Mr. Coffee TM1 2-Quart Iced Tea Maker
by Mr. Coffee
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List Price: Our Price: $14.95 You Save: $24.65 (62%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $14.00 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Mr. Coffee TM1 2-Quart Iced Tea Maker
Customer Review: Junk. Must agree with 06/06 reviewer
Summary: 1 Stars
I just "traded in" my near-lifetime membership in the Mr. Coffee tea maker club for a competing model that doesn't leak on the counter, and is reported to have a pitcher that can stand up to the combo of ice and hot water.
Our household drinks a LOT of iced tea, to the point that my husband has been lobbying for a commercial/restaurant unit. (But we don't have that kind of counter space.) If you drink a lot of tea, and have bought the 2-Quart Mr. Coffee model in any color (blue, yellow, orange...) with the TM-1 configuration, and you haven't had to bleach your counter a few (hundred) times, I suspect you've been able to give it your full and painstaking attention, as opposed to balancing tea making with a bunch of other cooking chores and family demands on hectic weeknights. Despite careful handwash and following instructions, I've gone through two pitchers in a year due to warping and those tiny, spreading cracks - anybody want 2 pitcherless brewers that don't really "hook up" well with pitchers that are absurdly expensive to replace?
Too bad, these units were sweet in the '90s. I hope I like the "other" brand of tea maker better over the long haul and can give it the thumbs up on Amazon...maybe in 6 months.
Customer Review: Awful Plastic Tasting Tea
Summary: 1 Stars
I have tried everything to remove the plastic taste from the tea made in this tea maker. Ran vinegar through it...ran about 20 water runs through it and it still taste like plastic. So disappointed. It is actually the water stright from the water heater that taste like plastic...can't get rid of it.Customer Review: Tea Maker
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for my Mom for Christmas, but we both have used them in the past. She bought a new style one a couple of years ago, but has never been happy with it. It leaks and there doesn't seem to be any way to fix the problem. I have this style and it has worked well for about 6 years now and I use it almost every day. Customer Review: Great inexpensive product
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great, inexpensive product. You make the tea and have storage for the extra. Cheep, easy, how could it get better?Customer Review: Good Product for the Money
Summary: 4 Stars
The Mr. Coffee TM1 2-Quart Iced Tea Maker is a good value for the money. I read the other reviews and I agree with some and disagree with others.
First, the product does make 2 quarts of cold ice tea and does a credible job. The instructions, however, are not very well written and can be confusing. For example, it references a top water level mark which is suggestive that there is more than one. There is only one. It really meant to read to the top "of" the water level mark; and when I called customer service before using it for the first time, they explained the typo.
Second, the cord is extremely short and I think that it is short more for stability than for safety. It does make it difficult to place if you do not have room immediately in front of a plug. Although it does indicate that you can use an extension cord "if care is exercised in its use". Honestly, I think the 2 quart capacity is all that I would want at one time. You can always purchase a second container and make more if you are expecting guests etc. I think a bigger container would make it more difficult to store in the refrigerator.
Third, the directions refer to a steeping valve which the directions never show what in fact they are referring to. The instructions stated "Make sure the steeping valve is closed by pushing the steeping lever in and then down." There is a picture; but the drawing and the way the directions are written are not terribly clear (especially when you look at the lever which only says "OPEN" with an up arrow). I guess one can assume that the opposite direction means close; but the side lever only goes up. Also, the placement of the steeping valve lever on the product looks a little different that the picture. Since the lever can only move upwards; which actually then opens the steeping basket bottom (which you would not see when the steeping basket itself is in place); I am frankly not sure what they are talking about in terms of pushing it in and then down.
Fourth, you have to make sure to line up the pitcher and make sure that it is snug against the machine and set properly; otherwise I imagine there would be quite a bit of leaking. I did not experience any problem with any leakage.
Fifth, you are instructed to take off the steeping basket and put on the separate pitcher lid so it is very easy to dump the contents of the tea bags etc. and rinse the top out immediately with no mess at all.
Sixth, one problem is that the instructions state that you should place an 8-12 basket size Mr. Coffee paper filter into the steeping basket; yet Mr. Coffee doesn't even include any samples or even one filter for your first use. There is absolutely nothing on the outside of the box which indicates this necessity, the box picture itself showing the inside of the steeping basket with tea bags has absolutely no visible sign of any Mr. Coffee paper filter. In fact, it states that if you are using loose tea, you should use two! One for the bottom and one for the top. I think this part was and is a little deceiving and maybe was meant to be purposely deceptive. I cannot understand why neither the box nor the picture on the outside of the box would not state that this was a requirement for the use of the machine and had to be purchased separately. So if I did not already have these inside my house, I would have not been able to use my machine until I went out and made another purchase.
Seventh, Mr. Coffee states to only use fresh tap water not hot water. I noticed that another reviewer stated that some teas need very hot water. The water temperature itself is heated inside the Mr. Coffee machine which may or may not be hot enough for some teas. It appears to be hot enough for the variety that I am using.
As far as the Adjustable Steeping Control, aside from that lever that simply opens by going up, there is virtually nothing else. Not very useful from what I can see. And once again the directions are unclear and more than likely were written for another model and not updated.
When you plug it in and press the button, a red light comes on. I would have preferred a green light to come on when the brewing started; but unfortunately all you are going to see is the red light and then you will hear the brewing starting. It shuts off automatically and then the same light goes out.
The machine also is capable of making iced coffee. I have not tried that out yet.
Overall Recommendation: A buy (good tea and inexpensive)
Pros:
Easy to use once you figure out the directions
Good iced tea
Simple design; once confirmed with trial run
Excellent Price Point
Easy to Pour Pitcher
Auto Shut Off
Cons:
Poorly written instructions with known typos, etc.
No mention of Mr. Coffee 8-12 cup basket size paper filters being needed on the side of the box and none are shown on the picture on the outside of the box
The on/off indicator light is simply one red light which is either on or off.
The Adjustable Tea Steeping Control is really not much to write home about and is not the same as a Brew Strength control lever or adjustment control button. This feature was a non feature as far as I was concerned.
Mr. Coffee TM1 2-Quart Iced Tea Maker