Make Your Perfect Cup of Tea With Teplo 2.0
While brewing tea is not a difficult task, mastering it can be considered like an art. Meet Teplo 2.0, a connected teapot that helps you to customise your tea according to your preferences, mood and the surrounding environment.
In 1946, George Orwell famously wrote an essay about how to achieve a perfect cup of tea. He insisted that ‘one strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones’ and even nowadays, true tea lovers continue to increase the strength of their tea from what they steeped the year before. The essay stirred a great controversy and proved that subject of how to make the best tea can be bitterly divisive!
From loose-leaf to trusty tea bags, there are many theories behind making the perfect tea and everyone has their own way. Some of us just dunk a tea bag in a boiling water for a second hoping it will taste good in the end. Others don’t take it out from the cup or pot in time, and tea imparts a harsh bitterness.
Tea Wisdom: Steeping tea for shorter or longer, at different temperatures, with different waters brings out different qualities in it. Besides, each blend of tea from green to black or herbal requires a different temperature range. Unlike green teas, which have their delicate flavors ruined when brewed at higher temperatures, black tea should be steeped in a hotter water.
How The Concept of Teplo Emerged
The secrets to attaining a perfect cup are familiar to Teplo founders who have been exposed to the tea culture since their childhood. ‘I’m from Japan and my co-founder Mayuresh Soni is from India, so we have a strong background in tea,’ says CEO Kazunori Kawanobe. Two friends from Babson College were surprised that the tea industry in USA often ignores the uniqueness of the human sense and decided to take tea drinking to the next level. Fueled by a passion, they did a brainstorming and figured out how to combine technology with traditional tea drinking experience. In March 2019, Teplo team successfully launched USD 50K Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and is planning to deliver the world’s first connected tea pot in April 2020.
Check out Teplo pitch at our Monozukuri Hub Meetup in Kyoto!
Perks Of Teplo teapot
Teplo is a connected teapot that brews tea based on the its type, user’s preferences and environmental factors. A heart rate and finger temperature sensor located on the base of the kettle analyzes user’s data and adjusts water temperature in order to make a perfect cup of tea. For example, a slightly warm tea works well to reduce stress and relieves from anxiety while hot tea helps to increase caffeine levels and give you a longer-lasting, more stable energy boost.
The product name Teplo means ‘warm’ in both Czech and Russian representing the company’s core mission: to warm users’ beverages and their lives.
The product is tech-savvy yet practical for everyday life. How to use it:
- Place loose leaf tea in the auto-rotating infuser chamber and pour room temperature water to the kettle. Teplo holds 10 Oz (310 ml) — that’s a big cup of tea!
2. Put the infuser in the auto-rotating infuser chamber and select a tea type from the app’s catalog. Teplo is compatible with any loose leaf tea brand you pluck off the shelf at the convenience store. Also, tea lovers can find and order premium teas from all over the world via Teplo’s mobile app or create their own tea with personalized products.
3. Sit down and relax — Teplo will do the rest! While sensors are collecting environmental and user’s data, 100–120V electrical output heats the water. Once the perfect temperature is reached, the chamber rotates to brew for a designated period of time and prevent over-steeping. Because it rotates automatically, users don’t need to interact with the kettle and intervene into the brewing process
The kettle keeps the tea at the optimal drinking temperature for hours — you’ll have enough time to finish your tea, even when you’re busy. You can also rate each brew in the app so it will gradually learn your personal preferences.
‘Custom tea blending requires knowledge and time’, says Kazunori Kawanobe. With hundreds of tea kinds, steeping the perfect cup of tea seems fraught with overwhelming possibilities. This is where tea gadgets come in handy and give you the opportunity to enjoy tea at your own pace. With a Teplo connected teapot, tea and technology can make a great team.
