works perfectly for loose-leaf tea of any kind.This pot is made exceptionally well. The design is dripless when pouring, and the welding throughout the pot is smooth. Overall it is made of just three pieces of steel (pot, inside spout strainer, and handle) which means there are only two seams in total, which means it is robust and highly sanitary. The inside has no crevices that would be hard to clean; it's all smooth inside aside from the small flat area at the base of the spout which has a little large holed strainer welded on, for both slowing down the water while pouring so that it does not splash, and for when the fine mesh removable stainless steel basket is unwanted, such as when steeping a whole piece of ginseng root, ginger root, whole verbena leaves, etc.The wooden knob is convenient as it stays cool even when the pot is really hot, for when I have to open the lid to pour more water from a stainless steel pitcher while the teapot is still siting on the candle warmer (no need to move from the desk to make a new pot of tea using the same leaves!). When the tea has steeped to my desired taste, I remove the leaf screen inside and set it on a plate and return it to the pot when I'm ready to fill it with water again. The top handle gets warm but not really hot like the pot itself, so there is no problem pouring tea that is very hot from being on top of a candle.Lastly, I am careful about where I buy stainless steel, as many countries sell kitchen items made from heavy-metal contaminated steel, but Italy, Germany, and Japan have maintained traditional methods of making a very pure stainless steel, I discovered after reading several scientific studies on the topic.

good