This is absolutely my favorite thing in my kitchen. I bought one on a steep discount (I used to work at Teavana) as a birthday gift to me, but if this one ever dies, I’ll happily shell out full retail price for its replacement.
I just can’t say enough good things about my Breville. Having the ability to control my water temperature is a dream, especially since I tend to like temperature-sensitive teas, and it’s great that the water heats as fast as it does. I’ve had mine for months, and the magic of the basket lowering and raising itself still hasn’t worn off.
My one warning with this is not to get too excited about the “Keep Warm” function. If you drink blacks and oolongs (and greens too, probably), the “Keep Warm” function keeps the water hot enough to continue to brew the tea, even though the basket has been raised. The result – bitter tea. What I do with mine is drink what I want, let it cool down, and then just reheat whatever tea is left for a second mug later in the day. This doesn’t seem to cause the same issue.
I just love my Breville. If you’re drinking at least 16oz of tea a day, you need one of these. Seriously.
