Customer Reviews

Oster BVST-TM20 2-1/2-Quart Iced-Tea Maker, White

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I honestly do not understand all of the negative reviews for this iced tea maker. My family has tried many and this has been the best. I love the fact that I do not have to use just the pitcher that came with the unit. Sure, they do not mention that in the manual or anything, but you really can line up any pitcher under this thing to receive the tea. True, the glass pitcher that comes with it does seem thin and fragile. However, I do not use it so it is not a concern for me. I wasn't planning on using it when I bought it. I use a completely different shaped, BPA-free pitcher that holds 4 quarts. I fill the tea maker with the required amount of water, lay in the tea bags, and set the strength. I then fill my pitcher with cold water to the required level, add sugar, lime and lemon juice, then press the button. I have tea about 6 to 8 minutes later. I've never had the problem with the machine starting to brew the moment I plug it in.

So - to sum things up: stop locking yourself in with having to use the manufacturer's pitcher (or having to replace it when it breaks, cracks or leaks like I've seen happen so many times with the Mr. Coffee machines). This machine gives you that freedom and it just works - and works well. Not to mention the parts are dishwasher safe. The tea tastes great.

Iced tea made easy. Wish capacity was greater. Glass pitcher has not been a problem - it isn't as fragile as you might think. Tea stains light colored lid.

I got this ice tea maker for my mom for Christmas when her 15 year old Mr. Coffee ice tea maker started to break down. We've used it consistently since then and have had no problems, with bags or loose leaf tea. It's quick and we love the brew strength adjuster, since we usually make two batches of tea, black and green. The only problem I had was the amount of time it took to ship. I ordered it before the end of October and it didn't arrive till the week of Christmas. We really enjoy this ice tea maker though and would definitely recommend it.

Update:
This ice tea maker still works great two years after we originally bought it. I was apprehensive after seeing all the other reviews showing it gave out quickly, but ours still works fine, making sometimes up to six batches of ice tea a week. The only thing I can think of that we may be doing differently is that we make sure to get as much water out of the maker asap after making a batch. This model doesn't evaporate excess water very well at all, and since the water reservoir is right above the on/off switch, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

i am in shock that amazon is still selling this piece of junk. i thought that the bad reviews were just a run of a few bad switches. and i figured that oster would have taken care of fixing this problem, so i ordered one. well, in the future i will trust all those bad reviews. like everybody else i ran a cleaning cycle, then went to make a pot of fresh nonnuclear nonmicrowave tea, and the power switch was dead. i would say to oster, this has earned you the loyalty of one family of custumers. i will never buy oster again. if oster had pulled this product from the shelves and fixed the problem then i could say at least they tried. but so far all i see is negative. and my family works too hard for those federal reserve notes to throw them away to a company who cares more for the bottom line than customer happiness.

I love this. I used it for a few days this summer and liked the easy way it handled so much that i bought a second one for our other home. The pitcher is lovely and ultra light weight. The light up push button lets me know that it is on and brewing. Easy to clean and store.

This is our second unit. This one replaces the same model that we have had for at least 10 years. The pitcher is exactly the same. Now we can make two pitchers of tea.

This tea maker made about five pitchers of very nice tea, and then promptly malfunctioned. One day it worked perfectly; the next, the power button wouldn't work. It hasn't worked since. This is a poorly built, flimsy product. Please don't waste your money.

I drink alot of tea. Loved the design and thought it would look great on my countertop. After just two weeks of use, it would no longer turn on. SO... I gave it the benifit of the doubt, and bought a second one. When I put the water into the 2nd tea maker, the water began running out the bottom all over the counter and onto the floor. I returned BOTH and they talked me into trying a 3rd. What are the odds the 3rd would have a problem. Well, after only one pitcher of tea, it too would not turn on. It is sitting by the door to be returned and I will never try another. This was a HUGE dissapointment. If you do decide to purchase one, make sure you keep the box and your receipt because you will be returning it to the store.

FYI, I ordered this same exact tea maker only in a different color, from two different online retailers and both did not work. I called Jarden/Oster Relations and they were very rude to me, and they don't care that their products don't work. They told me there was only one other report of the item not working besides my two phone calls.

We got this for x-mas (today), because we make a lot of iced tea. I thought this would be great. After opening it, I followed the instructions for the first run
* washed the pitcher (which is very thin and probably easily breakable) and tea basket
* ran a cycle of plain water through it

Things went wrong right away. When I plugged it in for the first time, it started brewing immediately... before I hit the power button. Once the cleaning cycle completed, I emptied it out a prepared it for our first batch of tea. When it was all set I plugged it back in and hit the power button... nothing. I held in the power button for a while (as per the instructions)... nothing.

I then found similar reviews for the TM23. A number of people having the same issue.

Don't buy this.