New Automatic Tea Maker

what fun is that yo

And how do you boil water - by rubbing two twigs together for fire?

For the simpletons out there, the idea behind automatic tea makers is so the person making the tea does not have to stand by and babysit with a stopwatch.

jaTqj3f.202$ snipped-for-privacy@monger.newsread.com10/12/05 22: snipped-for-privacy@nowhere.com

Howard,

There are many options between rubbing sticks together and an automatic tea maker. I refer you Rikyu and Luk Yu. Seriously, there are many ways to make the tea experience viable for virtually any lifestyle without resorting to a machine that takes all the pleasure out of the experience -- that last being true for me and some others, but not everybody.

BTW, I'm not the brightest light on the tree, but I like to think on occasion that I'm somewhat more than a simpleton, although as a simpleton, I suspect I'd be much improved.

Michael

Let me guess, you put the teabag into the cup, then you put the cup into the tea maker and pour hot water into the top of the tea maker? Then wait a few minutes and take the bag out?

--scott

It's the new Mr. Tea machine. I pity the fool, I say I pity the fool.

--scott

Firstly, I am not Howard. Second, why is an automatic tea maker so controversial?? Again, the main issue is so that people do not have to stand there with a timer.

For people like me, that drink tea all the time, that is a blessing. Such as in the morning when there is no time to stand around.

I guess you feel that coffee makers ruin the coffee brewing "experience."

No, it is not that product, but that also sounds interesting!

snipped-for-privacy@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com10/13/05

11: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

That is a really good question. I belong to literary groups, professional groups, teacher groups, groups specific to the pets I own, and tea groups. Only, solely, and uniquely on the tea groups do fights break out and does rudeness hold sway. All the others are civil without anybody ever talking about civility as an issue. Why does tea bring out the worst in us as so it seems to do sometimes?

I'm drinking a Taiping Hou Kui from Silk Road Teas at the moment. It's a more or less typical tea of its type -- soft and gentle, with a bit of a ting at the back of the mouth in the aftertaste. Very refreshing. Perhaps TeaSpring's is a wee bit better. I know the leaves were in better condition, and a little bigger as well. I do like the bitter/sweet things that go on with TPHK at its best.

Michael

ja wrote: > For people like me, that drink tea all the time, that is a blessing. Such as

I am in a similar situation many times and I also feel that pure automation ruins some of the finer aspects of creating a good cup of tea. There is something of joy in doing it yourself; however, I would agree that there are both (1) times when I just don't have time for it and (2) times when I would prefer to simplify the process to a degree.

This makes me wonder if there isn't a market for a kettle/teapot that tries to maximize the amount of control one has over the brewing process. I could see one that allowed control of all of the brewing parameters in an integrated unit might be something someone would really enjoy.

Not to say that such a device would be for everyone or obviate the manual brewing process. There is still something satisfying by doing it all yourself. However, for people intersted in DOE/ANOVA separation of variables and testing grids for optimizing parameters (I've heard some folks speak of conducting such studies, either informally or more specifically) such a machine might reduce variability.

steve

Excess "qi-ffeine?" (To borrow a pun)

Steve

No, the main issue is that this contraption most certainly dumps

212 degree boiling water on whatever tea happens to sit in its brewing reservoir. This is far to hot for most teas. Secondly, though Sunbeam claims it can brew up to 28 oz., the brewing reservoir in no way can contain this much water, which means the tea is crowded in a cramped little stewing cup. This is not the way to good tea.

Cleaning this "tea making solution" is undoubtedly a chore, much more so than a simple ceramic tea pot that needs only a quick rinse and dump. Factor this in, and the Sunbeam Tea Drop is more a burden than a convenience. Why not just get up 5 minutes earlier? That should be ample time to make a simple cup of tea the real way.

--crymad

Jeeeez - why is everyone so simple minded?? The points you bring up are exactly why I asked the question in the first place - isn't that blatantly obvious?

I am not endorsing the product, just asking about it. Such a product that would have variable time and temp. controls would be perfect. I don't know if this one does or does not.

As for your "just get up 5 minutes earlier" statement, that also was covered before in my "rubbing two twigs for fire" reply.

Judging by the posts, this crowd will totally unreceptive to a tea kettle remotely controlled by your cell phone :-)

UK based PG Tips and cellular provider Orange team up to offer the World's first SMS enabled kettle (The ReadyWhenUR), that allows you to control the brewing of tea based on your SMS messages sent to the kettle, from anywhere, anytime.

I guess it all depends on how you look at tea: if one drinks it when one "doesn't have time" to actually sit and enjoy it, then one is using it as caffeine-fuel like so many of the bourgeoisie use coffee, and that type of person may benefit from an automatic coffee maker.

However, if you're using tea for relaxation and meditation and health and spirituality, then you wouldn't think of using an automatic machine to make it, since making it by hand is part of the experience.

I think this kind of a statement is a false dichotomy.

But who's counting?

/Lew