I was very weary when I purchased this product. I had read many reports of the triniTea leaking, the pot spilling, the unit not getting hot enough to make a good pot of black tea, the unit being temperamental about the order each segment is put into the stand, etc. Here is what I have come to realize. There are 2 different versions of this unit out on the market. The first version, which I assume has the above issues, beeps 4 times when the tea is finished (the unit beeps after water heats, after steeping finishes, and after all the tea is in the pot). The newer version beeps 3 times when the tea finishes. I have come to this conclusion based on a number of different reviews. I have no official word on this from adagio, but I would bet money it were true. So my suggestion is, when you first get the unit, let it do a run through with just water, no tea. If at the end it beeps 4 times, dry it off, pack it back up, and send it back with amazon's amazing return policy. If it beeps 3 times, you are in for a truly wonderful experience. I ordered my triniTea on Sept. 22 2009 and received the new version from amazon. Perhaps all the old units are off the market now, but check to be sure.
I have now made black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea. I simply went across the spectrum of tea, one after another to see how the unit performed. FYI, I have had to pee about 10 times today, so I suggest you do not do this kind of test =) The tea comes out perfectly hot and perfectly steeped. Some people love their tea to burn their mouths when they take that first sip. If you set the machine to make black tea (boiling water and a 5 minute steep) it will burn your mouth, or at least it burns mine. However, if the let it sit for a minute or 2, and allow the heating element under the pot to take over, the tea becomes the perfect drinking temperature. Some people complain the tea doesn't keep hot enough. This is of course just my personal preference, but I think it stays at the perfect sipping temperature. Secondly, I have yet to see any tea dust in the finished product, which speaks to the quality of the infuser. The pot has not spilled a drop of tea no matter what speed I pour. All around a perfect tea experience, and fun to watch each step happen because of the clear plastic infuser and glass pot.
Some people have complained about the size, and this was a concern for me, because I live in a dorm room. No offense meant to the people who think its too big, but I was actually surprised by how small it is. I picture on amazon I think gives a good perspective on the size. All I will say is that I have plenty of room for it in my little dorm room.
As for one review which talks about the health risk of boiling water in a plastic container, I am sure you can go out an find web pages which will tell you about the "risks" of doing so. These will probably also be the pages that tell you not to reuse ANY plastic water bottle because of "leaching". You can believe who you will, but instead of looking for pages that will tell you about these "dangers", look for pages that just give food safety ratings of plastic. I wont start attacking other people's reviews, but I will just tell you that I am not worried about the triniTea killing or poisoning me.
In conclusion, the triniTea has by far exceeded my expectations. I was expecting to have a few of the problems I have read about, and just had to deal with them. Instead, I have had no problems, and will continue to use the unit everyday. The unit looks very high caliber, makes a wonderful cup of tea, and makes tea drinking worry free (no more watching the clock making sure I am not over steeping. The trinitea is expensive. You cannot argue that point, but for the quality of the unit and the tea it puts out, and the fact that there really is no other option if you want a device like this one, it is well worth it.
