Breville Tea Maker™ Compact BTM700

Different tea varietals such as White, Green, Oolong and Black require exact water temperatures and controlled steep times to allow their unique flavors and aromas to develop during brewing. Loose leaf tea is expensive, with some valued at up to $1 per gram, so it’s important to get it right! Using a traditional teapot you need a tea infuser to remove the tea, a thermometer to get the perfect water temperature, a stopwatch for steeping time, reference material for brew times and temperatures and some careful monitoring. This should be achievable at home without becoming a science experiment.

Removing the guesswork from the brewing process, a simple, intuitive control panel allows the user to select the correct brew temperature and desired strength for their chosen tea at the touch of a button. Extensive testing determined the preset programs which accurately control water temperature before lowering the tea-basket gently and near silently into the tea-leaves, steeping for the optimum time before raising from the brew. The baskets innovative magnetic latch system allows for easy cleaning, with no hooks or crevices to trap stray tea particles and can be easily removed and replaced from the jug for filling and cleaning.

A small, compact Tea-Maker was identified as a key growth area within the global product segment and could provide significant commercial return from the development investment. Tea has been used for millennia for its health and wellbeing properties. The preparation in many cultures embodies a serene experience which was an important consideration in the development of this product. The gentle movement of the tea basket and its near silent operation pay homage to these rituals, whilst the process of making tea has been significantly streamlined to allow all consumers access to the wonderful health benefits of drinking tea.

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. Sized to allow the tea leaves to infuse properly, the large opening lid provides easy access to the tea-basket. Glass allows the user to gauge tea strength through its colour and experience the theatre of tea infusion. Its lower surface tension is also ideal, preventing the dripping spout common in porcelain or ceramic teapots. Current technology limits 360° 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 to achieve the desired functionality, whilst retaining the flexibility of locating the controls on the base. Using a patented means for data transfer, information like water temperature and basket positions can be relayed between the two components allowing for a simpler interface on the Tea-Makers base. This clear and intuitive interface allows the user to easily select the correct temperature for the tea variety, as well as the desired strength. Once programmed the user can enjoy one-touch operation to make their favourite brew.