Teforia Tea Infuser...?

[NateHevens]

Hello again! Sorry for the extended absence. Life is stressful.

I'm listening to episode 26 of the My Japanese Green Tea podcast. It's an interview with the founder of this product, Allen Han. The interview is fascinating, but I want to know what y'all think about the infuser. Worth the $1299.00 MSRP? (Yes, $1299.00 US MSRP... though it is currently on "sale" for $699.00).

It supposedly is variable temperature, but... you know...

Allen Han claims that the infuser can extract flavors from tea that we are missing by using the "conventional method". He doesn't really describe what he means by that, so...

So... for example... he says that when they do demos with it, they use a matcha/sencha mix. He says that both of these teas have a nice umami flavor, but that's all you get using the "convential" method of brewing; all other flavors are "lost". But with the Teforia, you get the umami flavor, but that tapers off to make way for a (I'm quoting from the podcast, now) "really nice, incredibly buttery feel in your mouth. ... Then after that you get a nice sweet finish."

Now... being honest... that describes this phenomenal matcha/sencha mix that was brewed for me by a friend about a year ago, using a traditional Japanese method. So... you know... but then I'm always skeptical of a new product like this, especially when they're asking for so much money to get it. It's obviously not marketed to a lower-class tea drinker like me.

I am curious what y'all think, though. Here's the podcast if you want to actually listen to it.

[NateHevens]

I found a bunch of reviews, too. Seems I'm not the only one put off by the price tag. These, however, also mention a phone app. If Allen Han mentioned that in the podcast, I missed it completely.

SFGate Inside Scoop
CNET
Highya
Wall Street Journal

[pizzapotamus]

Our intelligent infuser is able to “read” each tea package and automatically initiate the optimal brewing recipe.

So it's $1k Keurig 2.0 for tea.
That there might be a market for this reminds me of the new NYS lottery ads, I'd make a much better rich person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQYSalbhZBs