The best iced tea makers

Buy the 1.2 liter Mizudashi. It is a heatproof glass carafe with a strainer that lifts out, Hario publishes every material in it, and it costs less than the alternatives. Buy the Ka-Ku instead if your refrigerator is full, because it is the one that lies on its side. And before either: if you own a large jar and a fine strainer, you can cold brew tonight for nothing.

The best iced tea makers - quick picks

#	Product	Best for	Capacity	Price
1	HARIO Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot, 1200 mlTop pickA 1.2 liter heatproof glass carafe with a removable mesh strainer, sized to stand in a refrigerator door. Hario publishes every material in it.	The default cold brew jug, and the one to buy first	1200 milliliters	$20.15 - Amazon#ad
2	HARIO Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle, 1200 mlThe same 1.2 liters in a rectangular shatter-resistant bottle that seals well enough to store flat. That is the entire reason to pay more than the glass one.	A packed refrigerator, because it lies on its side	1200 milliliters	$35.50 - Amazon#ad
3	HARIO Cold Brew Tea Filter-in Bottle, 750 mlA 750 ml glass bottle with a built-in filter, made for brewing tea in the refrigerator. Cold extraction is slow enough that leaving the leaves in stops being a mistake.	Cold brew, and the one bottle we would carry	750 ml	$21.85 - Amazon#ad

Top pick · The default cold brew jug, and the one to buy first

HARIO Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot, 1200 ml

Top pick

A 1.2 liter heatproof glass carafe with a removable mesh strainer, sized to stand in a refrigerator door. Hario publishes every material in it.

$20.15 - View on Amazon

$21.25 · 5% off

#ad · how this is funded · price checked September 21, 2026

Published specifications

Practical capacity

1200 millilitersSource: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

Strainer

Removable mesh strainer, so the leaves lift out and the carafe is ready to pourSource: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

Materials

Heatproof glass body; polypropylene lid, strainer, frame and handle; polyester mesh; stainless steel bandSource: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

Dimensions

W125 x D93 x H290 mm, 88 mm diameterSource: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

Model

HCC-12-SGSource: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

Made in

JapanSource: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

Care

Hot water and dishwasher safe; not safe for microwave, oven or open flameSource: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

Intended use

Made for cold brewing onlyHario states this explicitly. It is a brewing carafe, not a kettle and not a stovetop vessel.Source: HARIO USA — Mizudashi Cold Brew Tea Pot (1200 ml)

What the numbers mean

The removable strainer is the specification that matters. Cold brewing is forgiving about time, but leaves left in the carafe for a second day are not improving anything — lifting the strainer out ends it cleanly and leaves something you can pour from.

1.2 liters is roughly five glasses, which is the right size for a household making a jug in the evening for the next day. Hario publishes the practical capacity rather than a brim figure, which it does consistently and almost nobody else does.

The dimensions are published for a reason: at 290 mm tall and 93 mm deep it is designed to stand in a refrigerator door rather than take a shelf. Measure your door shelf before assuming.

Good for

• +Every material published, down to the mesh and the band
• +Strainer lifts out, so extraction actually stops
• +Dishwasher safe, published
• +Practical capacity rather than a brim number

Against it

• −Glass, so it breaks if it goes over in a packed refrigerator
• −Cold brewing only — Hario says so outright
• −A 290 mm carafe will not fit every refrigerator door
• −The mesh is polyester, not stainless, so it stains over time

Skip it ifSkip it if you want hot tea chilled quickly. This is a slow overnight vessel; nothing about it speeds the process up.

Pick 2 · A packed refrigerator, because it lies on its side

HARIO Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle, 1200 ml

The same 1.2 liters in a rectangular shatter-resistant bottle that seals well enough to store flat. That is the entire reason to pay more than the glass one.

$35.50 - View on Amazon

#ad · how this is funded · price checked September 21, 2026

Published specifications

Capacity

1200 millilitersSource: HARIO USA — Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle

Shape

Rectangular, so it can be stored horizontally or uprightSource: HARIO USA — Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle

Dimensions

W90 x D90 x H320 mmSource: HARIO USA — Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle

Materials

PCT resin bottle; polypropylene removable top, filter and mesh; silicone rubber bottle and cap packingSource: HARIO USA — Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle

Strainer

Removable plastic strainer, for simple cleanupSource: HARIO USA — Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle

Model

KAB-120-SGSource: HARIO USA — Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle

Made in

JapanSource: HARIO USA — Ka-Ku Cold Brew Tea Bottle

What the numbers mean

Lying flat is the feature. A 1.2 liter bottle that can go on its side fits a refrigerator that has no room for a 290 mm carafe standing up, and that is a real constraint in a shared or small fridge.

It is resin rather than glass, so it does not break. The trade is that plastics of any kind hold onto aroma more than glass does over years of strongly scented infusions.

The square footprint is genuinely more space-efficient than a round carafe of the same volume, which matters more in a fridge than it sounds.

Good for

• +Stores flat, which no glass carafe here can do
• +Shatter-resistant, so it survives a packed refrigerator
• +Every material published, including both silicone seals
• +Square section wastes less space than a round jug

Against it

• −Costs noticeably more than the glass Mizudashi for the same volume
• −Resin rather than glass, so it can retain aroma over time
• −Nothing published about dishwasher safety, unlike its glass sibling
• −Stock has been thin on the listing we checked

Skip it ifSkip it if your refrigerator has an upright shelf free. The glass Mizudashi holds the same 1.2 liters, publishes dishwasher safety, and costs less.

Pick 3 · Cold brew, and the one bottle we would carry

HARIO Cold Brew Tea Filter-in Bottle, 750 ml

A 750 ml glass bottle with a built-in filter, made for brewing tea in the refrigerator. Cold extraction is slow enough that leaving the leaves in stops being a mistake.

$21.85 - View on Amazon

#ad · how this is funded · price checked September 21, 2026

Published specifications

Capacity

750 mlSource: HARIO USA — Cold Brew Tea Filter-in Bottle, 750 ml

Materials

Heatproof glass bottle, polypropylene strainer, silicone rubber spout stopperSource: HARIO USA — Cold Brew Tea Filter-in Bottle, 750 ml

Dimensions

W87 x D84 x H300 mmSource: HARIO USA — Cold Brew Tea Filter-in Bottle, 750 ml

Care

All components remove for washing and are dishwasher safeSource: HARIO USA — Cold Brew Tea Filter-in Bottle, 750 ml

Method

Fill to the 750 ml mark, insert the stopper, brew in the refrigerator 3-6 hoursSource: HARIO USA — Cold Brew Tea Filter-in Bottle, 750 ml

What the numbers mean

This is the exception to our standing advice against brewing in a bottle. That advice is about hot brewing, where leaves left in water over-extract into bitterness within minutes. Cold extraction runs so much slower that a three-to-six-hour window is the method rather than a mistake.

The filter is polypropylene rather than steel, which is worth knowing if you avoid plastic in the water path. It is a cold-water contact, which is the mildest condition a plastic ever sees.

At 300 mm tall it is a refrigerator-door object, not a handbag one. Check your shelf before buying.

Good for

• +Purpose-built for cold brewing, where leaving leaves in is correct
• +Every part removes and is published dishwasher safe
• +Published dimensions, which is rare in this category
• +750 ml is two or three glasses from one brew

Against it

• −Polypropylene filter rather than stainless
• −300 mm tall, so it needs a real refrigerator shelf
• −Glass, so not the bottle for a backpack
• −Not for hot brewing, which is most of what this site is about

Skip it ifSkip it if you want hot tea on a commute. Brew hot at home, strain, and carry it in an insulated mug instead.

What an iced tea maker actually is

Search results for this term cover two completely different products, and buying the wrong one is the most common mistake here.

• A cold brew vessel. A carafe or bottle with a built-in strainer. You add leaf and cold water, leave it in the refrigerator for hours, and lift the strainer out. No power, no heat, nothing to break down. Everything on this page is one of these.
• An electric iced tea brewer. A countertop appliance that brews hot and drops the concentrate onto ice. Faster, bulkier, and a different purchase entirely — and we do not cover one, because we could not find one whose maker publishes a spec sheet we could check.

If you want iced tea in five minutes, you want the second kind, and this is the wrong page. If you are happy to make it the night before, the first kind is cheaper, simpler and produces a smoother drink.

How we judged these

Cold brewing is a forgiving process, so the vessel is doing less work than the marketing suggests. Four things genuinely differ.

1. Does the strainer come out? Cold brewing tolerates a long steep, but not an indefinite one. A strainer you can lift ends extraction and leaves a carafe you can pour from. This is the single most useful feature in the category.
2. Will it fit your refrigerator, and how? Published dimensions decide this, and shape decides whether a full shelf rules it out. A bottle that lies flat solves a problem a tall carafe cannot.
3. Are the materials published? Anything holding a liquid for twelve hours deserves a materials statement, and most of this category does not give one.
4. Is the capacity practical or brim? Hario publishes practical capacity consistently. Most competitors publish the number that sounds biggest.

The default

Hario publishes 1200 ml of practical capacity for the Mizudashi, a removable mesh strainer, a heatproof glass body with a polypropylene lid, strainer, frame and handle, a polyester mesh and a stainless steel band, dimensions of W125 x D93 x H290 mm, model HCC-12-SG, made in Japan, hot water and dishwasher safe, and not safe for microwave, oven or open flame.

It also publishes that it is made for cold brewing only, which is the kind of plain statement of scope this category almost never offers.

Against it: it is glass in a refrigerator, which is where glass gets knocked. The mesh is polyester rather than stainless, so it will stain over time. And 290 mm is tall — measure your door shelf, because the shape assumes it is going in a door rather than on a shelf.

The one for a full refrigerator

The Ka-Ku holds the same 1200 ml in a rectangular bottle Hario publishes as storable horizontally or upright, W90 x D90 x H320 mm, with a PCT resin bottle, a polypropylene removable top, filter and mesh, silicone rubber bottle and cap packing, a removable plastic strainer, model KAB-120-SG, made in Japan.

Lying flat is the entire argument, and in a shared or small refrigerator it is a decisive one. A square section also wastes less space than a round carafe of the same volume.

Against it: it costs meaningfully more than the glass version for the same capacity, resin holds onto aroma in a way glass does not over years of strongly scented infusions, and Hario does not publish dishwasher safety for it the way it does for the Mizudashi. Stock was also thin on the listing we checked, so the price you see may move.

The one you can carry

The Filter-in Bottle is the 750 ml option and the only one here designed to leave the house. Hario publishes a heatproof glass bottle, a polypropylene strainer, a silicone rubber spout stopper, dimensions of W87 x D84 x H300 mm, all components removable and dishwasher safe, and a method: fill to the 750 ml mark, insert the stopper, and brew in the refrigerator for three to six hours.

That published method is worth something on a page like this, because three to six hours is a much shorter window than the overnight most cold brew guidance assumes.

Against it: 750 ml is one person's day rather than a jug for a household, and a glass bottle in a bag is a decision you make once and regret once. For refrigerator-to-glass use at home, the larger carafe is better value.

Cleaning, and the part that stains

The mesh is the part that ages. Hario publishes polyester for the Mizudashi mesh and polypropylene for the Ka-Ku filter, and both will take on color from strongly pigmented infusions over months — rooibos and hibiscus fastest. That is cosmetic rather than a failure, but it is worth knowing before you are surprised by it.

The habit that prevents most of it is the same one that keeps a mesh infuser working: empty and rinse the strainer while it is wet, before the leaves dry into it. Spent leaf that has dried onto a fine mesh is far harder to shift than leaf you tipped out an hour earlier.

For the machine, read the cards carefully, because the three differ. Hario publishes the Mizudashi as hot water and dishwasher safe, and publishes all components of the Filter-in Bottle as removable and dishwasher safe. It publishes no dishwasher statement at all for the Ka-Ku, which is why that product card marks it rather than borrowing the sibling's claim.

Practical capacity is the number to fill against

Hario publishes practical capacity rather than brim capacity, which is the honest figure and also the one that trips people up. A vessel described as 1200 ml is 1200 ml of usable liquid with the strainer in place and the lid on — not a jug you can fill to the rim.

In use that means a 1.2 liter carafe yields roughly five tall glasses, and the 750 ml bottle is a single person's day. If you are making iced tea for a household in summer, one carafe is an evening's work and two is less silly than it sounds.

It also means the strainer displaces volume. A packed strainer of leaf takes up room the liquid cannot, which is one more reason the published practical figure is the useful one and a brim number would not be.

You may not need to buy anything

Cold brewing has no mechanism. Leaf, cold water, time, then separate the two. A large jar and any fine strainer does it, and so does a basket infuser sitting in a jug. The vessels above are conveniences — a strainer that fits, a shape that stores, a lid that seals — rather than capabilities.

That is worth saying plainly because this category is sold as though the equipment makes the tea. It does not. If you are not sure cold brew is a habit yet, make one jar of it first and buy a carafe when you find yourself making it weekly.

What goes in it

Cold brewing suits fine-cut and broken-leaf teas better than most methods, because there is no heat to extract harshness quickly and time does the work instead. Rooibos, herbal blends and black tea all work; green tea cold-brews well and is much harder to ruin cold than hot.

We are not publishing a cold-brew ratio or a steep time table here. Hario publishes three to six hours for its Filter-in Bottle and nothing for the other two, and we are not going to invent numbers to fill the gap. Start at Hario's window, taste, and adjust — cold brew is forgiving enough that the first attempt will be drinkable.

What we did not do

We did not test these. No timed extractions, no taste comparisons, no measurement of how much sediment each mesh lets through, because we have run none. Every specification is read from Hario's own product page and links back to it from the product card, and where Hario publishes nothing — a brew time for two of the three, dishwasher safety for the Ka-Ku — the card says so rather than borrowing a figure from a sibling product.