Check out this Automatic Teapot...it steeps tea w/ a timer and automatically takes the leaves out of the water. I saw a demo of this at a holiday show and thought it was pretty rad! I live in Boulder and it is made by a local Boulder company called the TeaSpot. It is pricey but still pretty neat-o considering it doesn't use any batteries or electricity! If I wasn't html-tarded I would just post a pic but since I am new to this, I will just post the link!!
Mary's Note: Unfortunately, we are increasingly strict on monitoring links posted by new users. The link has been removed. Please google "Steepware Automatic Teapot" if you are interested in the product.
Has anyone else seen/tried this thing? I have tried their teas...very tasty!
Pricey, yes, but worth it for saving all my failed attempts at brewing green tea due to inattention? Certainly. Having a pot of tea should be a relaxing experience, not three minutes spent with a stop watch nervously babysitting your tea. This teapot ensures just that.
I also think the design is beautiful, and the spout is dripless. Tea drinkers, we've found our perfect pot!
I also think the design is beautiful, and the spout is dripless. Tea drinkers, we've found our perfect pot!
The design of the pot looks very sleek and sexy, but I'm a little skeptical myself. I currently own a automatic brewing gizmo (Zarafina) and have been consistently disappointed with the way it brews green teas. In fact, I've only had two greens that have actually brewed up truly well (Adagio's White Monkey being one of them) and practically all Japanese greens have proven to be a dead bust.
I'm not saying the machine is awful...in fact, the Zarafina rivals my most attentive brewing for things like Yunnan Gold and some Darjeelings, and it has produced some spectacular white tea infusions, but greens have been lacking.
I'm not saying the machine is awful...in fact, the Zarafina rivals my most attentive brewing for things like Yunnan Gold and some Darjeelings, and it has produced some spectacular white tea infusions, but greens have been lacking.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I spent faaaar to much time on the company's website today trying to figure out how this gizmo heated water without electricity. For some reason, some of the literature I saw led me to believe that it did.
Oh, was that ever a mistake.
Apparently, you pour hot water into the bottom of the pot, put your leaves into the infuser basket concealed in the top, then crank the timer--which looks like one of those mechanical timers often found in kitchens. When the timer goes off, it triggers some weights to turn the infuser basket over, thus separating them from the water.
The idea is a good bit cooler than what I originally thought, and a good bit more flexible than my Zarafina...but is it that convenient? No more, really, than a loud digital timer and half-a-brain's worth of attention. You still have to deal with kettle rigamarole and be sure to pre-heat that big ceramic bottom. That mechanical timer seems worrisome to me, too. They are notoriously inaccurate, especially in intervals less than 20 minutes...which is probably why it only goes down to three.
If I was going to spend $80 on a teapot...it probably wouldn't be this one.
Oh, was that ever a mistake.
Apparently, you pour hot water into the bottom of the pot, put your leaves into the infuser basket concealed in the top, then crank the timer--which looks like one of those mechanical timers often found in kitchens. When the timer goes off, it triggers some weights to turn the infuser basket over, thus separating them from the water.
The idea is a good bit cooler than what I originally thought, and a good bit more flexible than my Zarafina...but is it that convenient? No more, really, than a loud digital timer and half-a-brain's worth of attention. You still have to deal with kettle rigamarole and be sure to pre-heat that big ceramic bottom. That mechanical timer seems worrisome to me, too. They are notoriously inaccurate, especially in intervals less than 20 minutes...which is probably why it only goes down to three.
If I was going to spend $80 on a teapot...it probably wouldn't be this one.
Apr 12th, '08, 12:34
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Space Samurai