Breville BTM800XL Tea Maker Infuser and Water Kettle, 51 oz, Brushed Stainless Steel and Glass

I would give up home Internet access before I'd give up this tea maker -- it is an AMAZING appliance.I'm a budding tea connoisseur that loves loose leaf teas to be brewed correctly and at the right temperature. The Breville One-Touch Tea Maker is the only tea brewer I know of that does a phenomenal job of brewing tea that is to be enjoyed to the last drip.What I love:- Brewing tea is easy.- The instruction manual is extremely well written.- You can brew using their preset brewing cycle for several different types of teas or you can custom program it the way you like.- You can wake up to freshly brewed tea with its Auto Start Option.- There's a keep warm feature that works up to 60 minutes after the tea is brewed. You do have to turn this feature on after the brewing cycle and each time after you pour yourself a cup and return the carafe to the base.- The way the brewing basket works is so space age.- There's a Basket Cycle available that allows you to auto lift and lower the tea basket for maximum tea infusion--it aerates the leaves.- The carafe top has a strainer in front that prevents any wayward leaves from escaping into your cup.- You can boil water with this appliance for other uses.- There's a space under the base for storing the electric cord, which I found of sufficient length but others might still think it's too short.- It is simply a GORGEOUS machine that looks great on my counter top.- It's a pleasure to watch the brewing cycle.- You can wash all the parts EXCEPT for the base (obviously) and the carafe itself (that needs special care of wiping down or rinsing gently inside only)What I hate:- The cost --- it's the most expensive small appliance I've ever personally purchased in my life; but I'm not sorry I own it.This is a superior tea brewer from a manufacturer well known for its quality products. However, despite how wonderful I think this machine is, it is certainly not for everyone. If you are a tea bag fanatic that covers up your tea with milk and sugar or only drinks black tea, then perhaps this isn't for you because you probably won't notice any flavor difference in the brewed cup. However, if you just love different loose leaf teas and want to experience the various subtleties in the liquor of these different brews, then this is "THE TEA MAKER" worth saving for.Update November 23, 2012 - After using this tea maker for almost two years, I bought another one for myself as a backup or for when I want to make two different flavors of tea at a time. I cannot picture the day of having to live without this tea maker and since the price came down $50 (from my original price of $250), I decided to splurge and buy it for myself for Christmas. I have the Nesco TM-1 Teamaker, 1-Liter which is very good for brewing black tea but this Breville is the only tea maker I can't part with.Update December 26, 2013 - I alternate between the two one-touch tea makers I purchased and I have come across one design flaw. I've noticed that water gets stuck in the carafe cover. I rinse the cover by hand and since it is made by two pieces screwed together, apparently the seal is not air and water tight. As a result, I hear water sloshing around inside. Sometimes I'm able to get it to drain out and other times it just stays in there. So far this is the only flaw I found after using one unit for 2 years and the 2nd one I purchased for 1 year.

This is the cat's whiskers! (an old Yankee expression of extreme approbation)Seriously, why would one need to automate such a simple process as making tea, you say? Easy. In this nearly frantic world, attention span is the most precious cognitive resource. But tea is a process that requires careful monitoring. Is the water at exactly the right temperature yet? Am I wetting the tea before drenching it? How long do I let the tea sit in the hot water? Once I evacuate the tea, where exactly do I put it if I'm already comfortably ensconced in a chair? And what if I want a second cup?All these are questions the Breville tea maker generously resolves on its own, leaving you to do absolutely -- nothing. In fact, if you get distracted elsewhere before the tea is made, the Breville tea maker generously keeps your tea hot for you. And you want a second cup? It's sitting there, still hot, just waiting for you.Now obviously one can still make tea the old-fashioned way. But remember the issue of attention span? My husband used to take nearly an hour and a half to get ready in the morning, and fully half an hour of that was puttering with tea -- beginning a step, getting distracted, coming back to it, diagnosing where he was in the process, restarting, or going back to repeat a step (as in is the water *still* hot enough?!) -- and then, finally, once he had his tea, often getting distracted again before he drank it and then having to go microwave it, not to mention starting the whole process over again when he wanted more. Now his tea-making process no longer claims so much of his cognitive focus or penalizes him if he doesn't pay close enough attention. Once he puts the water and tea in it and hits the button, he's free! Free to pursue something he abandoned late last night, free to search the house for the tie he really wants to wear but can't find, free to enjoy his tea when he wants it (as opposed to exactly a certain amount of time after he first started the process), and, best of all, free to drink more at an ideal temperature with no work at all other than pouring it! It's liberating. What's more, he loves it so much that he usually has a second pot when he gets home from work and often a third later in the evening.Now why should it matter that having tea becomes this easy, this luxurious? Well, everyday life already has enough mini-stresses in it. When working a demanding job, investing in the family, trying to do good deeds in the community as well, one becomes frazzled. Soothing the nerves reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, minimizes mindless snacking to anesthetize oneself from stress, etc. And if one adds a second or even a third tea ritual to the day, what can that do to help one remain calmer and more unruffled? Easy. My husband has lost weight since getting his tea maker! He's started walking more for exercise! He's been more responsive to people at work who need more of his time, all while being less bothered or resentful. To me, all of this is huge!Bottom line: unless your life is already as simple and well regulated as that of the hunter-gatherers from whom we've descended (who pretty much had predators, bad weather and insufficient food to worry about, and not much else), your life can be greatly improved by the addition of a seemingly expensive indulgence that's actually cheap at the price! Get this machine for yourself or for a loved one. My husband refused in no uncertain terms to let me get it for him for several years and only gave in quite ungraciously a few months ago. Now it's his favorite thing in the world (except me, of course). Do I think this expensive machine was an absolute bargain? You'd better believe it!P.S. Get the Breville cleaning packets, too, because stains build up inside the machine fairly swiftly and detract from the flavor of the tea made within it. My husband thought those were a waste as well but finally tried one after he noticed the stain build-up and a parallel decline in the good taste of the tea. He was blown away by how simple and effective the cleaner was and now uses it weekly with absolute delight. They may seem unnecessarily expensive, too, but please take it from me -- and put the used cleaning liquid into stained teacups or other containers that have come to seem cloudy instead of instantly pouring it down the drain -- you'll be thrilled at the results. No idea how these packets work so well, but boy, they sure do.