THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST.
As you may know, I am the proud owner of a Thermomix that I won in a recipe competition on the Taste website. A friend of my husband’s head read all about it on my blog and this particular friend also happens to be a product designer at Breville. This particular product designer also just happens to be in the early developmental stages of a product to compete with the Thermomix.
A few weeks ago he contacted me and wondered if I would like to be a part of the early research stages and of course I said yes! To think that my thoughts and opinions could be influential in the development of a product that potentially many people will buy and use in their homes kind of blows my mind.
To compensate me for my time they offered me a choice of Breville appliances and I was very excited to be receiving the Tea Maker.
I’m a hardened coffee drinker to be honest. I have at least one if not two cups of good espresso coffee every day. But I am also partial to sipping on green tea throughout the day, especially during the cooler months. It’s a great way to keep your fluids up and to also get the antioxidant benefits from tea. Whilst I enjoy the warmth of the tea, I sort of find the taste just tolerable. It can be quite harsh.
The Tea Maker promises to brew different teas at the exact temperature and brew time to extract the best flavour from specific teas. For example, did you know that green tea should in fact be brewed for only 3 minutes at 80 degrees? That’s why my teas had been so harsh. The water was too hot and I was brewing for 5-8 minutes. But I’ll get to the results later.
First let me show you all the bits and pieces.
The process is actually fairly simple and intuitive. The basket and the lid all fit together in an obvious way. You fill up the jug with the desired amount of water (from 500ml up to 1500ml per brew) and add the tea leaves to the basket (1 tsp per 250ml of water), insert the basket, pop the lid on and simply press the preset for the type of tea you are brewing. Then you press the big “TEA” button and you are away.
I’ve never had a clear kettle before so it was fascinating to watch the water begin to heat and bubble. As the temperature nears 80 degrees the basket begins to lower and somehow as if by magic hits the water exactly at the right moment. The countdown timer then starts working and lets you know how long until your tea will be ready. When it’s done brewing, the basket lifts and 3 small beeps sound out that it’s finished.
And what about the tea? How does it taste? Really good. Like really.
It doesn’t taste like any green tea that I’ve had before. It was mellow, rounded and really beautiful to drink. No harsh tannins, just a pleasant, not too scalding hot cup of green tea.
You can also use the Tea Maker as a regular kettle. It boils water to 100 degrees or brings it to any temperature that you like. Another neat feature is that it can hold your water or brewed tea at a particular temperature for up to an hour. This is great if you brew a large amount for guests. People can sip slowly and have multiple cups and it will always be at the right temperature.
In short, I think this is a great product. It makes the best tea plus it’s a stylish kettle as well. If you’re in the market for a new kettle, this could be a really good option.
Meanwhile I know that my friend is currently doing lots and lots of research with many Thermomix owners as well as restaurants who use the Thermomix and I’m super excited to see what they come up with. From what I can gather it’s going to be a lot more affordable, whatever it ends up being – you’ve got to love that.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
As a life long tea lover (never could drink coffee) I am loving the look of this. Plus the kettle is looking in need of replacing…
If you are a tea lover this is for you for sure. I reckon you’d be impressed with the results. I think part of it is also using really good loose leaf tea and getting just right.
It has always fascinated me how tea is such an art. And I am 100% sure I have never tasted it the way it is meant to be. Will be looking out for this, especially with winter coming up.
I’ve got a tea maker and I really like it! And good on you for helping test out the products. I do like Breville products but sometimes, I think they need a bit more testing with the design.
Yes I agree with you there. I actually have a lot of Breville appliances and I gave him some feedback on those too. He was really appreciative of my honesty and he said he’d pass my feedback along.
Is the clear jug made of glass?? Its also tge first time i see a clear kettle. On a side note, I, as a proud thermomix owner (envy you for winning one :p ) and I think that for the wuality of material, its price is jutified. Anything resembling it would be cheapo
It is made of glass.
In my experience of the premium Breville products, I think that the quality is actually quite good.
The thermomix is way overpriced in Australia. It’s basically because one distributer has a monopoly and they can charge what they like. Also the model of in-home demonstrators and support would make up a large part of that cost.
Speaking with the designers at Breville, I’m confident that they will do a really good job. It’s very likely that the product they develop won’t be a copy, rather an appliance that will compete by doing something different but equally as useful.