An Excellent Pitcher Worth Your Money
Of late, I’ve felt like I’ve been living in an Eastern Bloc country during the Cold War days. By that, I mean that whenever I buy a brand-name product, I find myself disappointed by the poor quality despite the brand-name price. It is almost as if items on shelves are cheap knockoffs of the real thing, e.g., a “Samsoong” pretending to be a “Samsung” (and I chose that brand for a reason - hint, hint). I know this impression isn’t just true for me, either, as there are plenty of YouTube videos documenting this as well, and even the New York Times had a piece about how former luxury brands are now rubbish as well. Having said that, I am happy to report that this Brita water pitcher is not part of that awful trend in quality. It is the first thing in a very long time that was worth every penny, Truthfully, I am surprised by this, as my previous experience with Brita pitchers was not positive. The filters were always very good, but the pitcher design left much to be desired. Specifically, my previous two Brita pitchers had a very nasty habit of spilling water onto my feet, table, whatever, whenever there was any water in the reservoir. While some people might appreciate getting a good foot-washing whenever they pour themselves a glass of water, I did not. This issue was largely due to the way the reservoir cap sat lightly upon the pitcher itself, giving water in the reservoir an easy way to escape when tilted downwards, such as when pouring, as well as giving the cap a 50-50 chance of falling off and landing on the table during a pour. It was an infuriating and lazy design flaw, frankly, so infuriating that I was tempted to take a picture of an ancient Grecian pitcher, tape it to the Brita pitcher with a note suggesting Brita’s engineers study it carefully to see how pitchers should work, and throw the entire thing on the front lawn of the corporate HQ. I was so disgusted with the design that I switched to Brita’s competitor, Pur, only to discover that their design had the same flaws, but worse! When people talk about “late-stage capitalism,” they might be on to something… Recently, that pitcher’s poor quality began to fragment…literally, so I needed a new one. After reading a positive review of Brita’s new design in the New York Times’ “Wirecutter” newsletter, I decided to gamble with my money and return to the brand. And I am glad that I did; it truly is a vast improvement over the older design. I knew I had a winner when I removed the pitcher from the box and discovered that the leaky reservoir cap held in place by mere gravity had been replaced with a cap INSET into the pitcher itself, ensuring that water inside the reservoir could not leak out when pouring and, needless to say, making it impossible for the cap to fall off as well. Finally! What is more, ergonomically speaking, I find this design to be a pleasure to hold, with an easily graspable handle that makes handling a full pitcher much less of an awkward experience. As I wrote above, Brita always had a good filter, but the new generation of filters is a step up in quality. I am fortunate in that the local water is fine except for the taste of chlorine, so I do not need a filter that scrubs the water heavily. Having said that, I am glad to see that the filter now removes even more contaminants than in years past (from what I recall), and is better at removing that chlorine taste. Out of curiosity, I purchased an “Elite” filter. These are roughly twice the price of the regular filters, but they last up to six months, so the value is there. The quality is also superior to the standard filter, as I could not detect any chlorine aftertaste after using the Elite filter. The Elite filters cost more, but they are worth it. Overall, this Brita pitcher is the first thing I have purchased in a long time that was well worth the money. A smart design (finally!), coupled with a choice of two very good to excellent filters, I am at a loss to find something to criticize. Well done, Brita. May other companies follow your example. Read more
