Tea machine

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A tea machine (or tea machine ) is an electrical household appliance that is used for the automated preparation of tea . Corresponding devices have been available since the beginning of the 20th century. Today there are systems that can be differentiated according to technical functional principles and degree of automation .

history

precursor

The samovars , which are particularly widespread in Russia, were initially heated with charcoal or kerosene : water was heated and kept hot in a kettle, often made of metal. It could be removed with a drain cock. When using it to prepare tea, a small extra jug is placed on the lid of the samovar. It contains a tea concentrate made from a little water and a large amount of tea leaves. The concentrate can be kept warm and used for many hours. As is customary with today's kettles , modern samovars work with electrical heating elements.

It is not clear to what extent the East Frisian tea machine, also known as the tea urn, is a special development. The main difference to the samovar is that the drink was kept warm in a large container (kettle or urn). Two basic principles were conceivable: On the one hand, tea prepared externally could be placed in the liquid container of the “machine” so that it could be drawn off via a tap if required. On the other hand, hot water was poured onto loose tea leaves. In both cases: the drink was kept warm by glowing charcoal. This was located below the tea kettle, but also in a chimney-like inner tube of the kettle or the urn.

Clarke's tea machine

Frank Clarke, a gunsmith from Birmingham , introduced the first working automatic tea machine in 1902. He had previously acquired the original machine and all rights from its designer, Albert E. Richardson, a watchmaker from Ashton-under-Lyne , Lancashire . An alarm clock ensured the automatic ignition of a match , which in turn ignited denatured alcohol . This heats water in a kettle . There was a small plate in the kettle which, when it was heated enough, triggered a folding mechanism through which the hot water flowed into the teapot . At the same time the alcohol was extinguished. The alarm clock rang again. Clarke's tea machine was not considered to be harmless, because the correct ignition timing of the match was of crucial importance.

Teasmade

The first machine to be successful on the market was patented in 1936 by William Hermann Brenner Thornton (1899–1977) . It went into series production in 1937 under the name Teasmade after the Goblin company acquired the rights. Water was poured into the heater and a tea bag was placed in the pot. The heating of the water started at the individually preset time. Evaporated water got into the teapot through a pipe, at the same time an alarm clock was triggered and the light was switched on. In this way it was possible to drink tea in bed in the morning.

The device was not produced during the Second World War . At the end of the 1960s it came back into fashion, with sales of 300,000 pieces annually. At peak times, teas-made devices are said to have been in two million households. The teasmade made a comeback in the late 2000s .

Recent development

The development of various tea machines for private households picked up speed in the second decade of the 21st century. The breadth of the offer is not comparable with that of coffee machines.

Types

Different tea machines compete with one another in the market. The functional principles and degree of automation of these devices differ.

Hot water dispenser

They heat water quickly and, in terms of design and technology, are kettles in the form of a machine. There is no infusion chamber for loose tea. The hot water pours over the tea immediately, the tea is not "awakened" beforehand, multiple infusions are not provided.

Capsule systems

These machines prepare tea with the help of single-use capsules. The machines and the capsules are often offered together for at least a while, while third-party providers are kept away.

Systems with sieve insert

These devices are designed for the preparation of large quantities of tea and thus also tea from loose tea leaves. Technically, these are systems that consist of a kettle with a tea strainer insert; the sieve insert can be integrated into the cooker or placed in a separate jug.

Systems with an automatic infusion chamber

Such tea machines are also designed for the preparation of larger amounts of tea. A wake-up function is not provided, multiple infusions are possible manually. The devices offer different programs depending on the type and type of tea and usually also allow brewing strengths to be preselected. Some sieves automatically open a valve after the end of the brewing process so that the finished tea can drain into a pot below. Other systems have sieves that are automatically lowered for the pulling process using a lift function and then raised.

Fully automatic machines

Some systems are also referred to as fully automatic tea machines. They work similarly to fully automatic coffee machines and some have automated programs in which the water hardness is taken into account by a water filter . The tea is woken up, multiple infusions are possible. Cleaning and descaling take place automatically.

Combination devices

Individual manufacturers offer combination devices that are used to prepare coffee and tea.

Professional machines

Due to the special application environment, other tea machines are used in the catering industry. As a rule, they are designed for large quantities of tea.

Trivia

The music video for the song I Want to Break Free by the British rock band Queen shows a teasmade tea machine right from the start.

The Teasmade tea machine was considered a symbol of paralysis in the 1990s when Norma Mayor, wife of British Prime Minister John Major , announced that such a machine was in the bedroom at 10 Downing Street .

gallery

See also

attachment

Web links

Commons : Tea Makers  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Tea machine  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. Pop Tee UG (limited liability): What is a samovar? In: www.pop-tee.de. Retrieved November 28, 2019 .
  2. See Knud Schöber: It warms the form, the fabric, the light . Brass devices from ancient times and their work in everyday life. ICD, Lahnau 1996, ISBN 3-931873-00-5 , p. F1 – F5 (catalog for the exhibition and collection 1996).
  3. a b c David Hillman, David Gibbs: Ingenious! The 100 ingenious inventions of the 20th century, without which our everyday life can no longer be imagined . vgs, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-8025-2621-X , p. 11 (English: Century makers . London 1998. Translated by Manfred Schmeing and Antje Görnig).
  4. a b Science & Society Picture Library: Automatic tea-making machine, c 1902. In: ssplprints.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019 . There is also a photo there.
  5. Information on the year of birth. In: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved November 26, 2019 .
  6. Information on the year of death. In: collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved November 26, 2019 .
  7. Ellen Kreutz: Very British! In: deutsches-kunststoff-museum.de. Retrieved November 26, 2019 .
  8. a b c Harry Wallop: Teasmade: the gadget that refused to die. In: The Telegraph . June 11, 2007, accessed November 28, 2019 .
  9. Harry Wallop: Teasmade makes comeback. In: The Telegraph. October 10, 2009, accessed November 28, 2019 .
  10. Tea machines: a new trend? In: Advertise & Sell , August 13, 2018.
  11. The meaning of a preceding first infusion is made clear by the Asian proverb “The first cup for the enemy, the second cup for the friend”. See tea enjoyment worldwide. In: www.tee-magazin.de. Retrieved November 30, 2019 .
  12. Andreas Chwallek: Nespresso locks out the competition . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung , February 11, 2011.
  13. Queen - I Want To Break Free (Official Video) on YouTube , accessed November 30, 2019.