What Makes For a Magical Connected Device Experience?
Many connected home devices promise seamless user experiences, but in reality most fall far short of this lofty goal. (Heck, many are barely even “connected.”) Who would’ve thought “standard” WiFi or Bluetooth connections are anything but standard — queue Google entering the router business with OnHub. And how magical can an experience be when it demands an entirely new level of tech literacy upon both installation and ongoing use (one of the reasons we invested in HelloTech).
With the connected home (or IoT) category still in its infancy, there’s a lot of learning left to achieve. This is true not only for consumers, but also for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
At Upfront we’ve had the benefit and privilege of supporting James Siminoff and his team at connected doorbell and security startup Ring as they expertly navigated around the many challenges associated with designing and manufacturing reliable, economical, and user-friendly hardware. Of course this is only half the battle. Where Ring truly stands out is in elegantly integrating software and back-end cloud services into these consumer-facing devices. (That the devices are stopping actual crimes doesn’t hurt either!)
As we’ve watched Ring mature, we’ve come to believe that there are three key components to a magical connected experience:
- 10x better product
- Intuitive user experience
- Expanding value proposition
And while these measuring sticks hold true for software products too, it’s clear that the tolerances are far lower in the world of atoms (and real world implications, not to mention lofty price points) than bytes.
With this as the backdrop, I’m thrilled to share what I believe will be a next great connected device company, Teforia. When I met Allen, Kris and their experienced team (who’s designed such category-defining devices such as the Xbox 360 and Kindle Fire) behind this intelligent tea brewer concept, I knew they were on their way to building the kind of magical experience I described above. And so, we could not be more thrilled to be leading Teforia’s $5.1 million seed round and to partner with great co-investors such as Lemnos Labs, PreAngel and InnoSpring in doing so.
Of course, it’s not enough to simply say Teforia will be magical. But everything I’ve seen to date, through the various design models, prototypes to the current pre-production samples, point to a magical experience.
10x better product: Tea is the second most imbibed beverage globally after water. Yet arguably, the last big innovation in tea was the American creation of the tea bag in 1903. Add boiling water, steep for a few seconds and throw out said tea bag. For all the convenience and access this has afforded, the complex flavors, nutrients and rituals of tea became largely relegated to the background.
On the other hand, if you have the opportunity to enjoy tea in the parts of the world where its culture and rituals have thrived for thousands of years — be it a gongfu tea café in China, chado at a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, or a tea farm in the high mountains of Taiwan where the best oolong are produced — the methods of preparation and thus end results are wholly different.
Much like coffee (in fact even more so), there are thousands of varietals of tea, each meant to be brewed at different temperatures, for different durations, and for different number of times to provide the optimal result. The Teforia infuser was built to offer this end result in a truly magical, set it and forget it manner.
Teforia has built an incredible wealth of brewing knowledge into its software and uses additional techniques not possible by hand such as steam and aeration to create a tailored recipe for each tea. Just as important, each brew can be reproduced consistently every time. Taking this experience to the next level, Teforia enables users to create (and save) personalized, custom recipes, including adjusting flavor profiles, caffeine content, and antioxidant levels. (For example, I’m very sensitive to caffeine and haven’t been able to drink much black tea. Thanks to Teforia, that’s no longer an issue!)
After completing hundreds of blind tastings across both mass market and rare teas, consumers and tea experts alike have shown a unanimous and overwhelming preference for Teforia.
Regardless of your tastes, Teforia will deliver the best cup of tea, full stop.
Intuitive user experience: Being able to customize a cup of tea to my exact liking is great, but if I have to fiddle with an app every time I make some tea, especially in the mornings, I’d sooner go back to a kettle. From the outset the Teforia team designed a user experience that requires just a single step: place one of the company’s RFID-tagged tea pods onto the infuser and press a button.
Each pod contains a unique loose leaf tea sourced from around the world by the company’s tea experts. And, using the embedded RFID tags, the device automatically recognizes and executes the perfect brew, be it a standard recipe or a customized one. No dials, buttons, or complex displays. Using Teforia, anyone can brew a world class cup of tea.
Just as importantly, Teforia is designed to make maintenance incredibly simple. The infuser is fully-sealed with only two removable pieces, the carafe (holding brewed tea) and infusion globe (holding loose leaf tea for brewing), each made of stain-resistant glass and easily cleaned.
Expanding value proposition: The Teforia team is committed not only to delivering the best of cup of tea possible, but will continue to improve and expand upon that experience over time. For example, the accompanying mobile app learns each user’s preferences over time, allowing it to recommend new teas and recipes. A wide variety of teas can be ordered directly from the company, including those from established brands like Samovar, Steven Smith and Mighty Leaf, as well as from unique, carefully cultivated tea estates the world over — with this offering poised to grow over time. Lastly, because tea has always been a social experience, users are invited to share their experience, including new varietals and favorite recipe customizations with family, friends and the broader Teforia community, while also learning about the qualities, history, and culture of each tea.
The tea ritual, across its many cultures and forms, is meant to be shared and savored. We believe Teforia is taking a massive first step toward re-introducing this ritual to modern consumers. The devices are available for pre-order online today and will be hitting store shelves near you in 2016.
Happy sipping. Let us know what you think!
