Tea

If you're a loose leaf tea connoisseur who favors the plunger pot method but detests keeping an eye on steeping time, the REEDesigned automatic teapot may be the solution. With a mechanical timer system, under- or over-steeping is entirely avoidable.

​Although it may not be way up there on your list of problems to address, scalding your mouth on too-hot tea or coffee can be a hassle. A German startup is out to do something about it, with the iLIQ temperature-sensing drink-cooling device.

Running in the Halls was recently tasked with building a unique tea-making machine sporting basic AI for a UK TV show. After a bit of to and fro text messaging between the tea maker and the host via his old school Nokia phone, the machine would brew up a cuppa based on the Q&A exchange.

Few of us these days have the time to break out the teapot and make a proper brew, so we resort to tea bags plonked in a mug of hot water. But who wants to waste energy on dunking when a machine can do it for you? That's precisely what Dorian Damon's Tea Dunker does ... rather loudly.

Similar to the Ember mug, but designed for both hot and cold beverages, the all-new Yecup 365 from Armenian company Yecup Technologies' brings your drink to just the right temperature and keeps it there for hours. Beyond beverage service, it can also charge your smartphone or tablet.

There have been more and more coffee brew-on-the-go solutions of late. Some such designs require preheated water or an external power supply, but the Mojoe can operate independently, heating and brewing your favorite coffee with a rechargeable battery.

The Teforia infuser uses a proprietary Selective Infusion Process (SIP) technology to not only tailor the brewing to the tea, but also allow the user to control factors like caffeine and antioxidant levels.

Craftea is a high-tech tea maker designed to accelerate the flavor extraction process. It features the company's proprietary Vortex technology that consists of a stirrer designed to intensify fusion and avoid boil-overs. Users can also save brew settings to repeat the perfect cuppa.

The Hälssen & Lyon tea calendar is a real calendar made from real tea, with each date consisting of a square of compressed tea leaves.

A Twitter-activated vending machine gives out free tea for the right hash tag.

Nestle is moving on the tea market, pioneering a new machine which calculates the brewing time and temperature for each tea variety and produces a perfect brew every time. The Special.T machine and tea pods will ONLY be sold via the internet.

Breville’s One-Touch Tea Maker takes the guesswork out of brewing that perfect cuppa by providing the right water temperatures and brewing times to suit different tea varieties.