I just recently purchased this iced tea maker, to replace my prior Hamilton Beach model. While I was generally pleased with the HB model, this one is far better in my opinion, for a number of reasons. The biggest advantage is that it brews the tea much more effectively. The HB model would sometimes brew too quickly and I would have to squeeze out the already hot tea bags to get the tea out of them, otherwise it was way too weak. This one has dual water spouts and a specially designed basket which steeps the tea a bit before draining it into the pitcher. There is also a useful dial to adjust the strength of the tea to your liking. The glass pitcher is also a big plus, since it doesnt scratch, crack and stain like the plastic ones do. My HB pitcher started to become cracked over time. The one down side to this glass pitcher though is that the lettering on it is hard to read and seems like it may wear off easily. Also it doesn't come with a lid, but that's not too big of a deal since I pour the brewed tea into another narrow pitcher with a lid that fits better into my fridge. Besides, I wouldn't want an empty iced tea maker sitting on my counter with no pitcher in it. I also like how the unit is designed openly - I could probably put just about any old glass pitcher in there if this one were to break - instead of having to order some custom replacement pitcher. The unit also comes with a basket for brewing loose tea too. Overall a great purchase, but be warned some places are selling it for over $70. It's not worth that much, and if you look around, you can usually find it for as low as $35.
I buy what seems like a ton of tea, but I don't drink it like I buy it. Right now I have a kitchen cabinet shelf full of different varieties of tea. Avid buyer, very sporadic drinker. Maybe if I buy a tea brewer, I would make more tea and therefore drink more. I drink a lot of coffee and will only reach for tea if I run out of coffee (which rarely happens), and sometimes not even then. I like the look of this unit, it looks clean and streamlined, might just purchase myself one. We'll see.
I don't drink anything but sweet tea, and even then only the homemade tea. I've tried tea other people had made in those I e tea makers and it doesn't even compare. I make a pitcher everyday and I wouldn't think the maker saves all that much time and effort. I boil water and throw tea bags in, then combine everything.
