Chip,
thanks a million for the tip. I will infuse myself into the links.
Nov 15th, '06, 22:17
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Re: confession
Amanda,Amanda wrote:I have had the pleasure of having a Zarafina in the office for about a month now.
I love love love it.
There.
I said it.
Big fan. The basket drops into the water like magic. The tea it has made for me is lovely. Did I mention that I am smitten with this little teamaker? It's like having a tea fountain at my desk!
Oh yeah, and I love it. If I have to set tea aside and not think about it while I get something else done, it is great. Of course, it is a lot of machine for 2 cups of tea, so I don't think it's for everyone (more for gadget folks). But it is fun...
Did I mention that I love the Zarafina?
-Amanda
But do you really really really love it...???
Chip..."gadget challenged"
Nov 15th, '06, 22:20
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TriniTEA vs. Zarafina
The throwdown begins now!
Here's my opinion:
The TriniTEA is fantastic for brewing larger batches of tea
1) effeciently
2) brainlessly
3) tasty - ly
If you are looking to serve a group of people, and you would rather serve tea in the fashion that you'd serve coffee from a coffee maker, this is your machine. It is great in offices where there is more than one devoted tea drinker (such as mine), or at home for a family of tea drinkers. It is also easy to clean.
The Zarafina is a "lifestyle marketed" teamaker. It sells an image of teamaking combined with westernized function and european style. It is admittedly a bit of a chore to clean, and it will only brew 2 cups at a time. Half of the fun is watching it do its thing. Yes Chip, I really do love it - but I did not purchase it for myself nor do I plan on buying it.
At work, I will brew with either of these machines if I'm making tea for more than one person. But at my desk, you will see a glass mug, with a glass infuser and glass lid. 9 times out of 10 I make tea for myself exclusively with this set. At home I brew tea for company with my Iced IngenuiTEA and a teapot - where I have time to relax and enjoy a westernized yet not as automated take on a time-honored tradition.
If you have expendable income, live on your own or with one other tea lover, love gadgets and a nice cup of tea, Zarafina is fantastic.
If you enjoy entertaining, have need for making 4 cups rather than 2 at a time, have an office full of tea drinkers and don't have as much time to devote to cleaning the unit, TriniTEA is your form-follows-function machine.
Whew...that was long.
Time for another cup of tea...but with what to brew it with?
-Amanda
Here's my opinion:
The TriniTEA is fantastic for brewing larger batches of tea
1) effeciently
2) brainlessly
3) tasty - ly
If you are looking to serve a group of people, and you would rather serve tea in the fashion that you'd serve coffee from a coffee maker, this is your machine. It is great in offices where there is more than one devoted tea drinker (such as mine), or at home for a family of tea drinkers. It is also easy to clean.
The Zarafina is a "lifestyle marketed" teamaker. It sells an image of teamaking combined with westernized function and european style. It is admittedly a bit of a chore to clean, and it will only brew 2 cups at a time. Half of the fun is watching it do its thing. Yes Chip, I really do love it - but I did not purchase it for myself nor do I plan on buying it.
At work, I will brew with either of these machines if I'm making tea for more than one person. But at my desk, you will see a glass mug, with a glass infuser and glass lid. 9 times out of 10 I make tea for myself exclusively with this set. At home I brew tea for company with my Iced IngenuiTEA and a teapot - where I have time to relax and enjoy a westernized yet not as automated take on a time-honored tradition.
If you have expendable income, live on your own or with one other tea lover, love gadgets and a nice cup of tea, Zarafina is fantastic.
If you enjoy entertaining, have need for making 4 cups rather than 2 at a time, have an office full of tea drinkers and don't have as much time to devote to cleaning the unit, TriniTEA is your form-follows-function machine.
Whew...that was long.
Time for another cup of tea...but with what to brew it with?
-Amanda
Nov 18th, '06, 09:20
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Joined: Nov 18th, '06, 09:13
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Hmm well I'm new to brewing tea without a bag, and this looks pretty cool. I am a bit concerned that with such a high tech device the versatility of it is somewhat limited to 3 settings. I have been searching around for a good water "heater" that has precise temp adjustments. I may look into this one, at $150 it's not cheap but I can afford it, though I am not sure I could justify the purchase if it has only 3 settings. Besides I think I would like to do the manual way of brewing, I'm sure it's pretty fun.
Deadfingers,
you will enjoy it!!! And by the way, it does not have only 3 settings. It has 5 tea settings (black, oolong, green, white and herbal), two settings for the format of tea you use (bag or loose) and then 3 brew strenght settings.... I guess it makes total of 30 overall combinations.
Watching it brewing is quite fun too!
you will enjoy it!!! And by the way, it does not have only 3 settings. It has 5 tea settings (black, oolong, green, white and herbal), two settings for the format of tea you use (bag or loose) and then 3 brew strenght settings.... I guess it makes total of 30 overall combinations.
Watching it brewing is quite fun too!
Nov 19th, '06, 19:53
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tenuki
I brew my oolong (same leaves multiple infusions) in a gaiwan for very short times with near boiling water. Can't really find a more convinient way than that, I have the utilitea ajustable temp electric kettle on my desk, and a bamboo tea sink. Everytime I want more tea I press the boil button, wait a minute or so until it shuts off, then pour into the gaiwan and brew for 10 seconds + ( 5 seconds * number of brewings). voila, a cup of perfect temperature, nicely brewed tea in a very short time. I use the same leaves all day (finding the higher grade oolong teas stand up to an amazing number of brewings)
I doubt your expensive gadget is more convinient than that, but hey, that's just me.
I've been finding that there are sublte differences between oolongs, the manual brewing method provides the mechanism to deal with those easily. Also, I like the 30 second breather in my work, it calms me.
Another point, my gaiwan isn't going to break down. break maybe, but not down.
I doubt your expensive gadget is more convinient than that, but hey, that's just me.
I've been finding that there are sublte differences between oolongs, the manual brewing method provides the mechanism to deal with those easily. Also, I like the 30 second breather in my work, it calms me.
Another point, my gaiwan isn't going to break down. break maybe, but not down.
Last edited by tenuki on Nov 20th, '06, 00:24, edited 1 time in total.
Nov 19th, '06, 22:05
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Heh, definitely need to take a look around this site more or find a "tea making for dummies" book so I can understand some of this stuff. What's a gaiwan? Right now I am looking at a Zojirushi water heater machine so I am going to try doing it manually at first. If I see that I don't have the time to make it like that or I just want to justify buying a sweet machine like that, then I will but probably not for a while. I'm sure if I get into some different types of teas I will require precise temperatures and times that, that machine wouldn't be able to perfectly make. It is still very much something I am considering though. Heck I want to watch the video again just because it's soo cool.
Nov 20th, '06, 00:32
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I noticed you mentioned greens and whites - gaiwan is excellent for that, coupled with a model of Zojirushi that offers the lower temps you should be good to go. Another thing I like about this way of brewing is the super easy cleanup - no baskets to wash, no machines to clean, I just throw the leaves out in the garden, rinse it, and it's good to go again.
Did I mention I like brewing green, white, and oolong tea with a gaiwan?
Did I mention I like brewing green, white, and oolong tea with a gaiwan?
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
Nov 20th, '06, 00:36
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tenuki
One more comment on the water heaters - for most of them you set the temperature setting and the 'boil' light goes on until the water is at the temp. (ie there isn't a digital thermometer display of the actual water temp). The water is then held at that temp permanently. I use a inexpensive barrista's thermometer when I need to check water temp.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
Nov 20th, '06, 04:38
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So something like the Zojirushi doesn't have a digital readout that says current water temp? If so does it say the current temp as it's heating up? such as when it hits 70 degrees, 71 and so on it will display those? If it doesn't it seems kinda dumb not to have one for this kinda machine. I don't mind having a thermometer but it's another tool I need that would seem better to have built into the machine, especially since it is automated and should be something you shouldn't have to keep an eye on. Gaiwan looks pretty cool, I will try and look and find one here in Korea. I'm sure they have some pretty intricate ones here. I am also going to Japan next year so I am sure to find plenty of great tea ware.tenuki wrote:One more comment on the water heaters - for most of them you set the temperature setting and the 'boil' light goes on until the water is at the temp. (ie there isn't a digital thermometer display of the actual water temp). The water is then held at that temp permanently. I use a inexpensive barrista's thermometer when I need to check water temp.
The Zojirushi water heaters such as the 3.0 and 4.0 litre have a digital readout that shows the temperature. These two models can be set at 208 for black and oolongs, 195 and 175 which will be pretty good for green and white teas. It also has a reboil button you can use if you want boiling water. After it reaches boiling temperature it will then go back to the previous temp you have set it at. I have the four litre model and use it every day, all day long and would not want to be without it. Hope that helps.
Nov 20th, '06, 11:53
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Deadfingers,procarel wrote:The Zojirushi water heaters such as the 3.0 and 4.0 litre have a digital readout that shows the temperature. These two models can be set at 208 for black and oolongs, 195 and 175 which will be pretty good for green and white teas. It also has a reboil button you can use if you want boiling water. After it reaches boiling temperature it will then go back to the previous temp you have set it at. I have the four litre model and use it every day, all day long and would not want to be without it. Hope that helps.
I have thought about buying one of these units for a while...
However keep in mind that if you pour water into an brewing vessel that was not preheated, the temp of the water will drop 10-20 degrees depending on the brewing vessel. So if you dispense 175* water into your brewing vessel with green tea, you may actually be brewing it at a much lower temp...which may not give you the best results.
So preheat your brewing vessel whenever possible or practical...
Nov 20th, '06, 16:37
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jzero
This looks really cool.
The reason I use an automatic teamaker is simple - I set it on a timer and have a reasonably well-brewed cup of tea sitting there when I go to leave for work. I'm not really all that big on the ritual of tea. In fact, I'm generally anti-ritual in all that I do.
But given the choice between $150, 16oz capacity and really cool looking and $100, 32oz capacity and not as cool looking, the replacement for my TriniTEA v1 will probably just be a TriniTEA v2. I don't often need 32oz of tea, but when my tea-drinking friends/relatives come by, it's definitely nice to have.
It's interesting that they seem to be owned by Sunbeam who makes that other fairly crappy teamaker.
They also resell some Adagio teas.
The reason I use an automatic teamaker is simple - I set it on a timer and have a reasonably well-brewed cup of tea sitting there when I go to leave for work. I'm not really all that big on the ritual of tea. In fact, I'm generally anti-ritual in all that I do.
But given the choice between $150, 16oz capacity and really cool looking and $100, 32oz capacity and not as cool looking, the replacement for my TriniTEA v1 will probably just be a TriniTEA v2. I don't often need 32oz of tea, but when my tea-drinking friends/relatives come by, it's definitely nice to have.
It's interesting that they seem to be owned by Sunbeam who makes that other fairly crappy teamaker.
They also resell some Adagio teas.