Zarafina Tea Maker Suite with Ceramic Tea Pots, Cups, and Serving Tray

Zarafina Tea Maker Suite with Ceramic Tea Pots, Cups, and Serving Tray | My One Exception to Counter Top Clutter

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Zarafina Tea Maker...

	Zarafina Tea Maker Suite with Ceramic Tea Pots, Cups, and Serving Tray Zarafina Zarafina, 2006 average customer review:based on 63 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Brewing tea just right, in theory and in practice...

I am very pleased with the Zarafina, although it is costly and impossible to find at a discounted price (I looked very hard). It is marketed, obviously to an upscale audience, by the Sunbeam conglomerate, which also produces a passable tea brewer costing only $19.99. It brews only 16 ounces of tea, which cool quickly after being dispensed and so should be served shortly after brewing.

I otherwise expected at least some small compromises in automated tea making, similar to those you find in the best of coffee makers, but I have found none. If you are brewing teas that, unlike black teas, should begin with water below boiling, the Zarafina is especially convenient. But even for black teas, you couldn't do better.

One zany review here (Zarafina - makes tea for American tourists, March 3, 2007) faults the Zarafina for setting its thermostat for black tea to 208º Fahrenheit. That is a mere four degrees below boiling (at sea level) and a temperature unattainable in a teapot! Nonetheless, some subsequent reviews actually take this nonsense seriously. Tea is typically served in the United States with water that is too cool to begin with and allowed to cool even further. The tea leaves are usually pretty nasty too. The assistance of imperialist British tea snobs, the snider the better, should be welcomed in this struggle; but the redcoats should be advised not to direct their fire at their toes.

No one claims you can't brew decent black tea using a kettle (electric or stovetop) and a teapot. But consider how imprecise the process is, even if you follow the most fussy and fastidious of techniques. You can control the initial temperature of the water by heating it to boiling, which is as hot as you can get it in a kettle. If you are at sea level, that will be 212º Fahrenheit, but cooler at higher elevations. You can heat the teapot beforehand, usually with hot or even boiling water, but it is typically made of ceramic material (occasionally metal, usually a better choice if not reactive) and has no separate heat source. This means that boiling water will cool as soon as it is poured into the teapot and will continue cooling as it rests in the teapot, however insulated it may be. Do you have any idea what the beginning, ending, or average temperatures are? Sorry, but it's probably way cooler than you'd think! Once the tea has steeped for the precise time, it must be promptly separated from the tea leaves (i.e., poured completely out of the teapot into separate containers, presumably teacups). How do you manage to pour it completely and at the proper moment? You probably don't--even if you still serve pretty good tea.

You are all the worse off with green, oolong, white, or herbal teas because the only conveniently observable benchmark of water temperature is the roiling boil, right for black tea but too high for most others. With a watchful eye and a thermometer, you might be able to control the initial temperature. Is that even remotely practical?

The Zarafina deals with all of these issues by controlling the water temperature when the tea comes into contact with the water, thermostatically controlling the average temperature of the water as the tea steeps, and dispensing the brewed tea away from the tea leaves after the precise steeping time.

Although it should be treated kindly and with precision, tea must still be awfully forgiving in the way it is usually handled. It still manages to be drinkable, usually enjoyable, even when handled only with good intentions and primitive British instruments.

I have always enjoyed black tea, but was dismayed at being encouraged to drink green tea, which I have rarely found to be other than bitter and unpalatable. Using the Zarafina and quality green teas, I hope to be able to change my habits and enjoy the benefits and pleasures of the full range of teas.

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My One Exception to Counter Top Clutter

I hate clutter, especially appliance clutter in my kitchen and on my countertops. This is one exception I make to having electric appliances taking up space on my counters. This tea maker is beautiful to look at with clean lines, and I love the stoneware feel of the tray, pot, and cups. But looks are nothing compared to how this device has saved my struggle for a bit of peace in my hectic day. No more will I be wasting money on quality tea only to overheat and overbrew my tea. No more will a telephone call or unplanned task prevent me from enjoying a perfect cup of tea. If I am called away from the kitchen, my tea butler automatically decants for me at the perfect time. No more bitter tea! This gadget has put the fun back into exploring the world of different teas and removed the hassle of monitoring times and temperatures. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The price is a little steep, but I read the other reviews and decided to bite the bullet. After reading another reviewer's solution to a previous complaint, I make sure that the contact area on the bottom of the steeping container is completely dry prior to loading. I've not had any trouble either thanks to that tip.

UPDATE: It's been over a month and I've not had any problems. I use the brewer 2- 3 times a day. For the first time, I'm really enjoying my green teas and oolongs. I'm also able to get the most out of my tea leaves by not overbrewing the first steep. Now, I can enjoy tea thats been steeped two to three times and still has good flavor.

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Perfect

My parents have used instant hot water and teabags since I was born.
I bought this for them so they could have the convenience of bag-like tea, but use loose fresh teas of immense flavor. With all the tea and coffee shops around now the selections are out of this world.
They love it.
Perfect brew for 2 people.

Pricey but still a great value

I have to admit I like this tea brewer very much. At 150 dollars it is a bit pricey but you do get a nice ceramic 400 ml teapot and two 180 ml handless ceramic cups as well as a nice ceramic serving tray to go along with the brewer. It works well with both loose leaf and bags and has this handy little built in cutter to snip off the strings on bags. It seems sturdy and well put together. It is also very aesthetically pleasing and the various settings do seem to work, although I would prefer sliding scales on the controls for a little more fine tuning and experimentation. This is a great way for me to brew tea in the morning or whenever I am a bit pre-occupied with screaming children barking dogs and doorbells ringing as it controls the temperature and time nicely. Otherwise if I have the time and space its back to the tea kettle and the yixing pots. It would make a great brewer for the tea enthusiast at work. However, I do have to agree with the English gent who gave the raving mad poor review in that I have measured the tea temperature coming out of this machine, and it never seems to exceed 185 degrees or so.......even though in the chamber it probably gets a little higher I do not think that this brewer gets the water hot enough to really unlock the flavors of good high quality full leaf tippy black teas. But for oolong and whites and greens it works great!

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Great, but...

I love this. I got it for my dad for Christmas and he loves it as well. The problem? It doesn't really make much unless you drink like one small cup of tea at a time. My dad and I both drink 2 travel mugs of tea so it's not as convienent than a kettle.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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