 | Functional, but too many compromises
rating: 1
Overall, this ice tea maker serves its purpose. It's easy to use, and fairly quick to brew. It fits well in the fridge door, and has a pretty good capacity.
However, there are a few issues:
1) It's not exactly ready to drink ice tea in under 10 minutes. Be prepared with A LOT of ice; at least three ice cube trays of them. I only have room for two ice cube trays (and they are large ice cube trays) in my freezer, and they aren't enough to fill the pitcher to the "Max Fill Line" (which apparently is more of a requirement rather than a suggested max). While this doesn't hinder its ability to brew tea, it does hinder you from drinking the tea right away, as it's still quite warm due to the lack of ice. This won't be a problem for those who have ice cube dispensers built-into their refrigerators or more ice cube trays, but for those who may not have enough ice readily available, you'll be forced to let the pitcher cool in the fridge for a few hours before drinking it. With this being my case, I am in no different a position than before, just brewing tea in the kettle, cooling it with ice in my own pitcher, and then letting it cool in the fridge.
2) It's not dishwasher safe. A lot of the components have to be washed by hands. This is clearly listed in the product description, but it still would have been nice if I could put it in the dishwasher. Especially because after making a pitcher, the filter assembly gets quite dirty and needs to be cleaned well...especially if you like variety in your ice tea and often use different kinds of tea for each new pitcher brewed.
3) Now, even with those first two compromises, I still probably would have given this unit at least three stars. The lack of ice probably isn't a problem for most, and washing by hand is annoying but still isn't a deal breaker. However, the reason why I gave it only one star, is that upon receiving and inspecting the ice tea maker when I got it, a piece of the plastic hinge for the lid snapped and broke quite easily. There couldn't have been more than a slight amount of pressure on it; and it just snapped off. Maybe I just got a unit with a manufacturing defect, but I was a bit surprised to see it break so easily. Because the broken lid doesn't really hinder the tea brewing process, I'm not going to bother with a return (hah...and that I had already made the mistake of throwing the box out. With all the good reviews, I really wasn't expecting to need to return this). While the lid isn't so important, it makes me question the durability of the rest of the unit.
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Fabulous!!
rating: 5
I have had a few different brands but this one by far is the best.
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great tea
rating: 5
I experimented with this product and found 6 to 9 tea bages for 2 qts is fine. I do not use ice so it takes 2 runs to complete. Just after 1st run completes, while hot I leave the tea bags in basket. when first run is done I add second 4 cups to maker and run again. As soon as second run is complete, I carefully remove the picture and while still hot, remove tea bags, using mitts , I remove the basket, and add surgar, stirr and put top back on, I then put in fridge. next day I get to have a very nice tea with just enough of a sweet tast that i like, next I will trying adding lemon juice with the surgar after 2nd run.This tea maker is great. The picture design is great. fits in frig very easy. I recomment this tea maker
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It's misleading...
rating: 2
Technically this is a 1-Quart iced tea maker. If you don't add the specificed amount of ice then you have to improvise. If you use quality, loose leaf teas, you have to improvise. If you're a Lipton, black tea drinker then this is the perfect machine for you. If you're more of a no ice, high quality loose leaf green or white tea drinker, then don't chance it.
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Simply Great.
rating: 5
I bought this so I could make green tea at work. It is really handy, makes great tea and doesn't take up a lot of space. My co-workers agree with the quality of the tea that comes out of it. I really have no complaints. The pitcher is a good size for what I need. We get the tea drank before it goes bad and then we make another pitcher. Easy.
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