Good Design Australia 2011 - Breville Tea Maker

Consumer

Breville Tea Maker

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Breville Group

Cube Industrial Design

Designed in

Australia

Description

The increasing popularity of loose leaf teas has resulted in a wide variety now becoming available, of which people pay up to $1 per gram! Each tea has a unique characteristic, and to get the best flavours and aromas without bitterness you need to get the water temperature and brew time just right. Until now, this has been difficult to achieve at home. The Breville Tea Maker is fully automated for all types of teas. The water will heat to the correct temperature before the tea basket automatically raises and lowers in complete silence to achieve the desired brew strength.

Key Features
and/or Benefits

The unique geometry of the Breville Tea Maker allows for a large capacity in a compact design.

Electronic Tea Makers are usually large as they require three separate chambers to brew tea. One to heat water, another to infuse, and a third to store the brewed tea. These chambers are usually gravity fed and as a result the appliance can be quite tall and bulky. The Breville Tea Maker overcomes this bulkiness by combining these chambers into one, reducing it to the size of a standard teapot. Simply by removing the tea basket and using the the 'Hot Water' feature, this unit transforms into a water kettle, so there is one less appliance to clutter up your kitchen!

Fully programmable for all tea varieties and individual brew strength preferences.

Choose from the preset tea types and strength settings or adjust the temperatures and brew times manually to input your own custom settings. Once set, the Tea Maker eliminates all the guesswork by heating the water to the correct temperature and control the tea basket during the brewing to achieve the desired result. The tea basket is removed from the tea once this is complete to stop the brewing process, and a keep warm setting will maintain the tea at the perfect drinking temperature. You can even program in your own start time to wake up to freshly brewed tea!

The magnetic tea basket and patented drive system allows for easy cleaning and near silent operation.

The preparation of tea embodies a serene experience, and this was an important consideration in the development of the Breville Tea Maker. The gentle movement of the tea basket and its near silent operation was achieved through the use of a synchronous motor coupled directly with a worm gear drive, which reduces noise and vibration by eliminating any unnecessary moving parts. The magnetic latch system also allows for easy cleaning as there are no edges, hooks or crevices to trap stray tea particles, and allows for the tea basket to be easily removed and replaced from the jug.

The geometry has been derived from the unique infusion technique. The traditional form of the teapot lends itself to sharing around the table.

Tea is often enjoyed at the table with friends, and the removable jug has been designed with the profile of a regular teapot to encourage this traditional style of serving.

A jug that is too short/wide will prevent tea leaves from infusing properly when making smaller quantities and a large opening lid provides easy access to the tea basket. The glass carafe allows the user to gauge tea strength through its colour and experience the theatre of tea infusion. The lower surface tension of glass is also ideal as it prevents a dripping spout common in porcelain or ceramic teapots.

Patented electronics provide a large and easy to use interface. A world first communications protocol developed for this unique kitchen appliance.

Current technology limits 360 degree bases in electronic kettles to temperature control only. With the inclusion of a tea basket, a new means of electronic communication between the jug and the base had to be conceived in order to achieve the desired functionality whilst retaining the flexibility of locating the controls and LCD on the base.

Using a patented means for data transfer, information like water temperature and basket positions are able to be relayed between the two components. This allows for a simpler, more intuitive interface that controls all of its functions from the base of the Tea Maker.