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November 11, 2015
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Breville Tea MakerBy Tara Richter

I’ve always thought that tea drinkers were so cool, and find myself wanting to jump on the tea-drinking bandwagon. I know it sounds ridiculous – but I often marvel at all the different flavors and types of tea that are sound so interesting and pretty to look at. The trouble is, at least for me, that my tea experiences have never been very good. It usually goes something like; buy a box of neat sounding tea, pour freshly boiled water into a cup, toss in my tea bag, and expect an amazing taste to follow. Unfortunately I’d just end up with a cup of “mildly” flavored bitter water, a resulting “blaych” looking face, and a puzzled thought wondering “how on earth do people drink this stuff?” Subsequently, I now have a cupboard full of “attempted and failed” boxes of different flavors of tea.

I recently learned that just like coffee, there is actually right and wrong way to make tea. Depending on the type of tea (green, white, oolong, herbal & black), there is a corresponding brew temperature and time. Of course there is always a caveat for personal preference too from mild, to medium or to strong. The reason my tea tasted so awful, however, was simply because it was trying to tell me something with each awful sip – “You’re doing it wrong!”

Breville Tea MakerThe Breville Tea Maker is now the solution to every “blaych” tea experience. This tea maker, with its auto lower and lift basket, literally takes all the guess work out of making a perfectly tasting cup of tea. It features an LCD display and presets for Auto Start (much like a coffee maker), as well as variable tea strength settings for steeping time, and temperature settings for the different tea varietals previously mentioned. The LCD screen monitors freshness of the brewed tea by displaying a “time since brew” function and it even has a 60 minute keep warm function (because nothing tastes worse than a cup of cold tea).

I found the Tea Maker really simple to use, and I have to admit it was pretty fascinating to see work. I purchased some loose tea from a local store, “Spiced Apple”, which I think is just perfect for the holiday season. I added the tea to the basket with the handy little Breville spoon and the corresponding amount of water. From there, it was as simple as selecting the type of tea (in this case herbal), and then pressing “tea”. It started to heat up straight away. Soon enough the water was at a rolling boil (temperature accurately displayed on the LCD) and then like magic the basket automatically lowered into the pot of water. Suddenly the room smelled of apples, cinnamon, and cloves. Once it had steeped for the appropriate time based on my “strong” preference, the basket automatically lifted and it let out a beep to let me know it was ready. I poured myself a mug full and was expecting an awful taste so common to my tea drinking experiences. Instead my taste-buds were hit with perfectly balanced and blended flavors of apples and spice. I most certainly appreciated the keep warm function as I went for a refill, enjoying a second (and third) perfect tasting HOT cup of tea.

Breville Tea Maker Review

The Breville Tea Maker doesn’t come cheap (retailing at $349.99 at Breville.ca, although prices may vary depending on local retailers or online sellers such as Amazon.ca at $287). Irregardless, it does make the perfect gift for everyday tea-loving people.

Breville is a reputable brand with high-quality products and so you can trust that every dollar spent is absolutely worth it. The Breville Tea Maker is essentially the high-end coffee pot equivalent for tea drinkers. I love that, like a coffee maker, you can prepare your tea the night before and pre-set a time for it to be ready. Of course if you just want to make a pot of hot water, you can do that easily too by simply hitting the “hot water” button too! The keep warm plate ensures that first cup of tea will be as great as the last!

Breville Milk CafeContinuing our theme of warm drinks to embrace the holiday season, we’re also sharing another Breville product with our readers! The Breville Milk Cafe is a creamy milk and hot chocolate maker.

The Milk Café uses induction heating and spinning to createsmall bubbles. Simply choose the appropriate frothing disc — latte for a creamy result, the cappuccino disc for more froth — fill with enough milk for one or up to three cups, select your temperature, and start.

The Breville Milk Cafe can be purchased at Breville.ca for $199.99, and we found it at Amazon.ca for $179.99. You can also enter to win one here!

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Tara Richter works full time and is a(2)

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