First use to make Long Life Oolong (oolong with peaches, apricots and almonds) from DavidsTea at medium strength.
I received the Breville for a birthday gift, and I am freakin delighted with it. One extremely important note: when you’re taking everything out of the box, DO NOT PUT THE CARAFE UNDER RUNNING WATER for a rinse and clean. The base has electronics in it.
The Breville demands a light wipe to clean it.
But I’ll happily put up with some diva behaviour. I have never tasted such exquisute oolong before. The constant temperature during steeping is an enormously good touch. And, of course, the water was at the best temp for oolong; with my kettle, I have to guess by how much steam is rising … not terribly accurate.
My one suggestion is to try oolong on the “weak” setting first. I did find the medium setting brought out a slight soapiness in the first few sips of the Long Life; I blame the dried fruit for that, though, not the Breville. I can’t wait to try a milk oolong in this today.
Everything worked beautifully — and silently.
And it’s shiny.
People who liked this
Comments
Been playing with the Breville all week. I am making tea in larger quanitites now — and drinking it — so I guess that means healthier me, or at least a good workout for my kidneys. I never much cared for tea made in a pot before, as it always seemed weaker to me than tea made by the cup or mug, even with an extra spoon of leaves “for the pot.” Got my beloved Britannia English Breakfast in there now, brewed at 5 minutes (a custom setting — apparently “strong” black tea steeps for 3 minutes in Breville-land), and it is FAHN. I do wonder at Farenheit temp readins and metric volume measures, but I can cope. If you drink a fair bit of tea, a Breville is a good investment. I’m really pleased with mine,
I see in another review a note about the tea scoop provided … it’s a tiny thing, a very scant teaspoon, and needly teas like Yunnan fall out. I suggest using your usual tea measure.
Tonight, I’m setting the timer so I can have some kick-arse Assam first thing in themorning. WIll report.
Ooh, shiny! Happy birthday!
@ Baratchoid: tenk yew.
A note on brewing strength: using the basket cycle makes for stronger, much richer tea. Now I stick to 3 minutes when using the basket cycle. YUM.
Here I am, sipping some of my favourite English Breakfast, brewed by the cup in a filter … and ya know what? The Breville’s got me spoilt. Ruint! The basket function makes such rich tea and develops the flavour that much more that regularly steeped good tea is now starting to taste flat.
Been playing with the Breville all week. I am making tea in larger quanitites now — and drinking it — so I guess that means healthier me, or at least a good workout for my kidneys. I never much cared for tea made in a pot before, as it always seemed weaker to me than tea made by the cup or mug, even with an extra spoon of leaves “for the pot.” Got my beloved Britannia English Breakfast in there now, brewed at 5 minutes (a custom setting — apparently “strong” black tea steeps for 3 minutes in Breville-land), and it is FAHN. I do wonder at Farenheit temp readins and metric volume measures, but I can cope. If you drink a fair bit of tea, a Breville is a good investment. I’m really pleased with mine,
I see in another review a note about the tea scoop provided … it’s a tiny thing, a very scant teaspoon, and needly teas like Yunnan fall out. I suggest using your usual tea measure.
Tonight, I’m setting the timer so I can have some kick-arse Assam first thing in themorning. WIll report.
Ooh, shiny! Happy birthday!
@ Baratchoid: tenk yew.
A note on brewing strength: using the basket cycle makes for stronger, much richer tea. Now I stick to 3 minutes when using the basket cycle. YUM.
Here I am, sipping some of my favourite English Breakfast, brewed by the cup in a filter … and ya know what? The Breville’s got me spoilt. Ruint! The basket function makes such rich tea and develops the flavour that much more that regularly steeped good tea is now starting to taste flat.