“Thermometer
Tea Just Got Easier
This clip-on gadget has pre-set temps and times for steeping all our teas. So whether you’re into white, green, oolong, black, pu’erh, rooibos, maté or herbal tea – it’ll be perfect every time. Just listen for the beep."
http://www.davidstea.com/thermometer-and-timer?&TF=3B9DBE9A142D&DEID&currid=usd&LN=EN
We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“The DAVIDsTEA Digital Thermometer & Timer is very well designed and easy to use once you’ve become familiar with it. Its has six advantages: 1. The digital thermometer is very quick reading....” Read full review
“This is a mostly good product with one major flaw: For low-temperature steeps (greens, primarily) the unit’s auto shut-off function kicks in before the target temperature is reached. At which point...” Read full review
The DAVIDsTEA Digital Thermometer & Timer is very well designed and easy to use once you’ve become familiar with it.
Its has six advantages:
1. The digital thermometer is very quick reading. (Analog models are not fast enough for this application.)
2. The temperature range is specifically designed for tea in one degree increments – both Celsius & Fahrenheit.
(Other kitchen thermometers that may be handy, such as meat has a max of 190*F in 5 or 10 degree increments or candy has a max of 400*F in 5 degree increments)
3. This digital thermometer beeps to alert you that the water has reached the appropriate temperature for the type tea being brewed.
4. A built-in digital timer – Once the infuser has been placed in the water, you press the timer start button. The next time it beeps, your tea is ready to enjoy.
5. Convenience: There are 8 pre-set temps and times for steeping white, green, oolong, black, pu’erh, rooibos, maté or herbal tea.
6. Custom mode: Allows selecting the appropriate combination of time & temp for any tea.
Being able to accurately determine the precise brewing temperature and duration allows one achieve tea-appropriate infusions consistently thus reducing potential frustration and maximizing the tea drinking experience. Highly recommended.
UPDATE 4/19/13:
This unit does not feature user-defined presets. However, it can be easily adjusted for the appropriate time & temp for any tea: http://steepster.com/discuss/156-tea-thermometer-recommendations?post_id=91599#forum_post_91599
Update 2/9/14:
http://steepster.com/discuss/156-tea-thermometer-recommendations?post_id=120116#forum_post_120116
This is a mostly good product with one major flaw: For low-temperature steeps (greens, primarily) the unit’s auto shut-off function kicks in before the target temperature is reached. At which point you can only turn it back on and select your preset all over again.
I contacted David’s Tea about this and ended up with a shoulder-shrugging recommendation to “wait a few minutes” between my water boiling and activating the thermometer.
Not only does this make clear that they didn’t consider this possibility when designing it, it also defeats a lot of the product’s purpose—I bought this so I could boil my water and then forget about it until the thermometer beeped, NOT so I could boil my water and then count the minutes and then guess whether or not I waited long enough for my water to get close enough to the target temperature to accommodate the un-changeable auto shut-off time.
Jimbo122,
It appears you’ve found an application that the designers of this thermometer/timer did not anticipate – waiting until larger quantities of water cool sufficiently for green teas.
Perhaps in the next model they’ll consider adding either an adjustable auto shut-off, or the ability to turn off the auto shut-off mode.
Other possible solutions for green teas with the current model might be:
– to not heat water to boiling as it’ll take longer to cool to green tea temperatures
– to use a smaller cup/mug of water that would cool off to the desired temperature before the timer/thermometer times out.
I haven’t had this issue since I mostly drink black and pu-erh teas.
Despite the above, this is a remarkable inexpensive device that combines a fast-reading accurate digital thermometer and a timer. Most thermometers only models cost at least as much.
