As you probably already know, I received a TriniTEA this past Christmas from my fiance, which was by far my best gift of the season. Automated tea is pretty much the coolest thing ever concocted, but that doesn’t mean that this fancy tea maker doesn’t come with its own set of downfalls. The advantages seriously outweigh any criticisms I have of the product, but there are still things that a first time TriniTEA user might like to know.

1. The water reservoir doesn’t seem to hold a whole pot of water. For me, it holds a little over 3 cups. Keep this in mind before hastily dumping in a whole pot of water and flooding your tea maker and your kitchen counter. Start with three cups worth of water and see what your water reservoir will hold.

2. The bottom tea pot, which holds the tea when the tea making is complete, dribbles down the side if you don’t pour correctly. I made many a mess when first using my TriniTEA because of the constant tendency of the spout to dribble water all over the place. The key to avoiding this mishap is to pour VERY slowly at first, to allow a small controlled stream of tea. Since mastering this slow pour, I have had nearly zero mishaps.

3. Tea leaves invariably get jammed in the infuser (little cup you put the tea in), and I mean jammed. This is my biggest pet peeve about the machine, but it has also turned out to be a peeve with any easy fix. When the tea maker has finished making the tea, I take the infuser out and dump out as many of the wet leaves as I can, and then let the infuser sit upside down on a paper towel. Within a few hours, the leaves shrink as they dry and they fall easily from the holes in the infuser. Thanks to Chris for this extremely handy tip!

Hopefully these tips will help new TriniTEA users to best enjoy their fancy new toy without the temporary frustration that I experienced. I also want to assure anyone considering the purchase of a TriniTEA that even with these minor complaints, this tea maker is still definitely worth it, especially considering that two of these complaints are successfully addressed with a simple modification to how I use the product. I would still like a larger water reservoir, but ultimately, I’ve been overwhelmingly happy with my TriniTEA. :)