AN USEFUL ITEM FOR THE BEDROOM (Cookworks Signature Tea Maker)

Member Name: fionaciren

Product:	Cookworks Signature Tea Maker
Date:	05/01/09 (661 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rapid boiling, easy to use,

Disadvantages: Alarm needs to be set each night

I recently bought this tea maker for £24.98 in the Argos's Half Price Sale before Christmas. This item now retails at £49.99 from Argos.
The Tea Maker is compact, can make up to four cups of tea and fits perfectly on the bedside. A ceramic tea pot is provided. To me, the instructions were a but confusing, and didn't explain everything.
The LCD clock is analogue and is Illuminated in Green, with Black text used for the hours. Around the edge of the display, there are markers, which are used for setting the alarm, or making tea at a set time. In these two modes, the markers are divided into 12 minutes for each hour. If you wanted the alarm or tea at 7.20am, the machine will need to be set for 7.12am as the next setting would be 7.24am.
In 'Off' Mode, the clock can be set to the right time. To set the right time, press 'setting' button once and the hour hand will flash. Press 'Time+' to advance the hand. Press 'Setting' again, and the minute hand will flash. Setting is the same as before. When the clock shows the right time, press 'Setting' again.
Pressing the 'mode' cycles through, Off, Alarm, On, Auto.
In Alarm mode, the tea maker acts as an Alarm Clock. On Auto mode, a pot of tea is made for the alarm time. To set the alarm time on both of these modes, you press the 'Timer' button, which will make the next marker flash. Keep pressing the 'Timer' button until the required marker is reached. This button can be hold down to advance faster through the markers. The alarm is loud and should be fine for most people.
Putting the machine in 'On' Mode acts a Tea Now. While the is being made, a red light comes on and goes off when the tea is ready.
The following is not in the instructions, and if not followed, tea is made at various times, later on or in the middle of the night.
Once you have used the 'Alarm' or 'Auto' mode, you're supposed to return to 'Off' Mode, so it doesn't go off 12 hours later. There is only one problem, which is if you put into 'Off' mode, the alarm time is completely forgotten, and this means resetting the alarm or auto mode each night. I discovered this as it went of later during the afternoon, as there was water in the machine,
There is a built in safety feature, so if no water, or no teapot is in the machine, it won't make any tea.
The tea it makes is hot, and would need to cool down before drinking.
The ceramic tea pot needs to be washed in hot soapy water, as it's not dishwasher safe. The rest of the unit can be cleaned, after turning the power off, with a slightly damp cloth, and then going over again with a dry cloth.
There is also an On/Off switch and the machine has rapid boiling.
I would be happy to receive this item as a present, but I wouldn't choose to buy it myself.

Summary: A very useful and easy to use item for the bedroom.