Adagio's TriniTEA Tea Maker is an electric, automatic tea machine. While it is not as customizable as some competing brands, it is a great choice for the price point.
Pros to Adagio's TriniTEA Tea Maker
This automatic teamaker has a lot going for it. Here are a few featured I liked:
- It's a low price point for a complex piece of kitchen equipment.
- It's automatic and it's easy to use, even for beginner tea brewers.
- It has a variable timer that can be set between two and seven minutes.
- The water temperature can be set to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (a good temperature for many oolongs and white teas) or 212 degrees Fahrenheit (a rolling boil).
- It beeps when it's done brewing and it automatically warms the teapot with a hot plate.
- For group settings (such as offices) or people who drink several cups over longer spans of time, the hot plate can be left on (much like an automatic coffeemaker's hot plate). It keeps the tea very hot.
- It has a brewing capacity of two to four cups, and it heats the water fairly quickly. (It took about five minutes to raise two cups of water to 180 degrees and just over six minutes to bring four cups of water to a rolling boil.)
- A safety latch keeps the tea from spilling if the glass carafe is not in place.
- Replacement parts (carafes and steeping chambers) can be ordered on Adagio's website. They also offer an extended warranty.
Cons to Adagio's TriniTEA Tea Maker
Adagio's TriniTEA allows for dual temperature brewing and multiple brew time settings.
Marko GoodwinGiven the low price point, it only makes sense that Adagio's TriniTEA is lacking in a few features provided by models like the Breville One Touch Teamaker. Here are a few down sides to selecting a TriniTEA tea maker:
- The overall look and feel of the product is cheaper and flimsier than some more expensive models.
- There are only two brewing temperatures to select from. In testing, Japanese green teas were scalded and bitter, with no umami richness.
- The brewing time doesn't count down -- the dial stays stationary as the tea brews.
- The tea maker brews tea using all the water you put in it, but there's no measuring scale in the water reservoir. This means that you'd need to use a measuring cup to measure you water before brewing if you want a specific water-to-tea ratio (which I'm hoping you do!).
- The brewing basket and vessel are made from plastic and may impart a slight plastic note on more delicate teas. I emailed an Adagio representative about whether or not the plastic was BPA-free over one week before posting this review, but had not heard back by the time of publication.
Overall Opinion
Adagio's TriniTEA is a great budget automatic tea maker. However, more serious tea drinkers who can afford a higher price point will likely prefer the Breville One Touch Teamaker.
Although the brewing basket is plastic, the carafe is glass. You can order replacement carafes on Adagio's website.
Marko GoodwinDisclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
