If you want to produce the best flavour in your tea, steep time and water temperature are crucial. That’s why the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker is making its rounds as one of the most revolutionary kitchen gadgets out there.
Although the price of this machine may cost up to $250 US ($349 CAD), its functions make it worth the purchase. The machine comes along with preset modes for popular tea types (like black, green, white, oolong and herbal), as well as custom parameters for target temperature and steep time. It is also incredibly easy to operate and clean, and is beautifully designed.
The Tea Maker is a German-made Schott glass kettle, which is durable and stain resistant. It consists of two main parts: a power base platform and an electric kettle carafe, or the “Jug.” The power base features a small LCD screen that displays information such as water temperature and brew time. It holds up to 1.2 litres of water, and can act as an ordinary electric kettle when using just the “Hot Water” function.
My favourite thing about this machine is exactly what its made for – brewing the perfect cup of tea. It is fully programmable for all types of tea, including oolong, black, green, white, and herbal tea. Plus, you can even customize your own water temperatures and tea times for whatever tea you might have at hand.
Different tea varieties like black, green, white, and oolong require exact water temperatures and controlled brew times to ensure the perfect cup of tea. This will result in a tea that contains just the right amount of unique flavours and aromas that develop while brewing.
Using the machine is incredibly simple, too! All you really need to do is remove the kettle’s lid, take out the stainless steel tea basket out from inside the jug and fill the jug with water. The tea basket actually clings in place inside the kettle’s long post, as it is magnetized. This makes taking out the basket incredibly easy, as it isn’t fixed in place (which also makes cleaning easier, too). Loading the basket with tea is obviously quite simple – you just take the lid off and fill up with your desired amount of loose tea with the included measuring teaspoon.
After that, you place the lid back on, put the basket back on the post inside the kettle and you’re ready to go! All you need to do now is hit your “Tea Type” button to choose which tea type you want made (green, black, white, oolong, herbal or custom for unusual blends). Once you’re done your selection, just hit the big Tea button to start the brewing cycle.
The Tea Maker will first heat the water until it has reached the desired temperature. At this point, the tea basket will slowly lower (which is all done through the power of magnets) into the hot water bath to soak. Once the soak time has completed, the basket raises back out of the water on its own. That’s right – this machine is 100% automatic (I mean, aside from you having to put your tea leaves in the basket and water in the jug).
You can also program the Tea Maker to prepare a fresh morning pot all on its own by using the “Auto Start” button. There is also a “Keep Warm” function that keeps your tea hot for as long as 60 minutes (but be sure to re-activate the button after removing the jug from the base, as it will automatically cancel heating for safety reasons).
The “Basket” button will make the basket continuously auto lift and lower into the water during steep time, if you want movement to allow water to circulate freely around the tea leaves for maximum infusion. This feature can only be used when you hit the “Tea” button and once the water has reached the desired temperature and the steep time has begun. This feature is recommended when you are making between 1000mL-1200mL of water, as it can significantly increase the rate of infusion and affect tea strength – you might also want to reduce brew time if you use this feature.
I found the Tea Maker to create the perfect cup of tea. My first time using it I noticed the flavour of my tea popped out 10-fold. I always knew that water boiling had an effect on tea leaves, but that thought didn’t really solidify until I got this machine – and my, what a difference. I love that the Tea Maker allows you to choose different strengths of teas, because some teas I like strong, whereas others I cannot stand too strong. The basket agitation function is also useful for increasing strength and flavour of the tea.
I also really like that you can use this kettle as just a regular electric boiler. I’ve been wanting to get rid of my stainless steel kettle for quite some time, and switch to glass (because glass is best, and most neutral in terms of any type of chemical compounds leeching out of it). Overall, this tea maker is an amazing machine, and would make a great addition to any kitchen and tea lover alike.
In summary, here are the pros of the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker:
– brews and steeps automatically
– works as a tea maker as well as a variable temperature electric kettle
– presets to brew the perfect type of tea, whether that be black, green, white, oolong, herbal or custom
– jug is made out of glass, which is healthier than other type of kettles (aluminum, plastic, etc.)
– “Auto Start” allows you to make a morning pot all on its own without you getting out of bed!
There aren’t many cons, but here are some things you may want to consider:
– the machine is costly – it is $250 USD or $349 CAD
– the carafe is only labelled in metric units (this didn’t bother me, but to some it may)
– the minimum amount of tea you can make is 500mL, so be prepared to drink at least 2 cups. Great for family and guests!
More information: https://www.breville.ca/the-tea-maker.html
Buy it: http://amzn.to/2lwxCpv
Disclaimer: All views and opinions are my own. This particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer. However, the manufacturer did give me the product for resting and review purposes.
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