Why I Love My Breville Automatic Tea Maker & Kettle – Brews Tea Just Right

So how did I first find out about this great tea maker?

It was a few years ago when Paula and I were visiting our local tea store ‘Adore’ in Federation Square. We had run out of our favorite herbal teas – French Earl Grey Tea and Evening Mist, both very nice blends with a floral hint. So it was time to replenish our supplies.

On the counter was this great looking Breville One-Touch Tea Maker.  And even though it was priced at $299, I kept being drawn to it, just as the shop owner intended of course. I could certainly see a use for this item in my household.

We finished making our tea purchases and headed to the cafe nearby for a milkshake and to discuss whether or not we should buy the tea maker, keeping in mind we would have to buy two, one for each household. Paula went online and found the same item at David Jones, a local department store, for $249.99. So we headed off to DJ’s and bought 2 of them.

The Breville Tea Maker can also be found for $249.99 on Amazon.

We couldn’t wait to get home to try it out. And we were not disappointed.

Update

A few weeks ago I accidentally smashed the glass jug on my Breville tea maker.  After beating myself up about my carelessness, I hopped online to buy a replacement.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. My tea maker wasn’t available anywhere in Australia and neither were replacement parts. They are available in the US, but the postage is horrendous.

I spent some time checking out local stores, just in case, to no avail.  Then one day Paula and I were in Bing Lee looking at gas stovetops when she called me over, and there on a discounted items shelf was a Breville Automatic Tea Maker, which I immediately bought.

• So we set the power base onto a flat surface then performed a cleaning cycle with just plain water – no tea.
• You do not add the tea basket for this initial clean.
• Fill the jug with water up to the 1500ml mark, replace the lid and insert the power cord into the power.

The tea maker has a short power cord that I find ideal as I don’t have to wind up long lengths of cord which has to be tucked out of the way. The cord also has a unique assist plug, which has a convenient finger hole making it easy to remove from the power socket. If you require a longer cord, these are available from Breville.

• The LCD lights on the power base will light up.
• Press the up arrow to select 100°C (212°F) Press the ‘Hot Water’ button to start.

Once the first lot of water has boiled simply discard it and your tea maker is now ready for use.

Making the tea

Okay, so far so good. Now for the next step – Making the tea.

• At this point, we hadn’t added the basket but once you are ready to start making tea you simply lift the basket out of the glass carafe, by the sides.
• Pop off the basket lid and add tea leaves. There is a plastic measuring spoon included and as I like very weak tea I only add a ½ a teaspoon. But you can make your teas as weak or as strong as you like.

1. Fill the jug with the amount of water you need. It’s generally only Paula and I having a cuppa so I fill the jug to the 750ml water line, 1200ml is the max recommended fill line.

• Slip the tea basket onto the magnetic post in the jug and pop on the jug lid.

Now simply select the tea type which helps your tea maker to determine the brew temperature.

• Select the tea strength – there are 4 modes:
• Strong – Medium – Mild – Custom
• Now press the ‘Tea/Cancel’ button to start the tea making process.
• If you want to just boil water, there is a function for that as well.

• Now, this is the really groovy part. Once the water reaches the correct temperature, the tea basket will automatically lower down into the water.
• Once the selected brew time has elapsed the tea basket will automatically rise out of the water and the machine will beep to let you know that your tea is ready.
• Now it’s simply time to pour and enjoy.

How simple is that?

Other Features

• There is a Keep Warm button that will keep the brewed tea or the heated water warm for up to 60 mins. Ideal if you are doing something you want to finish before sitting down to have your cup of tea.
• And because the tea basket isn’t sitting in the brew, the tea won’t become bitter as with a normal teapot.

So what do you get in the box

• One Power Base One short Power Cord
• One German Made Schott stain resistant glass kettle
• One jug lid with stainless steel scale filter
• One tea scoop
• One stainless steel tea basket and lid

The Power Base

The power base has all the function controls to make the perfect cup of tea.

• Auto Start
• Keep warm function
• basket

Tea Type Selection Button for the following tea types:

• Green
• Black
• White
• Herbal
• Oolong
• Custom

There are buttons that allow you to override both the preset brew temperatures and the preset brew times.

The back-lit LCD displays both the brew temperature and brew time.

The Tea Strength Button has preset times for:

• Strong
• Medium
• Mild
• Custom

There is a Hot Water/Cancel button

• This allows you to use the tea maker as a variable temperature kettle.

The Tea/Cancel

• This button activates the tea brewing cycle

Auto Start and Keep Warm Function

• Just set the timer before bedtime and when you wake up in the morning your favorite brew will be steeped and waiting for you.
• And your tea will be automatically kept warm for up to 60 minutes.

Do we think this tea maker is a worthwhile purchase – yes we most certainly do?

Where Can I Buy the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker

You can purchase this great appliance from Amazon and take advantage of their Free Super Saver Shipping.

Need to see it in action? Here’s a video to help you see how great this appliance is.