Customer Reviews for Mr. Coffee TM1 2-Quart Iced Tea Maker

Mr. Coffee TM1 2-Quart Iced Tea Maker
by Mr. Coffee

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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Mr. Coffee TM1 2-Quart Iced Tea Maker

Customer Review: A great alternative to putting the kettle on
Summary: 5 Stars

I noticed by reading some of the other reviews here, that most are not using loose tea. I have only used loose tea, both green and black teas, and I must say that this little gadget does a remarkable job. I personally like my tea fresh, so the 2 quart limit is great, as I'll be able to make more soon enough. In fact, my only complaint is that I have to wait for my freezer to make ice between batches, so if you're making a large amount of tea, say for a picnic or something, use bagged ice.

As a final thought, while not perfect for any one type of tea (some need boiling water, some just under boiling for best flavor) it does brew on average a pretty wicked pitcher. Make a simple sugar syrup with lemon and mint for an extra kick that will make your southern guests think of home.

Customer Review: Doesn't compare to the Hamilton Beach makers
Summary: 2 Stars

First, physical weaknesses: The pitchers crack and warp slowly but steadily, so won't last forever. You can replace them for about ten bucks, but with shipping that's half the cost of an entirely new unit. And you can't put them in the dishwasher, so you'll probably want at least several up front anyway, so that you can clean them.

Second, cleaning problems. Unlke the Hamilton Beach tea makers, the bags here go in the brewing housing, which has to be removed and cleaned separately from the pitcher. And if you forget to do that, you'll have yucky (even moldy) tea bags the next time you go to make tea, even if that's within two days.

Hamilton Beach instead keeps the bags' brewing area inside the pitcher itself, which you can refridgerate and prevent yuck and mold from occuring. Plus, the Mr Coffee station drips TEA on the counter as soon as you remove the pitcher, whereas the Hamilton Beach only drips WATER since the tea process is all contained in the pitcher itself.

Further, the Mr Coffee series requires that the pitcher get very close to the brew housing station, with the tea just BARELY getting into the spout, or else you'll get tea dripped on the counter WHILE brewing. That messiness increases as the pitcher begins to warp and crack. Hamilton Beach bests that both by including a pull-out tray that HOLDS the pitcher in the correct position, and by having the tea drip directly to the center of the pitcher rather than milimeters from the edge of the spout.

Above all, the Hamilton Beach series simply makes better tea. It includes a dial that allows you to make weak, medium, or strong tea, and that's all automated. The Mr Coffee series has no such setting, but requires you to "close" the brewing area for a period and then turn a dial to "open" before it starts putting tea in the pitcher. That manual step both slows down the tea production, and risks making quite the mess if you forget to go back and open the dial.

Finally, the Mr Coffee pitcher is a large and obtrusive ROUND cylinder that takes up lots of space in the fridge, even when there's only a glass or so left in the pitcher. The Hamilton Beach pitchers are instead elongated OVAL shapes, that fit in more places in the fridge, even in the fridge door, and are *shorter* so that you can put them on a shelf with a lower overhead.

Mr. Coffee: bigger mess, more manual, more cleaning, more risk, lower longevity, and lamer tea.

Hamilton Beach: no mess, no manual revisit, easy to clean, no risk, lasts longer, better tea, and more options when you make it.

No contest!

Customer Review: 7 yrs and counting...
Summary: 5 Stars

I LOVE IT, thats all I can really say, we use ours daily and it has lasted 7 yrs. I bought it when I was breastfeeding my 7 yr old. I would always crave ice tea!
We still have BOTH of the original pitchers without a crack or many scratches through daily ice tea making and in and out of the dishwasher! Are people putting ice in them BEFORE letting the hot tea hit the pitcher?? You have to put the ice in so the hot water wont just fill the pitcher! I always use 2 family size Lipton tea bags and one Earl Grey small bag, it makes the BEST TEA! Everyone loves it! I recommend this FOR everyone needing to save some calories or who just love Ice Tea!

Customer Review: Mr. Coffee Cheaply made pitchers
Summary: 1 Stars

Owned Four Diffrent Styles. All Of them Worked ok But!!! The Pitchers Cracked, All Of Them!!!!My last New Mr. coffee Pitchers Lasted 3 Months and cracked (tea went all over the counter and floor) If you just make tea once in a while It may be ok But i make 3 Pitcher's a day With three tea makers sitting in the kithen on a old compter desk. The Hamilton Beach Has lasted 5 Years With Only one pitcher,It works good I'm ordering 2 more to replace the 2 mr coffee Because all my pitchers Cracked. I know Most people don't drink That Much,But I do.