I been using my new tea kettle for a while now and love it. I've used tea bags and various loose tea blends. I just put a timer on for how long I want to steep my specific blend. I'm impressed with this kettle and how wonderfully it brews a nice pot of tea! I seem to be the only one in the household that has a problem turning it on now and then or I would give it 5 stars. The kettle looks great and I love the lights. I have even thrown out all my tea strainers since this one is so easy to use and clean.