Mr. Coffee TM3 Iced Tea Maker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Mr. Coffee TM3 Iced Tea Maker
Customer Review: Can't Live Without It
Summary: 5 Stars
EDIT (11/18/2006): I just wanted to add that Mr. Coffee sent me a free replacement pitcher after I emailed them about this problem. If this pitcher also cracks, I'll update this review.
EDIT (11/01/2006): It's now been exactly seven months from my original review and now I'm sad to say that I was wrong. Even though there didn't seem to be any difference between the materials and workmanship of our new TM3 and our old TM3, the new pitcher has just cracked. I've uploaded a picture to Amazon so you can see what I'm talking about. At first, I thought it was just a seam in the pitcher that I hadn't noticed before. But, after making a batch of iced tea, I had a small puddle on the countertop (which is a new thing). Since the crack is right in the pour spout (which is how the hot tea enters the pitcher from the brewing area), some of the freshly brewed tea seeps through the crack instead of falling into the pitcher. A sad day. I'll be contacting Mr. Coffee to see what they have to say.
Original Review (04/01/2006): We've use a Mr. Coffee TM3 (TM3.5 from what I can make out on the bottom of the unit) Iced Tea Maker for YEARS (at least 5, but more like 7) without trouble. Finally, after all that time of constant, daily use, the pitcher started developing some minor cracks. So, we replaced the whole thing. Outside of some minor differences in the plug, this version is identical to our old version (the bottom plate still says TM3.5). It's interesting that the recurring motif in all these reviews is that the pitcher cracks. When we first got our old unit, we too had that problem. After looking at how we were using the thing, we figured out that the cracking was because of how we added ice to the pitcher: while holding the pitcher's handle, we just shoved the other end of the pitcher under the ice maker. The problem was that we were using the pitcher itself to apply the pressure needed to trigger the ice maker. We bought a new pitcher and used our hand to trigger the ice maker, not the pitcher. That pitcher lasted us all those years.
Because of the prevalance of the "cracking pitcher" reviews, I'll keep an eye on this and see if anything is different. But, since everything looks identical to our old unit (down to the feel and heft of the materials), I don't anticipate problems. Based on all those years of happy use of the identical model, I rate this at an Excellent 5 stars out of 5: I couldn't live without it.
Customer Review: Still going strong 9 years later...
Summary: 4 Stars
That's right... I've been using my TM3 since 2001 when I was in college. This makes VERY good iced tea without all the laboring over temperatures and boiling stoves, etc. It's quick, easy, and dispenses the tea directly in to the pitcher.
I have experienced some of the issues with plastic fatigue in the pitcher, and see how others can be quite annoyed by it. While my pitcher has some visible stress to the front of the pitcher, it is still watertight and going strong. The only thing that has broken was the hinged cover on the lid of the pitcher... no great loss.
It is my belief that much of the problem with cracking pitchers is a direct result of the method most individuals use with these appliances. Many choose to follow the manufacturer's directions and add ice to the pitcher prior to brewing to make the tea nice and immediately cool. I choose NOT to add ice to the pitcher for several reasons.
First, by cooling the pitcher to a low temperature with ice and then immediately exposing it to 190+ degree water, more stress is exerted on the materials as they expand. This rapid strain will accelerate the fatigue process, especially at the seams, leading to leaks and cracks. The degree of expansion is not as considerable when the pitcher material starts from room temperature, hence less fatigue and a lower incidence of cracking and ultimately failure.
I think it is important for reasons of product life AND TASTE to NOT add ice prior to brewing. Why you ask? Tannins. Tannins are polyphenols (YAY Polyphenols!) that are naturally occurring in tea leaves. When tea is brewed, these are released in to the tea, adding flavors that are USUALLY quite delicious. The problem is when you prematurely or rapidly cool a warm tea. These tannins will interact with naturally occurring caffeine and cause cloudiness aka turbidity. Cloudiness makes for a lousy tea to the eyes and palate, often making it overly bitter and decidedly not Good Drinks. ;)
Thus make your tea with an empty pitcher as I've done... add room temperature water to the 3 quart line, and let it cool at a normal rate. If you REALLY need your iced tea fix quickly, make it as previously described, and then pour over ice in a glass. The results will be superior and your Tea Pitcher will last much longer.
Enjoy your tea!
Customer Review: Great tea & maker with a few small issues
Summary: 4 Stars
My husband and I are die-hard Mr. Coffee iced tea maker fans. We upgraded from a 2-qt model to the 3-qt and never looked back! We love iced tea, so we don't have to make it quite as often with the 3-qt.
When we make our tea, we use 8-9 regular tea bags in the basket and keep the valve to "closed" until the pot finishes brewing. We wait about 5 minutes after it stops before we open the valve and let the rest of the tea into the pot. This lets the tea steep for a bit longer, making it stronger and needing less tea bags than if you keep the valve open the entire time.
Supposedly you can add any sweetener to the brewing basket, but we just dump the sugar (we use 2/3 of a cup) over the ice before we turn the pot on. It dissolves almost all the way on it's own and just a little stirring at the end finishes it off. Our neighbors always say that we make the best iced tea! :)
The only issues I have with this unit is that after a while, the seam down the spout of the pitcher starts to split and iced tea leaks out when it's brewing. Ours did this after about a year of use, luckily we had gotten two pitchers with our maker. When the second pitcher broke (hubby dropped it from the top shelf in our pantry and shattered it), I couldn't find a replacement pitcher in the stores. I ended up ordering two on-line, for a cost of about $27. However, I could have bought a brand new unit with a pitcher for $20. (I chose not to in an attempt to be more "green.") I really wish Mr. Coffee would price the pitchers lower so that people are less likely to buy an entire new maker and having the old, still-working unit end up in a landfill.
Oh, and the pots are NOT dishwasher safe - it says right on them. So for the reviewers who said they warped in the dishwasher, I'm not surprised. :)
Customer Review: Pretty Cheap Merchandise!
Summary: 1 Stars
I've owned a Mr Coffee Iced Tea Pot for probably 10 years now. We bought one of the original models in a walmart years ago, and they looked pretty much the same -- White and teal with a clear pitcher. We took good care of that one (used a wooden spoon to stir it to avoid scratches, ran cleaner through the machine every few months to remove buildup, etc. The original package had 2 pitchers, and one of them was always in use it seems :)
Last fall the last pitcher finally gave up and started leaking from a seam, and they no longer sold that same pitcher as a replacement, so I bought a TM-3 and a 2nd pitcher, they looked to just be the "new" version of a well made product.
Sadly this is NOT the case. Where the old one had the filter-holder sitting on top of the pitcher, this one has you insert the spout into a slot, and line up a notch on the bottom. The filter cover and the lids don't fit together well, and its harder to wash the filter-holder.
The WORST part is the new pitcher. It has a "flip top" spout cover with a strainer on it, but its impossible to poor evenly! The tea "stream" is almost always wider than a common kitchen glass, so you're going to drip or dribble at some point.
Even worse, the plastic is VERY low quality; both pitchers, only a few months old now leak - oddly from the exact same point, in the lower front near the "square" notch in the base (There's a place where the seams meet)
It leaks slowly during brewing, but when done, i add the rest of the water to fill the pitcher, and the added "weight" begins to make the drip worse.
I'm going to order a replacement to see if it was a fluke, but I was saddened to see an old favorite get worse instead of better
Customer Review: HOT (cold) tea!
Summary: 5 Stars
2/24/08 Update
We've lived with our Mr. Coffee Ice Tea machine for 9'ish months. With most items, you find that experience may alter your initial impressions. In this case, I have to say that the five star rating remains steadfastly too little, this machine warrants, easily, an 8 or 9. To date, we've had no leaks anywhere, save by my own doing (overfilling, bumping the full machine, etc). Aligning the spout and "base notch" is trivial and one would have to work to misalign it.
Granted, the carafe and top tend to stain. This is the nature of Tannin. However, contrary to the misconceptions of many, the stain is not "dirty" or unsanitary. The design of the lid makes it difficult to clean the stains off. The carafe requires elbow grease and Scotchbrite, but comes clean with no problem.
We use both bagged and bulk teas with great success and in a large variety of flavors and styles. I still find Earl Grey my favorite (both hot and cold). This thing has made at least one pitcher of tea a day since we purchased the maker (5/07) and on many of those days, more than one. We're still using the original pitcher (albeit a bit limp now, but I have a spare waiting). It's hard to imagine any other product from which I've received such value per dollar.
My family and I are still, even more than after the initial purchase, extremely delighted with this device. If the need ever arrises, it will be replaced instantly.
We've had it about a month and I love the thing. Fast and easy. It took a bit of experimentation to get the brew strength the way we wanted it, but that's normal.
It cleans easily, is simple to use and brews quickly.
I'm delighted.