Very Good MachineOctober 20, 2007 Optimistic Analyst(CT, United States) 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I had this tea maker for over 1 year now, and I've been using it regularly everyday. I am a real tea drinker and since I recieved this machine as a gift I haven't used traditional kettle thing except for rare occaisons. I use it mostly for brewing tea bags and loose tea at the same time. I have to admit that you might get better results with very fine loose tea the traditional way.(that's why I brew tea that way when I have older or more formal guests) But for day to day use it's fantastic. It brews tea bags much better than any other methods I have ever used and I have the bonus of having the pot warmer which keeps the tea hot and ready to drink for hours (great for my nightly rituals of web surfing and reading). Actually we were so happy with the results that my husband got another one for his office to have hot and ready tea for his afteroons. Bottomline; it's a good and time saving product that does what it claims pretty well. I don't see the point in spending a hundred something $ for a tea maker. This tea brewer does the job...and does it impressively well.
I have this in (HTM3)White--Here's the scoop!October 28, 2007 Arcy Kay 9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Sunbeam has this tea maker, see? Bright green power lamp when rocker switch is left on, so if you turn the lights out in the kitchen, glance back to know if it's on, you will. Two foot power cord will store excess into its back with a locknotch, so you can keep cat from tripping on it. Nice feature on fill reservoir in back of unit is a rubber water exit hole above the max fill line. If you don't look and fill it twice, say, it will oops, leak out the back, NOT onto the case with the heater in it, due to the rubber part and a curved back on the unit, keep the carafe from overflow in front, and remind you that you blew it over and over as you soak up the puddle.
Five position steep time changer is iffy, but yes, it does do something. This is a Mechanical lever that ups&downs the filler tube in the brew basket. My unit, with lever on Strong, from cold start fills pot in 5.5min, 5min after that. On Mild, cold start 5.0min, after that, 4 1/2 plus or minus five seconds. This is just a short throw lever, and plastic parts, so iwould take those times with say, a fifteen second saltshaker from unit to unit, maybe. Of course this will vary to lengthen as it calcifies if using tap water. Manual warns of that. Cleans as most open drip units of this basic type, with white vinegar.
Cleaning is important here more than for a coffeemaker unit. I would recommend filtered or at least softened water and I think this will last one heck of a long time with a repeatably predictable degree of flavor results. All moveable parts are loose tolerance, and the plastic is not as extremely rigid as some are in these units, so a bit of manhandling won't snap something off. The top lid to the fill reservoir seats loosely, and may separate a bit, but that's because the plastic is a bit twisty, as I say. With a little bit of blooming luck you can just wiggle-wobble and get the cover to seat properly once again if you see it separating. The cover will have lots of ups and downs, surely. The inner basket and optional filter drop into place almost every time. The cleaning is just rinse and replace. The carafe is a tad hard to truly get into to wash, due to the crescent handle, however. Really nice to use over all that. I taste a subjective flavor difference in green tea, for example: Mild-thin, Strong-a little dusky, so I use middle position. It's not NASA, folks.
A Biggie in my book: no after-drips or last blurps. When it is done, it gives off a final gargle or two, a short fluff of steam comes off the unit, usually, and flow stops. Eventually due to condensation, it might let go another drop. Fantastic. I tossed a coffee maker over constantly making that last blurp when my back was turned. -not to be pedantic, but do not brew coffee in an open drip tea maker. The taste will linger and you will regret doing it. That goes for soft-boiling eggs in the carafe, too, hey.
If you brew/make to move to storing herbal teas, as I do, wait five-six minutes twixt pots before refilling the reservoir. Otherwise, lifting the fill lid with unit very hot yet, backwashes a bit of water from the twin, one inch plus, seven-holed drip dispensers that force water over the tea which raise back with the lid, and that little bit left in those can reheat and spit onto the warmer plate which hisses at you for doing that. The twin bin steeping basket is core of the unit, where water contacts tea and magic begins. The design allows the hot water to cover most of the ingredient thoroughly. You can lift the lid and peek as the water pushes through and it looks like little shower heads dousing the tea. Do not place your favorite little turtle in there, however.
Four carafes produce nearly a gallon of brewed herb tea via Strong setting in say, 40 minutes, with a bit of wiping up of the warmer plate due to spit out backwash if I rush it, as I mentioned. Cleanup is rinsing four parts, takes about a minute or so. You can do that without fear while the unit is still hot, if you wish to shut it down right away. The plastic is not very hot even then. Otherwise, yup, the warmer keeps a hot pot in the usual manner, without scorching the tea. A nice thing also, due to the design of the carafe and the plate, there is a very solid 'feel' when you place it properly on the warmer plate. You rinse the main dual bin steeping basket, drop-in filter if used, the carafe and lid. An appreciated feature to me is that the final tea channel over the carafe slides out to rinse, since it is important that it stay clean to drop fluid properly. It snaps back in securely. This does not have to be rinsed unless you need to.
The plastic high grade mesh filter is fine enough to use seeds, such as coarse ground anise, or perhaps some grainy powders in the unit as well as bona fide teas, and is securely molded into the filter bins so as not to easily rupture with outside pressure if you have to say, use a light brush to get some odd particles out of it. I wouldn't use any hard instrument, however, or scrape it with heavy pressure. I mention powders and seeds, since the removable tea channel could be covered with a piece of adhesive tape to help catch any little bits that make it that far. It's a hidden little filter trap, if you might want to experiment. The 4 page manual is informative and not confusing, I stuck it in with all the others in my catchall freezer bag as a coup.
I found the business end, the carafe, well designed. The insulated circular holding base keeps the hot glass carafe raised a bit, so you can just take the pot elsewhere off the warmer plate and put it down with no real worries. The lid is slightly concave, and the cutout on the lid under the carafe handle is a design notch to align the cover properly and not a hinge. Why? Well, the handle on the lid is probably cosmetic, because hard to grasp with fingers, but has two cutouts either side of it to let the water spin in from the tea channel outlet. I find simply lifting it by its edge at the pour spout pops the lid up easily. Since it must tip up that way to be removed anyway, this seems the best way to pop the lid off. A round hole in the front of the lid handle[hence the aligning notch] by the spout allows the exit fluid to drip more directly into the container from the very front, instead of having to route around that part of the handle. if that hole weren't placed there, the water might spill over the lid if the handle is aligned straight out from the holding frame. With this extra hole, however, you can just turn the pot at any angle while it is filling without concern for spillover. Thoughtful, but no, don't use it on a hill unless you take the lid off. It also helps avoid spill out of the side lid handle holes if you pour too fast by letting it leak forward first toward the spout. Smart. Also, someone inclined to find out more about the quality of this little wonder might use that not-so-silly hole to insert a temperature probe or thermometer spear in there to check fluid temperature both brewing and warming.
This makes five 'teacups full' and a little for the teddy bear. Look, fancy 200degree-six minute steep makers start at five times this price. Come on now, it won't compare to those, or will it? ...I purchased this after much review of ways and means, for mostly herbal teas and especially simplicity of use and ease of cleanup. I am completely pleased with it despite its occasional disgruntled hissing at my jostling it, and its habit of sending up a smoke, er, steam signal when done. Actually, I kinda like that since it tells me it is done filling. Betcha unless the heater unit goes it will last ten years or more. There is not much to it, so in a classic sense, it is elegant. And boy, it makes great tea. Comparing apples to apples, thanks, Sunbeam! No, I have no association with them. I really dig the Tea Drop.
Great tea makerNovember 21, 2007 Lauralee Macdonald(Austin, tx) This is a wonderful tea maker. My first one broke after 2 years so I bought another one as I love my morning pot of tea.
Sunbeam Tea SpotFebruary 9, 2008 Don M. Bolinger(Sebastian, FL) I was made aware of this product by a family member and soon became a tea drinker. I searched stores locally and finally went to Amazon and got one much sooner than I expected. I love it and it works great. I use it every morning instead of making my usual coffee. I prefer to use tea bags, but it works quite well loose or bagged tea providing a good rich, not bitter flavor.
Tea DropJune 16, 2008 James R. Taranto(Leeds, N.Y.) Have one in the home and one in the Motorhome, and one for backup. Used every day atleast once per day. Best electric tea maker on the market.
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