Mr. Coffee TM3 Iced Tea Maker
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List Price: Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Mr. Coffee TM3 Iced Tea Maker
Customer Review: Pitcher eventually cracks, but the tea is unsurpassed
Summary: 4 Stars
We have owned several of these iced tea makers over the last 15 years and I have just purchased another two. The pitchers do evenually crack because of the heat of the water released into the spout, however, the quality of the iced tea produced is absolutely perfect.
After reading reviews, we tried the Hamilton Beach iced tea maker because of the issue with the Mr. Coffee pitchers but the tea made was not nearly as good and we are back to the Mr. Coffee. The wonderful tea is worth replacing the iced tea pitchers every few years and they do get daily use in our household--one for regular, one for decaf. (We usually replace the entire unit since it is not much more expensive than the pitchers.)
Note: We use 3 Luzianne family-size tea bags, either regular or decaf, for the 3-quarts of tea. Make sure to stir the pitcher before serving because the tea made at the end is weaker than the tea made at the start of the cycle.
Customer Review: Find the Original
Summary: 2 Stars
As a southerner who drinks tea with every meal and often in-between, I love the convenience of having a machine that makes the process of brewing ice tea easy. When the machine first came out, my mother was one of the first to purchase one, and we used it on an almost daily basis. So, when I moved out on my own after college, the first purchase I made was this iced tea maker; however it wasn't the same as my mother's. The new one leaked while brewing, wasn't dishwasher safe, was a pain to clean, and overall a very cheap design. The lid is flimsy and warps very easily. That is why the moment that I went into a thrift store and found the original model, I purchased that one and threw out the new one.
If only Mr. Coffee would return to making the original, dishwasher-safe model that was easy to use and to clean, then maybe I could give this a five star rating; but for this model and others like it, I can only give it a two.
Customer Review: Don't Buy This One
Summary: 1 Stars
My old Mr. Coffee, model number TM30P, quit working. So, I bought this one without doing any due diligence or giving it much thought. One problem, I've had with Mr. Coffees in the past is that the pitchers crack and eventually leak. I forgot about that when I bought this one. I assume this one will eventually crack also.
The two things I really don't like about it, though, are that the pitcher is to tall and you have to manually control the brew strength. Controlling the brew strength requires that you experiment with the length of time you leave the tea floating in the water after it gets through brewing. Then you turn a control knob to dump the last bit of tea out when you think it's been in there long enough. With my old one you merely set a dial to set the desired strength.
The other problem is that the pitcher is much to tall. It's difficult to get in and out of the fridge without spilling the tea.
Customer Review: 12 years going strong and keeps on brewing great tea!
Summary: 5 Stars
That's right - we've had ours over 12 years, with 2 pitchers, and no cracks or breaks. 3 pitchers of great tea, any kind we like, week in, week out, 12 years. I don't know why other people report cracks, but we love ours and when it dies, we'll buy another.
Furthermore, we wash the pitchers in the dishwasher (you're not supposed to), air dry. We probably clean the brewing unit less often than we should, but we do clean it with coffeemaker cleaner or vinegar. We always clean out the steeping "basket" and lid every time we use it, right after brewing. That keeps the tea tasting good and keeps it easy-to-clean.
Be nice to it, use plenty of ice like you're supposed to, and don't shove the pitchers up under the built-in fridge icemaker spout, and you'll probably enjoy it as much as we have.
It's a great, great product, and as I am turning into a grumpy old coot, I don't say that about many things.
Customer Review: UGH! Leaky!
Summary: 2 Stars
I had a old Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker I received in 1999 which after 10 years, went out. I replaced with this "new version" and was so sadly disappointed. This darned thing leaks everywhere. I've tried even leaving the pitcher under the spigot for an hour. I then go to get the pitcher and the counter top has tea everywhere! It takes a large bath towel to clean up the mess.
Mr. Coffee, why did you change from the old design which had a open and close toggle on the steeping basket??
Mr. Coffee does have a new design out where the steeping basket is on the pitcher, not the unit, but I am hesitant to buy this version. I haven't been able to find it anywhere except through their website and a local grocery store. W-mart and T-get don't have it as of writing this review.
I am donating this contraption to the charity and going to order the Hamilton Beach tea maker and see how that works.